What Is Helium (HNT) – Is This Cryptocurrency Project Worth the Investment?

Over 3 billion people around the world do not have access to the internet. Over the years, various projects, including Elon Musk’s Starlink program, have tried to address this issue. However, one project is hoping to use the power of a decentralized system to expand access to wireless internet all over the world.

The project is Helium Network (HNT) and it will be the focus of our article today. We will look at what the project is about, how it works, and whether indeed it is a worthy investment or not.

What is Helium (HNT)?

Helium is a public open-source blockchain that hopes to create a global network of decentralized wireless internet hotspots. It was launched in 2019. The chain also uses these decentralized hotspots as node validators to verify transactions on its platform.

The vision for Helium is to build a robust decentralized infrastructure that will power wide-scale and long-range connectivity around the world. This in turn will help power the transition towards the Internet of Things. The Helium Network is largely a community-driven project. Any person anywhere in the world can create and deploy wireless hotspots using the blockchain.

In exchange, hotspot providers earn rewards which are paid in the native HNT token. Helium is perhaps one of the most innovative blockchain projects of our time. In essence, it has created a platform that will ultimately trigger the rapid expansion of wireless infrastructure around the world. But more importantly, this wireless scaling will happen at a fraction of the cost of traditional internet providers.

What’s The Team Behind Helium?

The Helium project has three co-founders but there is a robust team of experts that work behind the scenes to make sure the project is successful. The first co-founder however is Amir Haleem. Aleem also serves as the CEO of the company and has had a long career in the video game industry. He was in fact one of the key developers of the popular online game Battlefield 1942.

The second co-founder is Marc Nijdam who also serves as the CTO. Nijdam has over 25 years of experience in the tech space, including a research and development role at Hewlett Packard. He is also credited for the development of several key QUALCOMM products and services. His role is to provide technical expertise on the hardware component of the Helium network.

Finally, the project also has Frank Mong within its ranks. Mong is the COO at Helium and works mostly in sales, business development, and marketing. Mong is a cybersecurity expert and worked as the VP of security at HP before joining Helium.

How Does Helium (HNT) Work?

At the center of the Helium Chain is a wide network of decentralized internet hotspots. These are simple plug-and-play devices that provide internet connectivity in a simpler and faster way. In fact, it is estimated that Helium decentralized hotspots can deliver speeds that are 200 times faster than your traditional WiFi. This connectivity is called Helium LongFi.

It combines the decentralized nature of the Helium blockchain with the LoRaWan wireless technology to offer users accessible fast internet. But more importantly, these internet hotspots also double up as node validators for the entire chain. So, users will not only earn by providing fast internet hotspots. They also get rewards by validating transactions on the Helium chain.

The idea is revolutionary, to say the least. Think about it this way. Only 50 -100 Helium hotspots are required to provide internet coverage for an entire city. When you consider how scalable the Helium chain is, it means that tens of thousands of these hotspots can be deployed easily at any given point. This could have massive implications in opening up access to fast and secure internet connections around the world.

Why Are Helium Hotspots Preferable to Traditional Wi-Fi?

To better understand the value of Helium as a blockchain project, it is important to have a candid discussion about how its internet nodes are better than what you are used to. The first thing you get with Helium hotspots is security. Remember all these internet nodes are fully decentralized and as such, they are also fully encrypted. This provides access to secure and anonymous internet services.

Secondly, Helium nodes only allow you to pay for what you have used. So, instead of having a monthly plan or something, you only pay for the data you have used at any given time. This can be much more flexible for most users.

More importantly, you do not need a third-party company to dictate how you use the internet. With Helium, the only thing you need is a LoRaWan enabled sensor on your device. After that, you are free to access the internet directly without going through an ISP.

Is Helium a Good Investment?

There are several ways you can make money through Helium, including providing the hotspots needed. But for this post, we are going to focus largely on the long-term investment potential of this project. So, in essence, we will be analyzing the merits of HNT, the main utility and governance token for the Helium Network. Well, here are some reasons why we think this project is going places:

Excellent Team and Backers

The team that is behind the Helium project is quite impressive. We are talking about people who before joining Helium, were involved in the development of some of the leading wireless technologies in the world.

There is also a star-studded list of investors and backers behind this project. Some of the notable names include Google Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Multicoin Capital, HSB/MunichRe Ventures, Union Square Ventures, and so many others. These firms have invested money into Helium, a sign that they are confident about its future potential.

Massive Coverage

The growth of Helium largely depends on how big the decentralized network of hotspots can get. So far, the project has managed to reach incredible milestones. According to data from their website, Helium has over 650, 000 hotspots spread all over the world. There is also a chance that this number will continue to rise in the near and medium-term.

Easy Way to Mine

Node validation or what we colloquially call mining in crypto requires a lot of computer processing power. This is one of the main reasons why most Proof-of-Work (PoW) blockchains are not scalable or cheap. But Helium has actually solved this.

Instead of using expensive GPUs to validate its network, Helium uses simple and utterly cheap radio technology. This means that, even with a simple device, you can easily provide wide internet coverage using less electricity and no computing power at all. This makes the network highly scalable and above all very affordable to use.

The Internet of Things (IoT)

The age of the Internet of Things (IoT) is here and will become more dominant in the months and years ahead. Secure decentralized connections are going to play a huge role in driving growth in IoT. Helium has already positioned itself to take full advantage of this revolution in the future.

Conclusion

The utility that the Helium Network provides is simply outstanding. It’s a project that solves major problems in the world using effective and affordable technology. This is an innovation with a lot of potential and looking at the list of backers, it’s not hard to see why. It’s something you should consider if you want to make money in the crypto market long term.

* We hope this information will help you in your investment process, but this is not investment advice. Every investment carries risk, especially in this industry, so DYOR before making a decision.