Helium (HNT)

Overview

Helium is a community-built wireless network powered by the Helium Network Token, or HNT. People and businesses add coverage by running wireless Hotspots or connecting suitable Wi-Fi equipment to the network. In return, they can earn HNT when their equipment helps carry eligible data. Organizations use the network to connect small sensors and to improve mobile coverage in places such as shops, campuses, and public venues. (docs.helium.com)

Helium has two main wireless networks. Its Internet of Things (IoT) network carries short messages from devices such as trackers and sensors. Its Mobile network helps participating carriers move phone traffic onto local Wi-Fi, a process called carrier offload. HNT links these services through rewards, network payments, and governance. (docs.helium.com)

History & Team

From sensors to mobile coverage

Helium began in 2013, with Amir Haleem, Shawn Fanning, and Sean Carey among its founders. Its early work focused on making it easier to connect devices without building a wireless network from scratch. The project later adopted blockchain-based rewards to encourage people to install and operate the equipment that supplies coverage. Helium emitted its first HNT in July 2019. (a16z.com)

As the network grew, Helium expanded beyond low-power IoT connections into mobile service. Its original blockchain handled token records and network activity until Helium moved to Solana on April 18, 2023. The project has also received backing from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, and Multicoin Capital. (docs.helium.com)

Helium’s leadership changed in June 2026, when Mario Di Dio became CEO and Haleem moved to chairman. That year, Noble Mobile acquired the Helium Mobile consumer carrier business. Helium’s network team placed greater focus on supplying wireless infrastructure and tools that other carriers can use. (helium.com)

Technology & How It Works

Two ways to move data

The IoT network uses LoRaWAN, a wireless system designed for small amounts of data sent over long distances with low power use. A sensor sends a radio message to a nearby Helium Hotspot. The Hotspot passes that message over its internet connection to Helium’s packet router, which directs it to the right network server and application. A temperature sensor, for example, can send a reading without needing a cellular data plan for every device. (docs.helium.com)

Mobile coverage works differently. Helium Hotspots and converted Wi-Fi networks can carry data for subscribers of participating carriers. A business may place a Hotspot indoors or connect an existing, compatible Wi-Fi network through Helium Plus. When a subscriber connects through that coverage, eligible data use can generate rewards for the deployer. The equipment still needs a working internet connection to carry that traffic. (docs.helium.com)

What the blockchain records

Helium uses Solana for HNT, network payments, and other on-chain actions. The wireless links and the blockchain have separate jobs: radios carry messages and phone data, while blockchain programs handle token-related records and transactions. Solana transaction fees are paid in SOL, even when the transaction involves HNT. (docs.helium.com)

Helium once used Proof-of-Coverage, in which Hotspots exchanged radio signals to help show where coverage existed. That system ended on both Helium networks in July 2026. The reward model now places more weight on useful data transfer than on keeping a Hotspot online to show potential coverage. (docs.helium.com)

Tokenomics & Utility

Rewards and network payments

HNT is the main token earned by Helium network participants. Hotspot operators can receive it for eligible network activity, while people who lock HNT can take part in governance through voting power known as veHNT. Helium previously used separate IOT and MOBILE tokens for parts of its reward system. A change called HIP-138 brought participant rewards back to HNT, making the token’s role easier to follow. (docs.helium.com)

Network users pay with Data Credits, or DCs. One DC represents $0.00001 of network-use credit. DCs are created by burning HNT and can be spent on data transfer across the IoT and Mobile networks, as well as certain network actions. The amount of DC created from one HNT changes with HNT’s exchange value; the DC unit gives network users a stable way to measure usage. (docs.helium.com)

Helium’s planned HNT issuance follows a schedule that reduces its regular emissions roughly every two years. The protocol also has limited ways to reissue some burned HNT for rewards. In 2026, the community approved HIP-149, adding a separate, time-limited mint for operations and network growth. That decision raised the proposal’s effective long-run supply ceiling to about 347 million HNT. These rules show why both regular issuance and later governance decisions matter when describing HNT’s supply. (docs.helium.com)

Ecosystem & Use Cases

Sensors, venues, and carriers

Helium’s IoT network suits devices that send brief updates rather than video or large files. Examples include equipment that reports environmental conditions, tracks assets, or monitors farm operations. Developers connect those messages to applications through LoRaWAN network servers. Community-run Hotspots provide the radio coverage that lets devices reach the network. (docs.helium.com)

The Mobile network serves another need: helping phones stay connected where indoor signals are weak or crowded. AT&T announced a collaboration in 2025 that allows its subscribers to connect through Helium’s community-built Wi-Fi network. The City of Redondo Beach, California, later used existing waterfront Wi-Fi for carrier offload through Helium. These examples show how locally installed equipment can work alongside a carrier’s wider network. (helium.com)

Helium Plus lets businesses bring compatible Wi-Fi equipment into the network without installing a separate Helium Hotspot. Helium also launched HeliumOS in 2026. That software provides carriers and other telecom businesses with tools for subscriber management, Wi-Fi offload, network information, and Helium Network access. Together, these services broaden Helium’s role from building coverage to helping organizations manage how they use it. (helium.com)

Advantages & Challenges

The value of local coverage

Helium’s main advantage is its shared approach to wireless infrastructure. A carrier or device maker can use coverage supplied by many independent operators, while those operators receive a token-based incentive to maintain useful connections. LoRaWAN fits small, low-power sensor messages, and the Mobile network can put existing indoor Wi-Fi to work for phone subscribers. (docs.helium.com)

Coverage quality still depends on location. An IoT device needs a reachable LoRaWAN Hotspot, and mobile offload needs suitable Wi-Fi where participating subscribers actually use data. A Hotspot in a busy venue may serve a different amount of traffic from one in a quiet area. Operators also need suitable equipment, power, and internet access. Helium’s shift away from Proof-of-Coverage reflects this practical challenge: useful service matters more than the number of installed radios alone. (docs.helium.com)

The economic model has changed as network use has changed. HIP-149 redirected attention toward data-based rewards and added a growth mint. HIP-150 then adjusted how Mobile rewards can reflect demand at high-traffic venues. Such decisions shape where people choose to build coverage and how HNT is distributed. (github.com)

Where to Buy & Wallets

HNT is available on Coinbase and Kraken. It can also be held in the official Helium Wallet App or in Solana-compatible wallets such as Phantom and Solflare. Helium’s documentation lists Ledger hardware-wallet support through its Solana app. Exchange access and supported services depend on the user’s location and account. (coinbase.com)

HNT is a token on Solana, so a wallet needs a small amount of SOL to pay for on-chain actions such as sending tokens, claiming rewards, or voting. The Helium Wallet App also displays Data Credits and supports network-related tasks, making it useful for people who operate Hotspots as well as those who hold HNT. (docs.helium.com)

Regulatory & Compliance

Helium operates across both wireless communications and crypto assets, so several kinds of rules apply. In the United States, unlicensed radio equipment operates under Federal Communications Commission requirements, including rules on equipment authorization and interference. LoRaWAN channel plans also differ by region, which affects the radio settings used for IoT devices and Hotspots. In the European Union, the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework sets authorization requirements for firms providing covered crypto-asset services. (docs.fcc.gov)

In April 2025, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission case concerning Nova Labs ended in a consent judgment over statements made to prospective equity investors about network users. Nova Labs agreed to a civil penalty, and the SEC dismissed the other claims in that case with prejudice. (sec.gov)

A published Shariah screening distributed by Bybit Georgia classifies the HNT project as permissible, or halal, based on its wireless-network purpose and token uses. The assessment describes the project’s utility; individual financial activities involving HNT can involve different arrangements. (bybitgeorgia.ge)

Future Outlook

Helium’s development is centered on making its wireless coverage more useful to carriers, businesses, and device operators. Carrier offload, converted Wi-Fi, and HeliumOS give it ways to serve organizations that already manage subscribers or physical venues. On the IoT side, its open LoRaWAN model gives developers a route for connecting small devices through community-operated gateways. (helium.com)

Future changes will also depend on governance. Helium token holders can vote through veHNT, and recent decisions have altered rewards, retired Proof-of-Coverage, and funded network growth. The lasting test for this model is whether useful data transfer continues to bring together network users and the people who supply coverage. (github.com)

Summary

Helium connects cryptocurrency incentives to physical wireless service. HNT rewards people who help run its IoT and Mobile networks, while burning HNT creates the credits used to pay for network activity. Its move to Solana, return to HNT-based rewards, and focus on real data use have made that connection between tokens and coverage more direct. (docs.helium.com)