What is Helium mining used for? | What blockchain network is Helium on?

What Is Helium Coin (HNT)? | What is the use case of Helium?

Helium (HNT) is a decentralized blockchain-powered network for the Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Launched in July 2019, the helium mainnet allows low-powered wireless devices to communicate with each other and send data across their network of nodes.

The nodes come in the form of so-called hotspots, which are a combination of a wireless gateway and a blockchain mining device. Users who operate nodes in this way are mined in HNT, the native cryptocurrency token of helium, and earn rewards.

Helium aims to prepare IoT communications for the future, identifying inadequacies in current infrastructure since its birth in 2013.

Who is the founder of Helium?

Helium's three co-founders Amir Haleem, Shawn Fanning and Sean Carey started the company in 2013.

Haleem has an active eSports and game development background. In contrast, Fanning is best known for developing the music-sharing service Napster, which was one of the first mainstream peer-to-peer (P2P) Internet services in the late 1990s.

Meanwhile, Carey held several development roles prior to Helium, including the acquisition of the ad optimization firm by PayPal.

Helium's team now includes members who have experience in "radio and hardware, manufacturing, distributed systems, peer-to-peer and blockchain technologies," the company says.

What makes helium special?

Helium aims to improve the communication capabilities of wireless Internet of Things (IoT) devices. In 2013, the infrastructure surrounding IoT was still in its infancy, but developers wanted to add decentralization to their offering, hence the name "The People's Network" in the official literature.

Its main appeal will be to device owners and those interested in the IoT space, providing financial incentives and possibilities.

Network participants buy hotspots -- a combination of wireless gateway and miner -- or build their own. Each hotspot provides network coverage within a certain radius and mines Helium's native token, HNT.

The network runs on Proof-of-Coverage, a new consensus algorithm based on the Honeybagger BFT protocol that allows nodes in the network to reach consensus when the connection quality is highly variable.

In addition to HNT, users pay transaction fees in a separate token called data credits, which are not exchangeable and are tied to individual users themselves.

How many Helium (HNT) coins are in circulation?

An estimated mining duration of 30 to 60 minutes unlocks rewards that are distributed according to a changing development plan.

Helium states that initially, node owners will earn more HNT for building network infrastructure, while later, it will be more beneficial to move device data. This adjustment mechanism for token distribution is expected to last about 20 years.

How secure is the helium network?

Helium uses a bespoke consensus mechanism called Proof-of-Coverage (PoC) that rewards users for contributing to mining (validating transactions) and ensuring consistency.

PoC is based on the Honeybagger BFT protocol, which is specifically designed for node communication when conditions are unreliable.

Helium says the most likely attack vector affects node operators as the hotspot's inbound port. For token holders, the platform's own wallet uses asymmetric keys to help users with private key security.

Where can you buy Helium (HNT)?

HNT is a tradable token spread across major exchanges as of October 2020. Major pairs are active on Binance and FTX, and include stablecoins such as USD and Tether (USDT).