Have you heard of Helium cryptocurrency? Not many people have come across this crypto yet, as it is relatively new, launched officially just a few years ago.
Despite the thousands of available cryptos, only a few of them tap into the Internet of Things (IoT) sector. Nevertheless, Helium emerged as a network based on a blockchain aimed at connecting IoT devices, which use nodes as hotspots. The payout method is realized through HNT whenever these devices transfer data within the network.
The exponential growth of the Internet of Things makes Helium even more relevant.
If you’re interested in this project, here is everything you need to know about it for 2022.
What Is It?
Helium is a distributed blockchain-based network of wireless hotspots with a long range whose goal is to connect Internet of Things devices. The ultimate objective is to build a global network called The People’s Network by incentivizing individuals to host hotspots, called nodes, which mine Helium simultaneously while offering connectivity to the devices in close proximity. Check out the following explanation of the Internet of Things.
HNT technology allows communication between these devices. In the meantime, the system is responsible for sending data across the nodes. These hotspots assume the role of Helium miners, encouraging people to deploy such a hotspot and earn HNT for their efforts in building the network. Only fifty to a hundred hotspots are necessary to cover an entire city.
Individuals are encouraged to use the Helium Network over a traditional internet provider, as the former is encrypted, fully secure, and provides internet access at just a fraction of traditional cellular data costs. The payments required from users are based on nothing else but data usage. These hotspots rely on LoraWan, which is a media access control protocol. They combine the power of a mining device and LoraWan on the basis of blockchain technology.
The mechanism that the network relies on is known as Proof-of-Coverage, whose task is to distribute rewards to node operators and HNT holders. Users are required to buy a mining device from the Helium website so as to set up hotspots. When getting connected to the network, miners produce radio frequencies, whereas the Proof-of-Coverage validates the locations of the hotspots. Participants can acquire three roles, challenger, transmitter, and witness, which determine the distribution of rewards.
Helium was co-founded nearly a decade ago by Sean Carey, Shawn Fanning, and Amir Haleem, but it was launched six years later. The launch of the helium network was intended to resolve common IoT issues, such as privacy. It already has over 300,000 global hotspots, which makes it the largest global LoraWan network. LoraWan represents a combination of two technologies, LORA and wide-area networks (WAN).
The Internet Of Things (IoT)
The idea behind the Internet of Things is to build a global network that any device can connect to. Such units can be lightbulbs, dog collars, toasters, and virtually any other device you can think of. The debate of whether most devices should be connected to the internet is still ongoing. Nevertheless, more and more people seem to come on board with this idea.
The intention of Helium is to create a global, decentralized, and reliable network supporting IoT devices. While public Wi-Fi and cellular networks provide the same framework, the main issues with these solutions are availability and price.
Proof-Of-Coverage (PoC)
Unlike other blockchain technologies, Helium enables users to mine HNT through its own system, known as proof-of-coverage. It verifies whether a particular hotspot provides the required coverage for its location. Such verification is performed by taking different factors into account, including speed, distance, and radiofrequency strength. As discussed above, hotspots are set up by buying a suitable miner, which has to be tested by Helium to verify their functionality.
Furthermore, there are different types of miners to choose from, including indoor and outdoor miners. The choice depends on the location you intend to use for keeping the device. On average, the price of such miners is approximately $400. Proof-of-coverage takes place through challenges by letting hotspots test their radio frequencies. These challenges involve three roles, including the challenger, transmitter, and witness.
The challenger refers to the hotspot creating and issuing the challenge. The transmitter represents the target of the challenge, witnessed by other nodes in its proximity. Witnesses are the devices nearby the transmitter whose job is to confirm the validity of the transmitter’s challenge packets. Every participant in the challenge receives a reward in the form of HNT.
Moreover, the reward amount mainly depends on the role. For instance, challengers earn approximately 0.95% of the available rewards, whereas witnesses earn substantially more, up to 21.24%. These earnings also vary on the participation of a hotspot in the PoC. While the initial investment is relatively large, most devices use only 5W of power. The current value of the HNT coin is $28.60, meaning your investment can pay off soon enough if you are in a good location.
HNT
Helium coins have two purposes. Users participating in challenges receive HNT as a reward, which is the blockchain’s native cryptocurrency. No HNT was mined prior to the launch of Helium. Initially, the network targeted five million HNT to get mined per month or sixty million HNT annually. Nevertheless, two years ago the produced HNT amount gets reduced by half every two years. In fifty years’ time, no more than 3.6 million HNT will be mined on an annual basis.
There is another use of this cryptocurrency. Participants can burn Helium for the purpose of creating data credits, referring to tokens used for network fees and transactions. Their worth is related to the US dollar, with 1 data credit valued at $0.00001. These tokens cannot be transferred to other users but only used by owners. Visit this URL, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/spotlight/top-5-reasons-to-invest-in-cryptocurrency/articleshow/85798564.cms, to see five reasons for investing in cryptocurrency such as Helium.
Crypto Conclusion
To sum up Helium has revolutionized the use of blockchain for connecting IoT devices. Users can mine this Helium crypto with low power while earning rewards! It should be a top new cryptocurrency to consider in 2022.
