The developers behind decentralized telecommunications network Helium have proposed shifting the entirety of the protocol to Solana citing faster transaction speeds, high uptimes and more interoperability with other blockchains as key reasons.
Helium developers proposed shifting all Helium-based tokens, governance, and economics around the network’s native HNT, DC, IOT and MOBILE tokens onto the Solana blockchain. The move would help scale the Helium network, which has grown to over 1 million “hotspots” in recent months, developers said.
Helium would also be utilized with ongoing Solana projects, such as the Solana Saga smartphone, thus increasing its use case, developers said.
“Solana is a Layer 1 blockchain that focuses on the importance of scalability and speed,” developers said, adding the network does not compromise on security or scalability. Solana has faced uptime issues in the past, however.
The Helium blockchain uses a novel work algorithm called “Proof of Coverage” (PoC) to verify that hotspots are located where they claim they are. In other words, PoC tries to verify that hotspots are honestly representing their location and the wireless network coverage they are creating from that location.
Hotspots enable anyone to own and operate a wireless network for low-power Internet of Things (IoT) devices while providing coverage for devices using Helium LongFi in return for HNT rewards.
PoC is an intensive program, however, and Helium developers have proposed to scrap the mechanism while shifting to Solana. Such a move is said to make the blockchain requirements to support the Helium network “become much simpler” and be supported on Solana.
The proposal comes months after Helium raised $200 million in a Series D funding round at a $1.2 billion valuation in February in a round led by Tiger Global and FTX Ventures, who joined existing investors Multicoin Capital and a16z. All these firms have previously invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the Solana ecosystem.
All writers’ opinions are their own and do not constitute financial advice in any way whatsoever. Nothing published by CoinDesk constitutes an investment recommendation, nor should any data or Content published by CoinDesk be relied upon for any investment activities. CoinDesk strongly recommends that you perform your own independent research and/or speak with a qualified investment professional before making any financial decisions.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
Lido DAO announces new phase on Ethereum with Simple DVT module
Lido DAO voted on the deployment of the Simple DVT module nearly six months ago, it is ready for mainnet as of April 17. Simple DVT helps to make Lido’s technology accessible to more users. LDO price is down nearly 3% in the past day.
New altcoins crash and burn, but this altcoin shows strength Premium
Binance Coin price shows a bullish pennant continuation pattern. BNB could range between the $600 to $526 levels until the skies clear out for Bitcoin. The altcoin could see a massive gain with the upcoming BEP-336 upgrade.
Cronos price fails to recover despite network upgrade
Cronos (CRO) is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible chain in the Cosmos ecosystem. A mainnet upgrade was completed early on Wednesday and the asset’s price declined nearly 2% in the past 24 hours.
XRP tests $0.50 resistance after Ripple CLO says pretrial conference with SEC did not take place
XRP is stuck below $0.50 resistance after failing to close above this level since Monday. Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty said late Tuesday there was no pretrial conference since the SEC dropped charges against executives.
Bitcoin: BTC’s rangebound movement leaves traders confused
Bitcoin (BTC) price has been hovering around the $70,000 psychological level for a few weeks, resulting in a rangebound movement. This development could lead to a massive liquidation on either side before a directional move is established.