Last Updated on 3 years by admin
Shawn Fanning, Amir Haleem, and Sean Carey founded Helium in 2013 with the goal of making it easier to build connected devices. Fanning is the co-founder of Napster, the first peer-to-peer music sharing platform, which amassed over 27 million users in its brief three-year existence. Shawn is currently serving as an advisor to helium, owing to the fact that he is involved in a half-dozen other startups. Amir Haleem is a video game designer and professional gamer who was once the best quake player in the world. He is currently the CEO of Helium. Sean Carey, on the other hand, is a seasoned systems architect who previously served as Helium’s CTO until 2015.
Helium, according to Amir, was the result of one of many conversations he had with Shawn after meeting him in 2005. They essentially wanted to recreate Napster’s peer-to-peer model using wireless networks and without the risk of being shut down for violating copyright laws, as Napster did. They had hoped to target the telecommunications market at first, but realized that the red tape would make it nearly impossible, and that the existing players have far too much financial and political clout.
IoT is the buzzword of all buzzwords these days, and it essentially entails using sensors to extract data from the real world. Laptops, cell phones, security cameras, smart devices, and even dog collars are examples of sensors. Amir had some friends who had tried and failed to get IoT projects off the ground, and he realized that IoT businesses were failing because centralizing IoT infrastructure made no economic sense. Helium’s only problem in the beginning was that it had no way of incentivizing people to set up this peer-to-peer IoT network, and as a result, the project stalled.
When cryptocurrency first made headlines in 2016, however, Amir realized that it could provide the right incentives. After being inspired by the file coin white paper in 2017, the Helium team got to work, and in June 2019, the company unveiled its first physical helium hotspot devices, which will power its peer-to-peer IoT infrastructure. One month later, Helium’s mainnet went live, launching the cryptocurrency coin (HNT) to encourage people to join their new decentralized network.
Function of Helium
Helium mining is a new way to mine cryptocurrency — by installing a simple device in your home or office, you can provide your city with miles of low-power network coverage for billions of devices while also earning HNT, a new cryptocurrency. Radio technology, not expensive or wasteful GPUs, is used to mine HNT with Hotspots.
Proof-of- Helium blockchain participants use coverage to verify that Hotspots are located where they claim. Because any Hotspot owner can claim a location without permission, this must be verified on a regular basis by other Network participants so that the chain can reward the Hotspot for creating coverage.
What is Proof-of-Coverage and how does it work?
On the Helium blockchain, the proof of coverage (PoC) algorithm is used. Radio waves are used by the algorithm to verify that Hotspots are providing legitimate wireless coverage. The validation process involves the addition of new blocks, the completion of new tasks, and the payment of rewards to miners.
Helium LongFi is a new open wireless protocol for low-bandwidth IoT devices that is optimized for miles of range and maximum battery life. LongFi combines the LoRaWAN wireless protocol with the Helium blockchain, allowing any LoRaWAN device to connect to the Helium Network and send data.
LongFi provides roaming capabilities and micropayment transactions, allowing customers to pay for network usage rather than gateways or network servers.
How do you get HNT?
The amount of HNT given to Hotspots is determined by the type of “work” they do and the value they add to the network. A new work algorithm known as Proof-of-Coverage is used to validate network contribution (PoC).
To take part in the PoC, Hotspots are given instructions (or ‘challenges’) to send payloads to any nearby Hotspots for verification. ‘Beacons’ are the name for these single-hop challenges. Hotspots without neighbors earn less money because they can only issue Challenges and their beacons cannot be verified. The distribution amounts are adjusted after the first year.
How Do You Calculate Profits?
Helium mining has recently taken off as a result of how lucrative it is while also having a low startup cost and a small miner that produces no noise or heat. Helium miners also use less than €1 of electricity per month, making it an attractive option for those looking for a simple way to earn money from home.
Let’s look at how the reward is distributed based on the type of “work” that the miner does:
1. Challengers: The network selects 0.95 percent of Hotspots to send encrypted messages over the Internet to a specific group of Hotspots. Proof-of-Coverage uses challenges to verify wireless coverage. Challenges can be issued by Hotspots from anywhere, not just local Hotspots.
2. Proof-of-Coverage: 5.31 percent of Hotspots earn HNT for participating in Proof-of-Coverage and validating the wireless coverage of their peers. The amount each Hotspot earns is determined by how frequently it participates in Proof-of-Coverage activities.
3. Witnesses: Hotspots that monitor and report Proof-of-Coverage activity (beacons) from other Hotspots receive a portion of HNT based on the amount of activity they’ve witnessed and the Challengee’s reward scaling.
4. Network Data Transfer: Hotspots that transfer data from network devices receive 32.5 percent of HNT. The amount of HNT distributed is proportional to the amount of data transferred by a Hotspot.
5. Consensus Group: The Consensus Group is made up of 6% of Hotspots who are chosen at random to perform tasks such as validating transactions and publishing new blocks to the blockchain. Members of the Consensus Group receive a share of the 6% distributed to the group.
Where can you get the Miners?
Third-party Manufacturers and Vendors looking to produce and supply Hotspots that mine HNT can now seek community approval following the approval of HIP 19. There are currently 19 companies selling hotspots, but due to a global semiconductor shortage, suppliers are finding it difficult to meet demand. There was a backlog of 200,000 pre-ordered hotspots as of April 2021. Now the production has reached its speed and the wait time for the pre orders has reduced significantly. COTX-X3 and UG65 are few known miner models. However, always research before you purchase.
What should I do with the Miner?
The key to getting the most out of your Helium hotspot is to put it up as high as possible. The location is a key thing. Depending on the height of the hotspot, use a higher DBi antenna. We have discussed on the Antenna selection in detail in a previous post as well.
Antenna: 4 dbi | Height: 5–6 meters (Bobcat Stock Antenna)
Antenna: 6 dbi | Height: 7–8 meters (Custom Antenna)
What is the potential of HNT and what is the return on investment?
It’s no surprise that investors believe in cryptocurrencies because of their trustworthiness. This is due to the fact that Helium does a lot of work in the community, forming non-profit partnerships and alliances. Helium recently received $110 million in funding from cryptocurrency venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz and others.
Unearned HNT are distributed for Proof-of-Coverage Challenges and Witnessing until Network Data Transfer has used up all of its allotted token distribution. Proof-of-Coverage currently accounts for the majority of HNT rewards for Hotspots, but this will change as usage grows. It is expected that HNT rewards for Hotspots will decrease as the Network grows in size and more HNT halvings occur every two years. On the Helium Blockchain, scarcity is a natural evolution of rewards as the burn-and-mint equilibrium becomes more important.
Helium’s price is expected to rise from $38.45 to $78.531 in a year, according to WalletInvestor. As a result, HNT is a fantastic investment. The potential for long-term profit is 104.24 percent.
Helium prices could reach $120, according to CoinQuora. However, HNT may not have a difficult time reaching this level if additional medium, short-term, and long-term price targets for purchase or sell orders can be found. As a result, HNT has a good chance of reaching a new ATH in the next five years, according to the forecast.
The Helium coin price is expected to average $56.32 this year and $62.91 in 2023, according to DigitalCoin’s prediction. It predicts that the price will average $83.54 in 2025 and $170.59 in 2029 in the long run.
HNT, on the other hand, is expected to move sideways for the rest of the year, according to Trading Beasts. They forecast a 20% increase by the end of 2022, but little after that. It’s amazing how two price-prediction websites can be so far apart.
The location of your miner, the height of the miner, and the antenna of your miner all have an impact on the return on investment. As a resource in finding the best location you can checkout out article Best location for COTX X3 Hotspot Miner Installation
Meanwhile, Helium is expanding its Internet of Things (IoT) network into the 5G space. Customers of Helium have already installed around 240,000 LoRA-based IoT hotspots in 21,000 cities across North America, Europe, and Asia.
What are your final thoughts?
Helium is one of a number of cryptocurrencies that employ blockchain technology to address real-world issues. Helium has a compelling use case, well-thought-out tokenomics, a vibrant community, and a strong team behind it. Mining HNT will become less profitable over time, but as long as the Helium network remains successful, HNT will be a good investment.
What is the best way to convert HNT to fiat currency?
You’ll need to send HNT from your Helium wallet to an HNT-accepting exchange and sell it for the local currency.
In this case, Crypto.com and Binance are the most reliable options.
Please keep in mind that thetechpapa.com is not a financial advising company, and this article is only intended to be educational and should not be used to make any financial decisions. Please contact a qualified financial advisor if you require investment advice.
