On February 19, the decentralized wireless network Helium completed a US$200 million Series D financing at a valuation of US$1.2 billion, with participation from Tiger Global and FTX Ventures.
According to Rhythm BlockBeats learned from AXIOS, Helium has previously raised approximately US$110 million in venture capital funds on PitchBook, and received a US$111 million Token sale led by a16z last summer. Today, Helium's existing supporters include Khosla Ventures, GV, Multicoin Capital, Munich Re Ventures, and FirstMark Capital, etc., which can be said to be widely favored by star institutions.
A decentralized network of over 500,000 hotspots, Helium aims to provide bandwidth and collect data to IoT devices near users. In addition, what other features and applications does Helium have? Recently, the "New York Times" made a special report on Helium, and Rhythm BlockBeats compiled the article and organized it as follows:
One of the most frequently asked questions by crypto skeptics is: what else can you do with crypto besides financial speculation and crime?
This is a difficult question to answer, in part because most of the successful (and legitimate) applications of cryptocurrencies to date have been in finance or finance-related fields. There are many cryptocurrency exchanges, NFT trading platforms, and video games that involve buying and selling cryptocurrencies, but so far, not many crypto projects have achieved what I call "Normie Utility" (standard utility)-that is, solving the problems of the encrypted world. The problems that outsiders have (these problems are not mainly buying and selling digital assets), and at the same time, it is not the use of general non-encryption technology.
However, recently I found such a project.
It is Helium. While it's not the most high-profile crypto project involving boring apes or constitutional copies, it's been very useful in helping me understand how encryption can be used to solve certain types of problems.
At a basic level, Helium is a decentralized wireless network for "Internet of Things" devices, powered by cryptocurrency.
The network consists of devices called Helium hotspots, which have antennas that can send small amounts of data over long distances using radio frequencies. At about $500 per hotspot, almost 200 times more expensive than traditional Wi-Fi hotspots, they can share their owner's bandwidth with nearby Internet-connected devices such as parking meters, air quality sensors or smart kitchen appliances.
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Lime Scooters in Hoboken, NJ
This is where the encryption part comes in: In addition to transferring data, Helium hotspots reward their owners for participating in their network by creating a cryptocurrency called HNT. These tokens can be bought and sold on the open market like any other cryptocurrency, and the more hotspots are used, the more HNT tokens are generated.
The Helium project was born in 2013, not as an encryption company at first. Its founders initially attempted to build a long-range, peer-to-peer wireless network the traditional way, by convincing people and businesses to build hotspots and string them together. But they struggled to get enough participants, so the network stagnated.
Frank Mong, Helium’s chief operating officer, told The New York Times that the company was running out of money in 2017 when an engineer suggested in an all-Scotch meeting that if they could earn more crypto currency, then they may prefer to set a hotspot.
“And in this case, this crypto-driven incentive model actually makes sense,” Frank Mong added.
So the company broke with the old business model and started to transform. Instead of building the network itself, Helium will make it completely decentralized and allow users to build the network by purchasing and connecting their own hotspots. Participants will also be paid in cryptocurrency and they will discuss proposals to change the network. vote. If the price of these tokens goes up, they make more money and create more hot spots.
Once the shift started, crypto enthusiasts raced to build hot spots on Helium while simultaneously generating cryptocurrency. They also exchanged tips on communities like Reddit and YouTube, such as extending the range of hotspots by connecting them to tall buildings or placing antennas on rooftops. Some hotspot owners claim they can still make thousands of dollars a month this way, even though their income will drop as more hotspots are added to the network.
I realized that this is a very important capability of cryptocurrency projects, by providing an incentive to get into the ground floor to start the project. While the development of a project does not necessarily depend on how to acquire more cryptocurrency to advance, in Helium's case, encryption is useful as a way to encourage user participation and make hotspot owners feel comfortable building what they own. meaningful.
Additionally, Arman Dezfuli-Arjomandi, a Philadelphia-based computer programmer who hosts a podcast about Helium, told me that the decentralization of the Helium network is its greatest strength. “If the network is built on some centralized platform, there is always the possibility that the platform will IPO or be acquired, whereas a certain physical infrastructure built by a large number of users is determined by whoever owns it. develop."
Unlike many other crypto projects, Helium is a product that tons of real people and companies use every day. Those involved are hardly speculators, but rather people interested in creating a decentralized wireless network. And in Helium's 140,000-member Discord, members are prohibited from discussing currency prices. Meanwhile, Helium's speeds will only get even better in the coming months as new types of 5G hotspots become more common.
Additionally, Helium's blockchain is secured using an algorithm called "Proof of Coverage," which requires less energy than the PoW proof-of-work used by Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Much less and less harmful to the environment. According to official Helium estimates, its hotspot uses only as much energy as a 5-watt light bulb.
In order to make sure that my assertion is correct, I will test Helium through my "Normie Utility" (standard utility).
Does it solve non-encryption issues? Yes. There are millions of connected devices in the world, and connecting them to the Helium network will be much cheaper than buying a cellular data network for each device. At the same time, Helium's network can go where Wi-Fi and cellular networks can't because of the long range of hotspots.
Is it useful for something other than speculation? The answer is yes. The Helium network itself has value, and while hotspot owners do profit when HNT prices rise, the primary way they make money is by adding new hotspots, not by trading HNT on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Would Helium work without encryption? The conclusion is that the company tried a few non-encrypted methods and nearly all failed. Adding HNT to the overall project incentives solves what technologists call the "cold start problem", because it is often difficult for a new network to attract the first batch of users.
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Helium Hotspots and Apps
On the other hand, users who set up Helium's hotspot at home are technically in violation of their ISP's terms of service, which involves reselling some of their bandwidth. For example, the Comcast Xfinity Subscriber Terms of Service prohibit users from using their links for any purpose other than personal or non-commercial residential use. But so far, ISPs haven't cracked down on Helium users on a large scale, though that could change. “We hope ISPs will be open to Helium’s hotspot setup,” Frank Mong told The New York Times.
Despite these limitations, one thing I like about Helium is that it largely avoids the flamboyant hype and hyperbole of many crypto projects. And will revolutionize business and culture, freeing us from government scrutiny while changing the fabric of our daily lives. Helium is a practical real-world infrastructure, and has a cryptocurrency incentive scheme that keeps the whole thing running on a decentralized basis.
I've been testing a Helium miner in my home office for about a week now. It was a golden box, about the size of a thick deck of cards, with a long antenna on top. A few days after I plugged it into my Wi-Fi router, it generated about $7 worth of HNT, not a huge amount, but if I let it run for a few months, I could recoup the cost.
Participating in the Helium network, even in such a trivial way, has been a good experience for me. I'm getting some money, and making it cheaper for devices near me to connect to the Internet. Later I also understood its appeal on encrypted drives, which would reward users for taking risks on something new and unproven.
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