Helium migrates to the Solana blockchain
- The project’s developers explained that the move was driven by Solana’s ability to improve the efficiency and scalability of projects built on it.
- Many developers see Solana as the best network for building decentralized applications.
On September 22, the Helium Foundation released an official statement saying that it would move the Helium network to the Solana blockchain after the community votes on the HIP 70 proposal were completed. At the end of the voting process, more than 81 percent of the token-based voters supported the transition to Solana. Part of the proposal states that the Helium oracles will contain the mechanisms for data transfer and proof-of-coverage.
The Helium Foundation added that it hopes to complete the migration before the end of Q4 2022. Nova Labs CEO and network co-founder Amir Haleem told the media that he is optimistic that the migration will be completed by the end of Q4 2022.
Haleem explained that the Nova Labs team (the representatives of the core contributors and founders of the Helium network) began working with Helium’s off-chain oracles to ensure they are compatible with the Solana-based design. Helium’s co-founder also said that on-chain work, such as token redemption and coining, is easier.
🚨It’s official! The HIP 70 poll has closed. #Helium will move to @Solana blockchain!👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/V2WIajou7R
— Helium🎈 (@helium) 22 September 2022
However, the Solana blockchain will contain Helium’s tokens and governance. According to the developers, there are several advantages that Helium will enjoy from this move. More of its native token (HNT) will be available for more subDAO reward pools, mining consistency will be improved and better ecosystem support.
In addition, the HNT and subDAO tokens will have greater utility, while the data transfer will become more reliable. Earlier this week, Nova Labs (the company behind Helium) announced a partnership agreement with the leading US telecommunications provider, T-Mobile. The partnership will lead to the launch of Helium mobile, a crypto-enabled mobile service that allows users to earn rewards in digital currencies.
Helium mobile users with a 5G-enabled device can earn token rewards for their help in identifying Helium dead spots globally. They will also receive the same token rewards for sharing their coverage quality feedback. Helium, a blockchain protocol for wireless communication, offers open source coverage globally.
More than 900,000 hotspots have been deployed with Helium since its launch three years ago, and the number of devices continues to increase by 1,000 every day. Since the program went live last month, there have been more than 2,500 active 5G Helium hotspots in 889 US cities.
Solana as a hub for decentralized application development
According to many project developers, Solana (Helium’s new blockchain) is the best network for building decentralized applications. Based on voice transactions, Solana’s daily transaction volume has increased by 100 percent, moving to 200 million from 100 million. The blockchain’s user base passed the one million mark in May this year.
Helium developers suggested switching to Solana because the blockchain has the right features to scale projects and improve operational efficiency. Once the migration is complete, the team will unveil a new version of the Helium wallet app. The announcement also says that Helium’s layer-1 blockchain history will remain public. Furthermore, users can access the new wallet app by updating their current one.
