Finance:Helium (cryptocurrency)

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Helium is a cryptocurrency purposed as an incentive for users to set up nodes for a 4G wireless LAN (stylized as LoRaLAN: Long Range Local Area Network) for the Internet of Things (IoT). The network is global, and by far the largest decentralized IoT network in the world. It is also open source.

Maintainers set up peer-to-peer WiFi devices which, although they are referred to miners, provide neither proof-of-work nor proof-of-stake, but rather proof of coverage; this function is not cryptographic, and has none of the problematic electrical or climate issues of the former two mining functions. There are numerous manufacturers of these Wi-Fi devices; supply chain disruptions have been a serious on-going issue for some due to increasing demand. As of May 5, 2022 there are more than 785,000 Helium mining devices added to the network, with 83,100 new devices added in the most recent 30 days.

Given their IoT raison d'être Helium not primarily a cryptocurrency operation, but rather an extremely practical on-the-ground network for near constant but low data traffic using blockchain technology. Being customer agnostic within the ambit of IoT, it can and does serve manifold purposes.

The native cryptocurrency for Helium has the stock ticker symbol of HNT. The network premiered on July 29, 2019, and maintains an active social media presence.