Helium Wireless Network Announces New Crypto Tokens for its peer-to-peer 5G, Unveils New MOBILE & IOT Tokens
Helium recently held a HIP vote whether or not it should introduce additional tokens. The vote passed with a positive reception and now The People’s Network will move to issue the new tokens. There will be two new tokens which mean changes ahead.
Nova Labs announced that Helium will issue two new tokens: MOBILE and IOT. HNT will continue to exist, but it will become a “reserve currency” within the Helium ecosystem. Instead, users will earn Mobile or IOT depending on whether they use Helium 5G hotspots or the LoRaWAN- based Hotspots.
What’s happening and when
The new tokens will start operating this summer. They are two, because Helium wants to expand and become a “Network for Networks”. The idea is people to be able to use various hotspots and thus provide coverage and capacity for multiple types of networks. They may be 5G, LoRaWan or networks which are designed for other specific types of devices, tasks or goals.
Helium will also allow each token and network to govern itself with additional protocols. The basis will always remain the same and true to Helium’s core principles – decentralized, not owned by a single entity, open to everyone to join, expand and use. On top of that each niche network will be able to introduce additional protocols which are tailored to the specific needs. For example, a 5G network will have different technical and other requirements when compared to an IoT network.
The MOBILE token should start working this month. The IOT token will become operational in August this year. At that time HNT will become the reserve or “floor” currency, says Nova Labs CEO and co-founder Amir Haleem to Decrypt.
Early adopters of 5G hotspots will start earning tokens the same way the IoT hotspot owners do right now. Up until now 5G hotspots didn’t really earn a reward, hence a big motivation for the change. Helium also expects that such a change will allow for a faster scaling of the niche networks as now there will be a proper motivation for people to own hotspots.
“As we’ve seen with Helium, the network is always evolving,” said Haleem. “There’s always new challenges. There’s always new things to think about, and how to govern all of these different protocols is a complicated question. Putting it in the hands of the token holders for each protocol, I think, is a really interesting way of solving that.”
The next steps are two more HIPs – 52 and 53. They will help setup new sub-DAOs for each protocol and the self-governing will kick in. “We wanted to figure out a way to be able to add all of these different protocols into Helium in a way that continued to accrue value to the whole ecosystem,” Haleem said, “and added value to the people bringing those protocols to the network.”
What about HNT
The original Helium network will be known as the Helium IoT network. It will continue to work as it has so far. But it will start issue the IOT token instead of HNT. All of your current HNT tokens will continue to exist, too. They will still be important as owners of MOBILE, IOT and all future tokens, will be able to exchange them for HNT.
Haleem says the process is similar to the original possibility to exchange US dollars for gold. It’s a one-way trade though – you can’t swap HNT for other tokens, only other tokens for HNT.
This is a way to keep the value of HNT as it will be the backer for all tokens. This way people can continue to exchange them on the cryptomarket, too.
A lot of the changes still have to be decided upon. The goal is simple – to increase both the interest in Helium and the trust for everyone involved. This will make the project more attractive to both entrepreneurs and investors and will increase opportunities for everyone.
