There is no doubt that mining is an essential part of the crypto market. Without mining, getting some of the biggest cryptocurrencies today would be difficult to achieve. This article takes a detailed look at how to mine Helium.
All about Helium network
The world keeps going digital due to the rise of a vast network of computers and devices known as the internet. Today, almost everyone uses WiFi and cellular Data to stay connected. Nonetheless, the Helium network is very similar to WiFi, but the only difference is that it is more cost-effective and peer-to-peer.
Furthermore, Helium is a new blockchain network aimed at creating decentralized and public wireless networks. Having decentralized wireless networks in our world would change a lot of things.
One of the latest technologies that reduce friction is the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT devices rely on their sensors and antennas to connect and exchange information between themselves. Today, we have many smart IoT devices, and these smart devices help save time and electricity.
All these smart devices help us daily, but their biggest challenge is reliably connecting them easily. Bluetooth and WiFi don’t have a broader range, and they are saturated with the demands from our PCs and smartphones.
Hence, this is what Helium intends to change. Helium has a unique Radio Frequency (RF) technology created to offer broad coverage to IoT devices. Helium network has a few features that make it distinct from regular WiFi networks that we all have today: privacy and security, reliability and scalability, and there are open to more collaborations.
The network is based on a new algorithm known as Proof-of-Coverage (PoC). Also, the Helium team wants to design broad wireless coverage for IoT devices by ensuring its users install hotspots in their houses. With more hotspots installed, the network will continue to become more dependable. In exchange for providing broad wireless coverages, hotspot owners are incentivized with its native token, HNT.
Who are the founders of Helium?
Helium started in 2013, and it was created by three co-founders Amir Haleem, Shawn Fanning, and Sean Carey.
Haleem has a background in eSports and game development. Fanning is famous for developing Napster, a music-sharing platform that was one of the first mainstream peer-to-peer (P2P) internet services in the late 1990s.
On the other hand, Carey held many development roles before Helium, including advertising optimization firm “Where,” acquired by PayPal.
Overall, Helium’s team comprises experts skilled in radio and hardware, manufacturing, distributed systems, peer-to-peer, and blockchain technologies.
All about Helium (HNT) coin
Helium (HNT) is a decentralized blockchain network designed for IoT devices. It offers real-life use-cases, unlike some cryptocurrencies out there.
HNT, Helium’s native token, is a new digital asset that hotspots earn for offering and validating wireless coverage.
HNT coin was launched in July 2019. And users who operate nodes mine and earn rewards in HNT token. The nodes are in the form of hotspots (a combination of a wireless gateway known as LoRaWAN wireless protocol) and a Blockchain mining device. Hotspots can also act as miners on the Helium blockchain so owners can earn HNT coins for building the network and transferring IoT device data.
How Helium works
As stated earlier, Helium uses a new type of algorithm known as Proof of Coverage (POC). The network rewards miners in HNT just for validating wireless coverage through radio waves.
Smart devices or any compatible IoT device can connect to Helium hotspots without WiFi or cellular networks, thus inspiring innovation and enabling new use cases.
What makes Helium unique?
Helium aims to bolster the communication capabilities of wireless IoT devices. In 2013, however, the infrastructure around IoT was still in its infancy, but developers wanted to ensure IoT devices were decentralized.
Helium’s new consensus algorithm proof-of-coverage (POC) makes the Helium network distinct due to the HoneyBadger BFT protocol.
Additionally, Helium users pay transaction fees in a separate token called Data Credits, which are not exchangeable and tied to individual users themselves.
Helium price analysis 2021
Source: coinmarketcap
Helium is a new digital asset in the crypto market; however, it has come long. Besides entering the market with its mainnet release in 2019, this digital asset is still in its early days. In mid-2020, the price of HNT was at $0.2721, with a 24-hour trading volume of $66,395.
Moving forward, Helium saw a constant increase during the months, thus reaching a trading volume of value of $1.29 by the end of 2020. The price of HNT remained consistent and didn’t experience a high price change throughout the first weeks of 2021, not until the end of January where its value was at $2.49.
In February 2021, HNT doubled again and reached a new all-time high at $4.60. After reaching its all-time high, it declined a bit, just for it to increase again during March. It is also essential to know that the HNT token experienced a 1300% increase in its price, with an all-time high of $23.01 on May 28.
At the time of writing, one HNT is $43.4, 27.69% up from yesterday, with a 4-hour trading volume of $218.13 million.
Helium price prediction 2021
As stated earlier, Helium is relatively new in the crypto market. This means that there is still a long way to go before it reaches its goals. Moreover, the project has made significant strides in the past few years. Helium started its growth until its mainnet release. The platform had four Funding Rounds, meeting $53.8 million, which boosted the platform. Nonetheless, Helium is just getting started, and we may see significant growth in the future.
On a bullish note, we may see the price of one Helium token reaching $40-$50 in the short term, with a potential trading value of $55 by the end of 2021. When it comes to long-term predictions, we expect HNT’s price to explode in the nearest future.
How to buy Helium coin?
Unluckily, most crypto trading platforms or exchanges do not have Helium coin added to their trading pairs yet. But more exchanges will certainly add HNT soon as more people continue to know the Helium platform and its use-cases.
Some exchanges have Helium coin added to their trading pairs, such as Binance, Binance US, or Crypto.com.
How to mine Helium coin
This section gives a detailed look at how to mine Helium. We expect that Helium mining or hotspot mining will compete with GPUs. To mine Helium coins with hotspots, you will have to use radio technology and not with GPUs, which are often wasteful at times and costly. With an HNT miner, you can forget high electricity bills and complicated set-up procedures.
What do you need to mine Helium coin?
It would help if you had a hotspot device and an internet connection to start mining HNT. Once you have those in place, download the Helium mobile app on your phone and activate the hotspot. The hotspot will transfer data and allow you to earn HNT.
What are hotspots?
Hotspots are peer-to-peer wireless networks that allow IoT devices to be efficient in offering low-power data delivery to and from the internet. As stated earlier, Helium hotspots serve as nodes on the Helium network. By using Helium hotspots, you get rewarded with HNT for offering broader network coverage. Because of Helium’s POC algorithm, your hotspot would only use 5 watts of energy.
Helium miners’ pricing
If you want to mine HNT, you need to know about the costs involved. However, the price for miners is from $300 to $600, depending on the hotspot model that you use.
How to choose the right frequency
Before you buy a hotspot miner, you need to know that every continent has its frequency. Here are the hotspot frequencies of some countries:
EU – 868
AU – 915
AS – 923
CN – 470
RU – 864
IN – 865
KR – 920
US – 915
How to earn with Helium mining
The amount of HNT tokens you earn depends on the number of miners in your location, the device data your hotspot transfers, the hotspot location, and the number of witnesses. Nonetheless, the more data a hotspot transfers, the more HNT tokens it earns. In addition to that, the number of Challenges your miner participates in, the more the earnings.
Here is a statistic for better understanding:
3-5 Witnesses > 150 HNT per month
15< Witnesses > 800 HNT per month
Hotspot Miners earn more HNT when they’re in range with other miners, but they need to be at least 300-350 meters apart. This means that single HNT hotspot miners can earn less because they can only issue Challenges over the internet and participate in Proof-of-Coverage.
Types of Helium miners
There are different Helium miners nowadays, and we will take a detailed look at them. Having a good Helium miner will ensure the best mining experience for you. Without much ado, let’s take a detailed look at each of
OSPREY HOTSPOT G1
Osprey hotspot G1 is the latest hotspot miner developed by Osprey Electronics which has many experiences in the crypto mining market. Its powerful signal allows you to connect with other witnesses or nearby hotspots and they also offer an antenna option if you want to widen your coverage.Fu rthermore, the Osprey hotspot G1 has a storage capacity of 64GB.
Helium hotspot earnings calculator
Helium mining earning calculator gives you a reasonable estimate of how much HNT your hotspot can make. Moreover, it is based on how many nearby hotspots are currently active on the location you are planning to put the hotspot. It also depends on the current state of the Helium network and the current HNT reward distribution.
Storing your HNT token
There are many crypto exchanges out there, and even though they have high levels of security and protection, there have been cases of hack and theft. When you store your cryptocurrencies in exchanges, it means that your digital assets are in their wallet. If anything happens to your digital wallet, you won’t be in control of your funds.
Therefore, the best way to store your HNT coins is in a hardware wallet. A hardware wallet offers you a 12-24-word security phrase. Only the person who owns this phrase can access this wallet.
One hard wallet you can use to store your HNT coins is Ledger Nano S. This hardware wallet is highly secure and allows you to store HNT coins and other cryptocurrencies.
So if you plan to hold HNT coin in the long term, you should purchase Ledger Nano S. Never take screenshots of your security phase or put them online. Instead, write your security phase on a piece of paper and store it in a safe place.
Selling HNT for dollars
In some exchanges, HNT is not supported. An exchange that doesn’t help HNT is Coinbase. As stated earlier, you can sell or buy HNT in reputable exchanges such as Binance, Binance US, and Crypto.com.
So to sell your HNT tokens, move them from your Helium wallet to your Binance or crypto.om wallet and then sell it for dollars. You will likely pay some fees during this transfer.
Conclusion
Helium is one of those technologies with powerful use-cases. It is exciting to see that we have a blockchain platform used for applications. By using Helium hotspot, we all get to develop a distinct network while making a passive income. We hope this post has helped you know more about Helium mining and how it works. And if you are interested in trying it, why not start now while you earn a passive income.
Source: Shawn Du'Mmett - June 13, 2022 - cryptopolitan.com