
During the wild ride of Hurricane Helene, Helium hotspots proved to be the superheroes of connectivity, keeping the 5G waves alive and kicking in North Carolina. These tech marvels didn't just stop at providing coverage; they also swooped in with emergency kits to save the day for the communities in need.
But let's switch gears to Helium’s native token, HNT. It seems HNT took a bit of a nosedive in the fourth quarter. The circulating market cap shrank by 20%, dropping from a lofty $1.3 billion to a more modest $1.0 billion. And the price? It took a 22% tumble down from $7.54 to $5.88. Ouch!
Despite the dollar drama, the Helium network kept on trucking, growing like a champ. Helium Mobile boosted its hotspot count by a solid 14%, jumping from 21,800 to 24,800. And guess what? Their unlimited plans are still way cheaper than the usual wallet-busting telecom bills in the US.
In a cool twist, Helium introduced Discovery Mapping, giving users HNT rewards for sharing their location data. But hold your horses, because those rewards turned into Cloud Points after February 4. We'll find out more about this change in the Q1 report.
Helium Mobile wasn't just about growth; they showed their mettle during Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. When power and water were knocked out, Helium hotspots kept the communication lines open. Plus, they handed out emergency kits with Starlink devices to help the folks in distress.
The IoT network also got a serious upgrade, with a 20% boost in hotspots. Since moving to Solana in early 2023, they've added a whopping 33,000 hotspots, many of which were contributed by gamers. That brings the grand total to over 375,000, up from 342,000 before the big switch. But hang on, while the infrastructure is booming, the demand isn’t quite there yet.
The onboarding fees are covered by Data Credits (DCs), but data transfer usage has been a bit sluggish, burning only a few hundred dollars daily. So, while Helium's LoRaWAN connectivity is all set up, they’re still waiting for the demand to catch up.
Now, onto a bit of controversy. Word on the street is that Helium's founders and buddies might have pocketed a hefty chunk of early token rewards. Back in 2022, insiders reportedly mined millions of HNT tokens, which were worth a staggering $250 million at their peak, leaving the rest of us with just crumbs.
And let’s not forget the hiccups with partnerships. Helium claimed Lime, the rideshare company, as a major client, saying they used Helium to track e-scooters. But Lime's Global Communications Director set the record straight, saying it was only a test back in 2019. Oh, and Salesforce? They pulled a “who's that?” card, leading Helium to quietly remove their logos.
Stay tuned for more twists and turns in the Helium saga!