During the chaos of Hurricane Helene, Helium hotspots were the unsung heroes, keeping North Carolina communities connected with 5G coverage while also distributing emergency kits. Talk about a silver lining!
In the financial arena, Helium's native token, HNT, took a bit of a nosedive in the fourth quarter, with its market cap dropping from a hefty $1.3 billion to $1.0 billion. The token's price also slid from $7.54 to $5.88. But don’t count Helium out just yet!
Despite the financial hiccups, Helium’s network was busy growing like wildfire. According to a recent report, Helium Mobile's hotspots saw a 14% jump, reaching 24,800. And get this, their unlimited plans are a steal compared to the sky-high prices of typical US telecoms.
Helium is also spicing things up with its Discovery Mapping feature, rewarding users who share location data. However, since February 4, these rewards have switched to Cloud Points—stay tuned for more details in the upcoming Q1 report.
The real showstopper was Helium Mobile proving its mettle during Hurricane Helene. Even when power and water supplies were cut, Helium hotspots kept the 5G wave rolling. Plus, they handed out emergency kits with Starlink devices to aid the impacted areas.
On the expansion front, Helium's IoT network is booming, with a 20% increase in hotspots during Q4. Since migrating to Solana earlier in 2023, the network has welcomed 33,000 new hotspots, many thanks to gamers. This brings the total to over 375,000 hotspots!
Yet, despite this impressive growth, network demand is still playing catch-up. The daily use of Data Credits (DCs)—used for fees like the $10 hotspot registration—remains low, with just a few hundred dollars in daily burns. Helium's LoRaWAN connectivity is ready for action; it just needs more users to hop on board.
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room. There were whispers of Helium's founders allegedly pocketing a hefty chunk of early token rewards. Back in 2022, insiders reportedly mined millions of HNT tokens, worth up to $250 million at their peak, leaving the public with crumbs.
And Helium's PR adventures didn’t end there. They got into hot water for touting Lime, the rideshare company, as a major client, claiming Lime used their service for e-scooter geolocation. Lime’s Global Communications Director later clarified that this was just a short-lived 2019 test. Similarly, when Salesforce logos appeared in their promotions, the cloud computing giant quickly denied any partnership, prompting Helium to remove the misleading logos.
In the ever-evolving world of crypto, Helium's story is a mix of highs, lows, and unexpected turns. Stay tuned for the next chapter!
