The decentralized 5G network Helium caters to more than 118,000 Hotspots in more than 11,800 cities worldwide. Its native token HNT serves as the incentive for expanding the wireless coverage.
On Tuesday, August 10, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) announced leading $111-million token sale for Helium’s HNT. The venture capital firm has the company of other top players like 10T holdings, Ribbit Capital, Alameda Research and Multicoin capital.
Andreessen Horowitz Supported Helium and Its HNT Token
Also, the Helium network – a peer-to-peer 5G network – has been gaining popularity recently. Besides, a16z noted that the decentralized telecommunications network has over 100,000 hotspots.
The Helium network also users uses LoRaWAN technology for connecting devices to the internet. It is one of those real-world Web 3 projects providing token-powered incentives to accelerate growth. Explaining its involvement with this partnership, a16z noted:
“Helium is now evolving and has embarked on the path to deploy a 5G cellular network of gateways and hotspots. We’re excited about Helium’s potential to provide comprehensive 5G connectivity across the world in a way that’s faster and more capital-efficient than traditional telecom infrastructure. Given their incredible progress and vast potential we’re excited to partner with Amir [Haleem, co-founder,] and the team to continue building a grassroots telecom network.”
Accelerating the 5G Rollout
The Helium token currently in question is the HNT. Operators of the hotspots have earned this token on the decentralized network. Besides, the HNT token also serves as a tool to provide its users access to the network.
The hotspots i.e. the wireless devices powered by the Helium network, mine HNT. As per the company, the native token serves as the incentive for expanding the wireless coverage. Hosts receive the HNT token whenever their hotspots offer coverage and transfer device data.
The funds will further help to accelerate the rollout of Helium’s 5G network. It will also support mobile network operators as they use Helium 5G to expand their coverage. In a statement, Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of Alameda Research said:
“Helium shows that crypto incentives can be leveraged to deploy real-world infrastructure. Helium has a tremendous opportunity to bring 5G to the masses around the world and greatly enrich the quality of their lives.”
Ali Yahya, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz wrote that “Helium is transforming the way we connect to and scale wireless networks globally”.
The Helium blockchain network caters to more than 118,000 Hotspots in more than 11,800 cities worldwide.
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