The information about Helium (HNT) token is:

Helium (HNT) is the native cryptocurrency of the Helium Network, a decentralized wireless infrastructure project that transitioned to the Solana blockchain on April 18, 2023, after initially operating on its own custom Layer-1 blockchain since its inception in 2019.

The token serves as the primary utility token within the Helium ecosystem, used to incentivize participation and facilitate network operations, with HNT being burned to generate Data Credits (DCs) required for data transfer and other network fees.

The Helium Network aims to provide connectivity for Internet of Things (IoT) devices and, more recently, cellular services like 5G, through a decentralized model where individuals deploy hotspots to expand coverage and earn rewards.

Following the migration to Solana, HNT became an SPL (Solana Program Library) token, leveraging Solana’s high-speed, low-cost blockchain to improve scalability, transaction efficiency, and integration with the broader Solana DeFi ecosystem.

The total supply of HNT is capped at 223 million tokens, though the circulating supply adjusts over time due to burning mechanisms and reward distributions; the migration to Solana did not alter this cap but introduced sub-tokens like IOT and MOBILE for specific use cases.

HNT’s utility includes staking for governance through the Helium DAO, where locking HNT grants veHNT (vote-escrowed HNT) for voting on network proposals, as well as burning to create DCs, which are non-tradable credits used exclusively for network transactions.

The network’s hotspots, now represented as NFTs on Solana, earn IOT tokens for LoRaWAN coverage and MOBILE tokens for 5G coverage, both of which are backed by and redeemable for HNT, reinforcing HNT’s central role in the ecosystem.

Helium’s move to Solana was driven by the need for greater scalability and reliability, as its original blockchain struggled with transaction speeds and network growth, a decision approved by the community via Helium Improvement Proposal (HIP) 70 in September 2022.

Founded by Amir Haleem, Shawn Fanning, and Sean Carey, the project has raised significant funding, including $200 million in a 2022 Series D round led by Tiger Global and Andreessen Horowitz, to support its vision of a global, decentralized wireless network.

Posts on X and web sources highlight HNT’s role in real-world applications, such as Helium Mobile’s $20/month unlimited phone plan launched in the U.S., which burns HNT for data usage, showcasing its utility beyond speculative trading.