Members of the Helium community have agreed to move the decentralized WiFi network from HIP 70, the blockchain used by Helium, to the Solana blockchain.
Around 7447 community members staked Helium token (HNT) to participate in the on-chain vote. A two-thirds majority was required for a vote to migrate the network to be approved. Early on Thursday morning, voting on the HIP 70 proposal came to a close, with 81% voting in favor of the migration.
In response to the voting results, the Helium Foundation today declared it would migrate its own custom Layer 1 blockchain to the Solana blockchain to interconnect the world’s largest decentralized wireless network with the fastest growing ecosystem in crypto.
By making the switch, Helium’s core developers will be able to benefit from Solana’s well-established blockchain and make HNT more compatible with other cutting-edge initiatives and crypto applications in DeFi, NFT, and other upcoming consumer web3 applications.
The Helium core developers stated earlier this month that “significant economies of scale” were required to bring “significant operational efficiency and scalability” to the network.
The Helium network works by users installing a Helium Hotspot to provide decentralized wireless 5G network coverage for internet users in their area. Helium employs a novel consensus mechanism, proof-of-coverage, to verify network connectivity and distribute HNT tokens to Helium Hotspot providers.
The Solana migration comes on the heels of the Network of Networks’ launch by Helium earlier this summer, which offers support for an infinite number of wireless protocols.
Scott Sigel, COO of the Helium Foundation comments:
We have an ambitious mission of deploying and managing wireless networks at scale, and moving to Solana allows us to do that. Solana has a proven track record powering some of the world’s most important decentralized initiatives and they were an obvious choice for us to partner with. Moving to the Solana blockchain allows us to focus our efforts on scaling the network as opposed to managing the blockchain itself.
Moving to Solana is the latest step in the company’s efforts to accelerate network growth and improve ease of use for Helium customers.
