In the last 24 hours, Helium’s IOT token has surged by more than 370% after the successful transfer of the protocol to the Solana blockchain.
The migration period for Helium blockchain began on April 18th and ended 24 hours later, during which time the blockchain was halted and mapped to Solana, while Hotspots were minted as NFTs.
The protocol token for Helium’s IOT network
Helium’s IOT token serves as the protocol token for their internet-of-things (IoT) network, which is generated through Helium’s hotspots, the physical infrastructure powering the network.
These tokens are perpetually supported by Helium Network’s HNT token and can be exchanged for HNT at any time, with the redemption rate determined algorithmically by the treasury swap contract.
According to Solana’s block explorer, the maximum token supply for Helium is set at 200 billion, but currently, only around six billion tokens are in circulation.
At the time of writing, IOT token is being traded at $0.0025, with a market capitalization of $495 million. This market capitalization is subject to change as the number of tokens in circulation increases or decreases.
Behind the increasing prices
The migration of the Helium blockchain to the Solana network is a significant development in the growth of the Helium ecosystem.
The migration will allow the Helium network to increase its scalability and transaction speed while retaining the security and decentralization features of the blockchain.
The migration also marks a significant shift for the Helium network as it moves away from the LoRaWAN protocol for hotspot mining and instead utilizes the IOT token as both the incentive and governance token for the Helium IoT network.
This change in mining protocol and token generation is expected to contribute to the rising Helium price by increasing the demand for HNT as the exclusive token for network usage and by adding more utility to the IOT token through its governance functionality.
Additionally, other recent announcements include Kamino Finance, a decentralized finance protocol built on Solana, announced the launch of two Helium vaults. These vaults allow investors to stake their IOT and HNT tokens in exchange for a yield.
The opening of Helium vaults by Kamino Finance provides investors with an opportunity to earn by staking their IOT and HNT tokens. Investors can benefit from the yield generated by these vaults, which is determined by the staking rewards and the underlying market demand for these tokens.
