Gate.io Blog Helium migration set to happen in Q4 2022

Helium migration set to happen in Q4 2022

06 October 16:09

[TL;DR]

Over 81% of the Helium community voted in favor of the migration to Solana.
The migration from Helium native blockchain to Solana takes place in Q4 2022.
Helium's data transfer and proof-of-coverage(PoC) models will be ported to Oracle, while its tokens will be moved to Solana.
According to Haleem and Nova Labs, the move is less about Solana and more about scaling and expanding the Helium network.
An update of the Helium wallet app will be rolled out once the migration is done.
"This change will be remarkable in scope, effect, and benefit to the Helium network and its users," states a blog post from The Helium Foundation.

Helium to migrates to Solana.

Following an 81% favorable vote on the proposal (HIP 70), Helium will switch its native Blockchain to Solana, and according to the Helium foundation, the migration is scheduled to take place in Q4 2022.

After the migration, Helium would rely on oracles, or external data sources instead of its blockchain, to run proof-of-coverage(PoC) infrastructure and data transfer accounting functions. The Helium network will transfer all of its tokens—HNT, IOT, MOBILE, and DC—from its blockchain to Solana. Also, a new version of the Helium Wallet App will be made available, and the history of the previous blockchain remains open to the public.

In an interview on Tuesday with Decrypt, network co-founder and Nova Labs CEO Amir Haleem said that he is "optimistic" about hitting this goal, which is another significant progress for the Helium network.

Source: Twitter

What is Helium and Why Solana?

Helium is a blockchain-based network that supports wireless communication protocols and rewards users with crypto tokens for sharing their internet service.

Helium is driven by thousands of individual users and is looking to migrate its purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain to a more efficient Blockchain, Solana. The decision to migrate was made after the Helium Improvement Proposal(HIP 70) received a total of 7,447 votes, showing 81.41% support in the community poll.

According to Haleem and Nova labs, the move is less about Solana and more about scaling and expanding the Helium ecosystem. Other layer-1 blockchain networks could have been workable as well, but for some significant reasons, the key developers of Helium went with Solana.

One of the reasons is that due to its high speed, Solana can process thousands of transactions in a second. "You can do stuff, and it happens instantly," Haleem pointed out.

The migration to Solana will enable the Helium project to easily access more wallets, DeFi applications, NFTs, and Web3 applications in the Crypto industry.

According to COO Helium Foundation Scott Sigel, this migration is vital for scaling its decentralized wireless network.

"Our goal is to create and manage wireless networks at scale, and switching to Solana allows us to achieve that. Solana was an obvious choice for us to join because they have a history of supporting some of the most significant decentralized efforts in the world. By switching to the Solana blockchain, we can concentrate on growing the network rather than maintaining the blockchain itself, Scott said.

The most important reason, according to Haleem, is that the private keys for the present Helium wallet are compatible with Solana, which is not the case with certain other blockchains. This makes the transition easier for holders because tokens will easily be transferred to Solana without many requirements.

The Helium Core Team claims the migration will help simplify the network system design and support greater scalability.

What does this mean for Helium holders?

After the migration, Helium provides holders with a staking incentive, and holders will receive three times the amount of HNT for the first seven days of the migration.

Also, when a new version of the Helium wallet app is launched, HNT holders can hold their assets in Solana-based wallets such as Phantom.

Two million HNT tokens will be added to reward pools yearly, and investors will also benefit from the migration.

Conclusion

Helium uses a special proof-of-coverage algorithm but will soon migrate to Solana, with stronger cryptographic checks on hotspots which will enhance the security.

While this migration proposal received up to 81% community approval, others who do not support it labeled the move a bad idea, referring to Solana's previous downtime or the recent wallet hack of the network.

However, the developers are still unshaken that the migration will increase Helium's speed, stability, and capacity to serve more users.

Author: M. Olatunji, Gate.io Researcher

Disclaimer:

* This article represents only the views of the observers and does not constitute any investment suggestions.

*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all other cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.

BTC/USDT -5.43%

ETH/USDT -5.57%

SOL/USDT -12.32%

HNT/USDT -20.52%

GT/USDT -6.51%

Unbox Your Luck and Get a $6666 Prize