What Does HIP 70 Mean for The Helium Network?
The Helium Network has grown remarkably, with nearly 1 million hotspots made available worldwide and a constantly growing list of its use cases enhancing data transfer. At a minimal cost, more users are using the Helium network to link gadgets and sensors to the internet.To expand this network, the community's core developers have recommended migrating it to Solana with HIP 70 for the greater advantage of the network.
In this article, we will discuss the impact the proposed HIP 70 will have on the helium network. But first, let's discuss the brief history of Helium (HNT) and its physical implementation.
What is Helium (HNT)?
Helium (HNT) is a blockchain-powered decentralized network for physical gadgets. The Helium network was created to encourage the development of physical and blockchain-powered wireless networks.
Many platforms are becoming more open and blockchain-powered. With the introduction of blockchain, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks have been realized. Other digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have also shown the significance of a decentralized network.
The Helium network is a decentralized wireless network that enables gadgets to access the internet and find their position without needing expensive cellular plans. The Helium network is powered by the blockchain, which includes a native procedure token that encourages coverage providers and consumers to take part. The Helium (HNT) coin can be mined when connected to the internet.
History of Helium (HNT)
Helium (HNT) was founded in 2013 by Amir Haleem, Shawn Fanning, and Sean Carey.
Amir was part of the team that worked in the gaming industry at the gaming startup Diversion before he created Helium. He was the CTO of the company. He was also a member of the Battlefield team in the year 1942 at DICE in Stockholm, Sweden.
According to Coinbase, Helium could generate close to $38,800,000 at the Initial Coin Offering (ICO), while its maximum quantity was 223,000,000.
Physical Implementation of the Helium Network
Like a WLAN network, the Helium Network comprises several hardware components. These components are stated in the Helium whitepaper, and they are listed below:
WHIP
The Helium network and the commodity open standards hardware use the new wireless protocol (WHIP). WHIP stands for wireless protocol. WHIP’s durability can send signals over a very long distance within a dense municipal environment.
Hotspots
These hardware networks have contributed greatly to the Helium network by providing wide network coverage. Hotspots distribute data between a router and a gadget while providing Proof-of-Coverage for the Helium network.
Gadgets
These are hardware devices that consist of a WHIP-compatible radio transceiver, and they are capable of getting signals from Helium network hotspots.
Routers
Routers are generally used for validating gadgets in the Helium network. It can receive packets from hotspots and redirect them back to the web. It can also send a downlink message to gadgets through hotspots.
Use of The People’s Network
The Helium network, also known as The People's Network, has many uses. Here are a few examples:
- Massive Coverage: The Helium network can provide wireless networks across a very wide area.
- Miles of Range: The Helium network permits gadgets to share information 200 times farther than a Wi-Fi network.
- Cost Effectiveness: The cost of sharing data within the helium network is very affordable.
The HIP 70 is a proposal made by the core developers at Helium to transfer all the functionalities from Helium to Oracles for the better effectiveness of Proof-of-Coverage and Data Transfer Accounting. This will, however, ensure that the complexity needed to operate the blockchain that provides support for the Helium network is greatly reduced.
This development will transfer more efficient data, and a more reliable and effective Proof-of-Coverage activity will be guaranteed.
A more scalable layer 1 is believed to be achievable if the transfer to Oracle activity is done on the chain. The guarantee of a less complicated layer 1 is also possible with this transition.
Why the Need for HIP-70
For over a very long time, there has been a challenge for the users of the Helium network. Due to the large network size and validated load, a decrease in the Proof-of-Coverage (PoC) activity has been noticed. The data transfer packet has also been encountering problems because of the poor data flow and subsequent accounting on the blockchain of Helium.
The HIP 70 addresses the problem stated above. Also, HIP 70 has promised three significant improvements, which are listed below:
- The transition of Proof-of-Coverage to Oracle
- The transition of Data Transfer Accounting to Oracles
- The Helium Network, along with its cryptos and governance, will be moved to the Solana blockchain.
Below are some of the notable benefits of implementing the HIP 70 proposal.
Moving PoC to Oracles
With the transfer of Proof-of-Coverage (PoC) to Oracle, associated rewards and receipts and the activities of witnesses and beacons will be more effective, making transactions outside of the blockchain easier.
Moving Data Transfer Accounting to Oracle
HIP 70 also guarantees that a large network is built by hotspot providers with the transition of Data Transfer Accounting to Oracles, thereby supporting the massive network built by hotspot owners.
Why Solana?
There were fewer blockchains to develop compared to now, when Helium started its journey to become the fastest-growing decentralized wireless network in the world.
Helium resulted in building one from scratch when a limited number of blockchains fit the specification that supports the network. However, Helium Foundation's core developers are pleased to launch the newly built decentralized wireless network.
The transition of PoC and data transfer to Oracle has given the Helium blockchain a major need to pay attention to payments (peer-to-peer and rewards). However, with this move, faster and more cost-effective payment handling is now achievable on the blockchain. It also promotes the scaling of the Helium network.
With this, the core developer's team believes it is in the best interest of the Helium Network to transition the chain to Solana with HIP 70.
What Helium Stands to Gain
The Helium community will benefit from the developed society of thousands of developers, making applications feasible only on Solana. With a transition to Solana, fast and cheap transactions are also guaranteed.
Helium will benefit from Solana's completed and open-source codes as well. The open source codes are designed to assist the community in solving problems.
The Helium network also enjoys the benefits of processing thousands of transactions per second, with the Solana network built to scale. As a result, the Solana blockchain is the best option for large-scale and low-cost activities.
Impact on the Helium Ecosystem
The HIP 70 proposal will be voted on by September 12th, 2022, and completed on September 21st, 2022. If this vote favors the proposal, HIP-70 will be approved. Go Vote! www.heliumvote.com
However, according to the Helium Foundation, there are some notable impacts that this HIP 70 will have on the helium ecosystem. Below are listed a few:
- Validators will be obsolete after HIP 70 migrates to Solana. In contrast, the planned subDAO arrangement will enable owners to gain more HNT.
- Owners can unstake and let out their tokens within a standard two-week cool-down duration instead of the usual full five-month period.
- In support of the migration, the latest version of the Helium Wallet App will be made available to HNT owners only. Owners are only required to update their app to the latest version.
- Transaction fees will be reduced for all hotspot owners, and a higher speed of transaction payments is assured for them as well.
- The Proof-of-Coverage (PoC) data will be publicly available via the Oracles to the ETH Instance Deployers.
- The Vendors application will be able to share data with the Helium Wallet application.
As stated in HIP 70: Scaling the Helium Network, some significant setbacks are unavoidable with the implementation of the HIP-70 proposal. This proposed transition may negatively affect some stakeholders, specifically validator stakeholders and staking pool operators. Once the move to Solana is completed, staking HNT will no longer be needed. However, the proposal promises to integrate a subDAO system that will create relevance for former validators and let them use their HNT assets for facilitating the network’s growth.
Final Thoughts
Controversy has surrounded the proposed HIP-70, which will be voted on between September 12th and September 21st, 2022. Some believe the HIP 70 will have a negative impact on the helium community, while on the other hand, some believe strongly that the HIP 70 will positively impact the helium community.
After much deliberation and research, the Helium Foundation and its core developers unanimously agreed that the Helium Network should be transitioned to the Solana blockchain.
Some of Helium's notable significant benefits, which are not limited to the capacity of the community only, include the movement of the Proof-of-Coverage and Data Transfer Accounting to Oracles. This will allow the network to be supported by the new L1 Solana, thereby ensuring higher speed and reliability.
The HIP-70 vote commences on September 12th, and lasts till September 21st. Anyone interested in voting can do so here.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. When is the HIP-70 proposal going into effect?There is no set date for implementing the HIP 70 proposal. However, it will be voted on between September 12th and September 21st, 2022.
Q. Why was Solana chosen?
The core developer team made the HIP 70 proposal because they believed Solana, Layer 1, would allow the Helium ecosystem to achieve better scalability.
Q. How is HNT mined?
Mining HNT is achieved by putting a hotspot device in your office window. The hotspots use Helium LongFi to provide a wide range of wireless network areas for millions of gadgets around you, and you are rewarded in HNT for doing so.
Q. What is the importance of HIP 70?
The HIP 70 is significant because it supports the large network that has been built. It also allows for more beacon and witness activity and permits handling payments at a faster and lower cost while supporting the Helium Network's capacity.
Sources