What is Helium crypto and what is it used for?

Helium crypto refers to HNT, the token of the Helium Network, a wireless network run by thousands of independent hotspot owners. Instead of one company building cell towers, people install small radio devices, provide coverage nearby, and receive HNT in return. The network was started by the company now called Nova Labs, and the first HNT was issued in July 2019.

What is Helium crypto used for?

HNT has two main jobs, according to Helium's documentation:

• Rewarding coverage. Hotspot hosts and operators are paid in HNT for setting up and keeping coverage running.
• Paying for network use. Businesses and developers pay fees with Data Credits, a utility unit pegged to the US dollar. Data Credits can only be created by burning HNT, so network use removes HNT from circulation.

This is a burn-and-mint design, similar in spirit to the one described in what is a token burn. HNT also follows a halving schedule set by an early proposal called HIP-20, which brought the maximum supply to about 223 million.

In April 2023 Helium left its own blockchain for Solana. Hotspots became Solana NFTs, and users kept the same private keys. For a time the network also had separate MOBILE and IOT tokens, but a proposal known as HIP-138, adopted in January 2025, made HNT the main reward token again because the multi-token setup was seen as too complex.

What is Helium Mobile crypto?

Helium Mobile is a phone service built on the network. Nova Labs launched it in 2023, and its plans run on T-Mobile's 5G network, with Helium hotspots adding coverage. Decrypt reported in June 2026 that carriers such as AT&T and Telefonica have used Helium hotspots to fill gaps, and that the network had around 139,000 hotspots.

That same month, Andrew Yang's company Noble Mobile agreed to buy Helium Mobile from Nova Labs, which said it wanted to focus on growing the network. Noble agreed to keep using Helium, and the HNT reward model for hotspot operators did not change, according to Decrypt.

What is Helium crypto mining?

Helium mining does not work like Bitcoin mining. There is no puzzle-solving with heavy hardware. Instead, a hotspot earns HNT for proving it provides real coverage and for carrying data, a process Helium calls Proof of Coverage. The term mining stuck from the early days.

Earnings depend on location, demand and the halving schedule, and they can be very small. Wikipedia notes that hotspots have cost up to $500 while some owners have earned as little as $0.10 a month. Any claim of steady income from a hotspot is worth checking carefully.

Has Helium faced regulatory trouble?

Yes. In January 2025 the US SEC sued Nova Labs, alleging that HNT, MOBILE and IOT were sold as unregistered securities and that the company overstated some partnerships. In April 2025 the SEC dropped the securities claims, and Nova Labs paid $200,000 to settle a separate claim without admitting or denying it, The Block reported. For the wider question, see is crypto a security.