Helium crypto: What it is, how it worked, and why it’s gone

When you think of Helium crypto, a blockchain-based network that paid people to provide wireless internet coverage using physical hotspots. Also known as HNT, it was one of the few crypto projects that didn’t just trade tokens—it built real-world infrastructure. Unlike most cryptocurrencies that rely on mining or staking, Helium let anyone earn tokens by setting up a small device in their home or office that powered a decentralized wireless network. It wasn’t theory—it was hardware you could hold in your hand.

The HNT token, the native cryptocurrency of the Helium Network used to reward hotspot operators and pay for data transfers. Also known as Helium Network Token, it was the fuel that kept the whole system running. People bought hotspots, plugged them in, and earned HNT just for letting devices like sensors, trackers, and smart meters connect to the internet through their device. The more data transferred, the more you earned. It sounded too good to be true—and for a while, it was. Thousands of people joined, especially in the U.S., Europe, and parts of Asia. Cities started filling up with these little white boxes. But the model had a flaw: the rewards were too generous, and the network grew faster than real demand. Eventually, there were more hotspots than actual IoT devices needing connection. The system became bloated, inefficient, and expensive to maintain.

Then came the Helium Network, a decentralized wireless network built on blockchain to connect Internet of Things (IoT) devices without relying on traditional telecom providers. Also known as LoRaWAN network, it was designed to be the backbone for smart cities, asset trackers, and environmental sensors. In 2023, the team behind Helium quietly shifted focus. They sold off the network to a new company, moved the token to a new blockchain, and turned it into a centralized service. The original decentralized vision was gone. HNT still exists, but it’s no longer the same project. The hotspots still work, but the rewards dropped by over 90%. Many users walked away. The hype died. And what was once a bold experiment in decentralized infrastructure became a cautionary tale about incentives, scale, and the gap between crypto dreams and real-world economics.

What you’ll find in the posts below aren’t guides to earning HNT anymore—there’s no airdrop left to claim, no easy way to profit from a hotspot today. Instead, you’ll see deep dives into what went wrong, how similar projects are trying to fix these mistakes, and why blockchain-based hardware projects still matter—even when they fail. This isn’t about chasing the next coin. It’s about understanding what happens when crypto meets the physical world—and why most of it doesn’t last.