Helium Mobile

In Q2 2025, the Helium Network demonstrated remarkable growth, achieving a cumulative total of 2,721 TB of data offloaded from major U.S. mobile carriers, marking a 138.5% increase quarter-over-quarter (QoQ). The number of accounts registered with Helium Mobile surged by 94.1%, reaching over 311,200. This growth was accompanied by a significant rise in average daily Data Credit burns, which increased from $6,170 to $10,423. The Helium Foundation also launched a $50 million grant program aimed at enhancing network coverage, starting in New York City and expanding throughout the U.S. and Mexico over the next year. Additionally, Helium Plus was soft-launched, allowing businesses and public WiFi providers to join the network by upgrading their existing routers. The Helium Network operates as a decentralized wireless network, providing both cellular and low-power Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity. It utilizes a unique model where users deploy Hotspots and earn HNT tokens, incentivizing community participation. The network's partnership with telecom giants like AT&T and Telefónica's Movistar has enabled it to extend its reach and improve service quality, particularly in underserved areas. The Carrier Offload Program has been a significant driver of growth, allowing legacy telecom customers to connect to Helium Hotspots, which has led to a substantial increase in paid traffic and user engagement. Despite a broader market downturn that saw HNT's market cap decrease by 23.7%, the Helium Network's operational performance and strategic partnerships position it for sustained growth. The dismissal of the SEC lawsuit against Helium provided regulatory clarity, further strengthening its foundation. The implementation of HIP-141, which unified the governance model under HNT, has streamlined decision-making and encouraged long-term stakeholder commitment. With new product offerings like the “Sprout” kids plan, Helium is poised to expand its market presence and continue evolving as a decentralized alternative in the global wireless landscape.

The Helium ecosystem is currently facing significant selling pressure, with its native token HNT experiencing a drop of over 5%. This decline follows Coinbase's recent decision to delist the deprecated Helium Mobile token (MOBILE) alongside other tokens such as Render (RNDR) and Ribbon Finance (RBN). The Helium Mobile price fell to an intraday low of $0.00026 on June 27, recovering slightly to $0.00027, yet it remains approximately 87% lower than its last December high of $0.0021. The delisting was prompted by the release of new token versions that did not meet the exchange's listing standards, leading to confusion among users, especially since Coinbase delayed the transition to the unified HNT token earlier this year. In addition to the HNT price drop, the subnetwork token IOT also fell over 5%. Analysis from CoinGlass indicates that the open interest in Helium Mobile's futures market has decreased by 16% in the past 24 hours, suggesting a bearish sentiment among traders. Furthermore, there has been an increase in transfers of HNT tokens to centralized exchanges, a trend that typically indicates growing sell-side pressure. The HNT token has slipped below its local support level of $2.308, indicating a lack of price stability and entering a descending channel, which is a bearish continuation pattern. Despite the current bearish momentum, there are hints of potential positive developments for Helium. The project has teased a possible partnership with Brazilian football legend Neymar, which could spark renewed interest in the Helium ecosystem. However, given the current market signals, including a Supertrend line indicating a sell trend and a declining RSI reading, the HNT token may continue its downward trajectory, with a potential drop toward the next key support level at $0.00020 likely. Investors should remain cautious as the market dynamics unfold.

The recent analysis of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) highlights its potential as a significant investment track in the cryptocurrency landscape. DePIN, which aims to decentralize the infrastructure of the physical world, is gaining traction alongside AI as a promising direction for investment. However, the sector currently lacks a leading project to catalyze its growth, with Helium being the most recognized name, albeit predating the DePIN concept. The analysis suggests that DePIN could yield substantial returns in the next 1-3 years, as it addresses real-world needs through decentralized solutions, such as reducing costs in telecommunications and AI data acquisition. The investment rationale for DePIN is grounded in its ability to optimize traditional infrastructure models. For instance, in the telecommunications sector, traditional operators face exorbitant costs for spectrum licenses and base station deployments. In contrast, Helium Mobile allows users to become micro-operators by purchasing affordable hotspot devices, significantly lowering deployment costs. Similarly, in the AI domain, projects like Grass leverage distributed web scraping to reduce data acquisition expenses while ensuring compliance and diversity. These examples illustrate how DePIN can outperform conventional methods, making it an attractive investment opportunity. Moreover, DePIN presents a unique intersection of infrastructure and consumer needs, addressing the challenges faced by both sectors. High-quality DePIN projects exhibit strong product-market fit and revenue generation, making them less susceptible to market volatility. As demonstrated by Helium's competitive pricing and Grass's user-friendly model, DePIN can effectively capture user interest and mindshare. While the path to widespread adoption may be gradual, the potential for DePIN to disrupt traditional industries and create sustainable value through innovative token economies is significant, positioning it as a focal point for investors looking ahead to 2025.

XNET, a project based on the Solana blockchain, has recently announced a strategic partnership with AT&T, a major player in the US telecommunications industry. This collaboration aims to enhance the efficiency of mobile data traffic management by allowing AT&T to offload some of its mobile data onto XNET's decentralized network of Wi-Fi hotspots. XNET incentivizes businesses and public spaces to deploy these hotspots by rewarding them with XNET tokens, effectively creating a distributed wireless network that alleviates congestion and improves overall coverage. As part of this agreement, which has been operational since September 2024, AT&T customers can seamlessly connect to XNET's Wi-Fi network, with AT&T compensating XNET for the data usage in dollars, which is then distributed to XNET's node operators in the form of tokens. Currently, XNET boasts 688 active nodes and has facilitated connections for approximately 9 million users through its network. The co-founder of XNET, Richard DeVaul, emphasized the importance of their token in financing the network's infrastructure, stating that traditional equity or debt financing would have posed significant challenges. He described XNET as a prime example of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN), showcasing how the project has successfully utilized its token to bootstrap operations and equipment financing. This innovative approach positions XNET as a unique player in the decentralized network space, distinguishing itself from competitors like Helium Mobile, which focuses on individual hotspot installations. While both XNET and Helium Mobile operate in the decentralized network sector, XNET's business model is strictly B2B, targeting high-value locations for hotspot deployment. DeVaul noted that they view Helium as a potential customer rather than a competitor, indicating a collaborative spirit within the industry. As the demand for decentralized networks continues to grow, partnerships like that of XNET and AT&T may pave the way for more efficient and widespread internet access, ultimately benefiting users and businesses alike.

In the fourth quarter, Helium's native token, HNT, experienced a significant decline, with its circulating market capitalization dropping from $1.3 billion to $1.0 billion, marking a 20% quarter-over-quarter decrease. The token's price also fell by 22%, decreasing from $7.54 to $5.88. Despite this downturn in the market, the Helium network continued to expand, particularly in the area of hotspot adoption. According to a report from Messari, Helium Mobile's number of hotspots grew by 14% QoQ, reaching 24,800 from 21,800. The service's unlimited plans remain competitively priced compared to traditional telecom providers in the US, and the introduction of the Discovery Mapping feature has incentivized users to share location data, although rewards have recently shifted from HNT to Cloud Points. During the recent Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, Helium Mobile showcased its utility by maintaining operational hotspots that provided 5G coverage while many were left without electricity or water. The team also took proactive measures by distributing emergency kits, including Starlink devices, to assist affected communities. In addition to Helium Mobile, the IoT network also saw a 20% increase in hotspots during Q4, with a total of over 375,000 hotspots onboarded since migrating to Solana in early 2023. However, despite rapid infrastructure growth, demand has not yet caught up, as evidenced by low daily data credits (DC) usage. Helium has faced controversies in the past, including allegations that its founders hoarded a significant portion of early token rewards, with insiders reportedly mining millions of HNT tokens worth $250 million at their peak. Additionally, Helium faced criticism for overstating partnerships, such as with Lime, the rideshare company, which clarified that their relationship was limited to a 2019 test. Similar issues arose with Salesforce, which denied any partnership, leading Helium to remove their logos from promotional materials. These controversies have raised questions about the company's transparency and the sustainability of its growth strategies.

In February, the decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) associated with Solana [SOL] experienced a notable rebound, driven by significant user growth in key projects such as Helium and Hivemapper. Helium Mobile reported a remarkable ninefold increase in users, reaching 145,000, marking its highest growth in a year. Hivemapper, a community-driven alternative to Google Maps, also saw its demand triple due to the introduction of new mapping devices. Collectively, these projects maintained steady revenues of approximately $350,000, indicating a stabilization in the DePIN sector for 2025. The resurgence of DePIN could potentially serve as a catalyst for SOL's value, especially following a significant decline in meme-coin activity that adversely affected Solana's decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes. In January, during the peak of DEX activity, SOL reached a record high of $295, largely fueled by the excitement surrounding the TRUMP memecoin. However, a subsequent 60% drop in DEX volumes led to a decline in SOL's value, which has since stabilized above the $120 support level. The question remains whether DePIN can fill the void left by meme coins and bolster SOL's value moving forward. Despite the resurgence of DePIN, the overall network activity within the Solana ecosystem remains heavily influenced by meme coins. Active addresses surged to 5.7 million during the TRUMP meme-coin craze in mid-January but saw a decline throughout February. Although there was a slight increase in active addresses to 4.4 million, this was followed by a drop to 2.7 million by the end of the month. By mid-March, the number of active addresses stabilized at 3.11 million, reflecting a 45% decrease from January's peak. As of now, SOL is valued at $130, maintaining its position above the critical 2024 support zone, leaving uncertainty about whether it can avoid further corrections.