The Helium Network Token
The Helium Network Token (HNT) is the native cryptocurrency and protocol token of the Helium Network.
The original Helium blockchain produced the first HNT on July 29th, 2019, on block 93. There was no pre-mine of HNT before the launch of the Network. The Helium network migrated to the Solana Blockchain on April 18, 2023.
The mint address for HNT is hntyVP6YFm1Hg25TN9WGLqM12b8TQmcknKrdu1oxWux on the
Solana blockchain.
Navigate to https://explorer.helium.com/stats for up-to-date information on Network tokens.
HNT Usage
HNT serves the needs of the two primary parties in the Helium Ecosystem:
- Hotspot Hosts and Operators. Hosts are rewarded in network tokens like IOT or MOBILE while deploying and maintaining network coverage. These network tokens are redeemable for HNT.
- Enterprises and Developers use the Helium Network to connect devices and build IoT applications. Data Credits, which are a $USD-pegged utility token derived from HNT, are used to pay transaction fees for wireless data transmissions on the Network.
HNT Token Economic Concepts
The Network uses three token economic concepts to ensure HNT supply is both plentiful for usage needs and relatively scarce, with a known maximum.
Daily Net Emissions
Max Supply
The Network targeted the distribution of 5,000,000 HNT per month at launch. Following the community approval of HIP-20, the Network uses a two-year halving schedule, resulting in a maximum HNT supply of 223,000,000 HNT.
| Year | Year Start | HNT at Year Start | Target HNT Emission |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 1st, 2019 | 0 | 60,000,000 |
| 2 | August 1st, 2020 | 60,000,000 | 60,000,000 |
| 3 | August 1st, 2021 | 120,000,000 | 30,000,000 |
| 4 | August 1st, 2022 | 150,000,000 | 30,000,000 |
| 5 | August 1st, 2023 | 180,000,000 | 15,000,000 |
| 6 | August 1st, 2024 | 195,000,000 | 15,000,000 |
| 7 | August 1st, 2025 | 210,000,000 | 7,500,000 |
| 8 | August 1st, 2026 | 217,500,000 | 7,500,000 |
The full token emission schedule can be viewed in the HNT section of this document: Token Emissions as of Solana Migration.
Burn and Mint Economics
Data Credits (DC) are a $USD-pegged utility token derived from HNT and is used to pay fees on the Helium Network. DC is only produced by burning HNT. This HNT to DC relationship is based on a design commonly called a burn and mint equilibrium and intends to allow for the supply of HNT to respond to network usage trends.
Net Emissions
As the halving schedule progresses, it is possible that the HNT minted per epoch is not sufficiently divisible for data transfer rewards. Therefore, in order to ensure that miners are incentivized to continue transmitting data and ensure a healthy, robust network, the Net Emissions mechanism was instituted in August 2021.
Net Emissions give the protocol enough HNT for rewards in perpetuity by monitoring the number of HNT burned for DC in a given epoch and adding that to the number of HNT to mint that epoch. Because HNT produced via Net Emissions do not add to the total outstanding, they do not violate max supply. However, to ensure that the deflationary pressure is still present, the Net Emission is capped at 1% of the epoch emissions at the time when HIP 20 was approved.
For instance, in October 2024, the Net Emissions cap is 1,643.83561643 HNT per epoch, and the up-to-date value can be verified on chain at. Move decimal point 8 positions left to measure in HNT.
If less than 1,643.83561643 HNT is burned for DC within an epoch, the full amount burned will be re-minted and added to the day's usual scheduled emissions for that day's epoch. However, if more than 1,643.83561643 HNT is burned for DC within a single epoch, any HNT burn for DC over 1,643.83561643 will be permanently burned and removed from the max supply, while 1,643.83561643 will be re-minted and distributed in scheduled emissions.
Review the complete Net Emissions discussion in the HIP for more information. Note that in HIP-20, the cap was 34.24 HNT because the epoch was every 30 minutes at the time HIP-20 was written. The current epoch is only 24 hour basis, yielding a cap of 1,643.83561643 HNT.