Helium, a crypto-fueled wireless network for the Internet of Things (IoT), has completed its migration from its own layer-1 blockchain platform to Solana. As part of the migration process, an NFT was minted to represent each physical hotspot node running on the Helium network, resulting in over 991,000 Solana NFTs.

The process represents the most prominent test case to date for Solana's new state compression feature, which lets creators mint potentially enormous amounts of NFTs for relatively low cost compared to other platforms or even to Solana's standard NFT minting process.

The NFT works as a network credential and authenticates the hotspot, all in a decentralized fashion, enabling possible ecosystem-wide integrations, including token-gated benefits and access for hotspot owners. The migration may open up potential for Solana to unlock additional use cases around the network.

(By Andrew Hayward)