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Mining Helium is one of the easiest ways to earn crypto. Using the device you already have, you can start to learn how to mine Helium and get right into adding value to your crypto portfolio. Of course, it is essential to pay attention to some aspects of Helium mining, but you are in luck because we have summarized everything you need to know here.
Despite the industry shift towards other staking protocols, Helium is one of those coins that still make mining a profitable endeavor. So that’s something you can start doing today. As a matter of fact, to mine Helium, you don’t need to make any significant investment to upgrade your current setup. Instead, you can get started with what you already own and work your way up using the profits from mining Helium coins.
What Is Helium?
Founded in 2013, Helium is a blockchain-based network connecting IoT (Internet of Things) devices. Helium technology enables communication between devices, sending data across network nodes called Hotspots. With almost 1,000,000 Hotspots developed, Helium is one of the biggest LoRaWAN networks. When Hotspots provide and validate wireless coverage, users can get HNT, Helium’s cryptocurrency.
SIDENOTE – LoRaWAN is an LPWA (Low Power, Wide Area) networking protocol designed to connect IoT devices.
HNT will gain widespread adoption with the growing coverage as the network gains miles of range at a fraction of the cost. Helium network already enjoys the support of major companies, from cloud computing giant Salesforce to air pollution tracker, Airly. Helium provides a revolutionary approach to the network edge owned by service providers, thus offering the most innovative solution to customers.
Guide of How to Mine Helium
The first thing you should know when you mine HNT is that the network uses a new consensus mechanism known as the Proof of Coverage (PoC). With this algorithm, just as all the others, the network rewards miners with an HNT coin for validating wireless coverage through the radio waves. The same concept just substitutes transactions for wireless range.
To mine Helium, there is a cost you will incur that is simply the price of earning free cryptocurrency. What you need to mine Helium is a hotspot miner, which works a lot like a typical BTC miner. The cost of a Helium miner ranges from $500 to $1,000.
Next, you should identify your Helium hotspot miner frequency, which varies depending on your location.
How much will you earn from learning how to mine Helium? It depends on your location, the amount of data transferred, and the number of witnesses that verify the amount of input you brought into the Helium network. The most crucial factor to watch is the amount of data you transfer. This factor should inform how everything you but to start the mining process.
Another factor that affects how much you earn is the number of challenges your miner participates in solving. For a clearer view of how to mine Helium coins profitably by getting as many witnesses as possible, consider the potential monthly earnings:
- 3-5 witnesses > 150 HNT earned;
- 5 – 15 witnesses > 500 HNT earned;
- 15 or more witnesses > 800 HNT earned.
What Do You Need to Mine Helium?
It all comes down to location. When you mine Helium for profit, ensure your mining setup is within the range of another miner. The recommended distance is at least 300 to 350 meters. From the onset, this doesn’t look like something that can drastically affect the amount of HNT you stand to earn. But a miner can make so significantly less without this.
At the same time, you will need a Helium hotspot miner. Your choice of a miner depends on various factors, including budget and power management targets. Regardless of your choice, the Helium miner will impact your mining experience. Here are three options you should consider:
Bobcat Miner 300
Voted Helium blockchain’s favorite in 2021, Bobcat Miner 300 is recognized as the best Proof of Coverage miner and one of the most potent 4dBi antennas in the market. For mining Helium, Bobcat Miner 300 is one of the highest earners by design since it’s built to do the most work possible while keeping costs at bay.
The Bobcat hotspot miner gives off a powerful signal and sends it over a wider distance. That way, you can test the limits of the proximity requirements and still remain within the recommended range to mine Helium profitably. The bobcat hotspot miner is said to be capable of sending a signal as far as a 10-mile radius. Moreover, the minder offers a storage capacity of up to 64GB. Bobcat Miner 300 can be purchased for $429.
Nebra Hotspot Miner
An excellent choice for those with enough room to mount a hotspot miner outdoor, the Nebra NHT Indoor Hotspot Miner (Rock Pi Version) is an exceptional choice for mining HNT coins. The value proposition of the Nebra hotspot miners is that they provide two approaches to mining Helium, namely indoor and outdoor mounting. These two options are designed differently and offer unique advantages.
Nebra outdoor hotspot miners offer better features and better capability. You just need to set the miner anywhere, and it can pick up signals from adjacent hotspots. It comes with a 3dBi antenna built from fiberglass, the same as the indoor antenna only built in a plastic casing. With the outdoor option, you will need a mini-card for 4G coverage for internet connection.
As their name states, indoor hotspot miners can be set in an indoor space. They have the same compute module and Radio concentrator as outdoor miners and come with a fiberglass antenna. Nebra NHT Indoor Hotspot Miner (Rock Pi Version) can be purchased for $550.
RAK Hotspot V2
A budget-friendly option, the RAK Hotspot V2 miner is less potent than the two mentioned before, but still a capable product for when you want to learn how to mine Helium. In addition, the RAK Hotspot V2 comes with a 3dBi antenna and a storage capacity of up to 64GB. Available for $259, it is an excellent choice for those who live incredibly close to other hotspot miners.
How Long Does It Take to Mine Helium?
The daily network mining average is 0.11 HNT/day. However, more powerful equipment can lead to getting 1 HNT in less than 48 hours. All factors considered; the strength of the hotspot miner is a key feature that determines how long you can mine Helium. Keep in mind that mining is a competition, and everyone in the network competes to complete the process.
That means only one miner can get the reward for successfully mining Helium at any given moment. Since there are potentially hundreds of thousands of Helium miners currently connected to the network, the odds of single-handedly getting the reward are average but considerably better than the case of BTC. At the end of the day, you can make enough to earn back your investment in no time.
Related articles: How to Mine ETN | How Long Does It Take to Mine 1 Bitcoin
In Conclusion
How to mine Helium is a relatively straightforward process and can become a way to generate a passive income, especially if you can manage to purchase a powerful hotspot miner. Now that you know how to mine Helium coins and support the network, you can use this to generate enough returns from your investment and passive income for the long term.
It is particularly important to observe the process of mining a Proof of Coverage coin and note if there are any changes to expenses you will incur for mining HNT. These costs might affect what you make from mining Helium. Above everything else, the price of HNT will also affect how much you can earn from Helium mining.
