cryptoslate.com
Solana-based Helium Network’s $HNT token quietly hit a yearly high of more than $5 during the weekend following a 60% price surge in seven days, according to CryptoSlate’s data.
$HNT’s price has retraced to $4.70 as of press time amid a broader market correction.
This price performance represents a turnaround for a network that has dealt chiefly with negative news about its product and migrating from its proprietary blockchain to Solana.
However, despite $HNT’s incredible performance in the past few weeks, the token is still far from its all-time high. CryptoSlate’s data shows it is down 91% from its $54 peak.
What drove $HNT’s price?
$HNT’s price surge can be primarily attributed to the launch of Helium Mobile’s $20 monthly phone plan in the United States, offering users unlimited data, talk, and text.
Helium’s connectivity service offers a cost-effective alternative to traditional service providers, making an average American spend approximately $157 monthly solely on phone plans.
The connectivity services utilize Helium’s 5G network to empower its users to set up mini-cell towers and expand the network’s coverage.
“With Helium Mobile Hotspots, subscribers can own and set up ‘mini cell towers’. Dead zones can become a thing of the past when anyone can become a builder and set up a hotspot to expand the network for themselves and the community,” the company said in a statement.
Nova Labs, the entity behind Helium Network, partnered with T-Mobile to extend coverage for Helium Mobile in areas where the network is absent.
Besides the launch of Helium Mobile, $HNT has also benefited from the general optimism surrounding the Solana network ecosystem. During the past year, Solana has thrived despite previous connections to the disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
This resurgence has played a pivotal role in attracting a growing number of users to its ecosystem and predictions that it could gain more ground on rival smart contract-based blockchain network Ethereum.
“ETH will lose market share to other smart contract platforms with less uncertainty surrounding their scalability roadmap, such as Solana,” asset management VanEck predicted.