The Next Era of the Helium Network Begins on April 18th

The Network migration to the Solana blockchain and deployment of Oracles represents the most significant upgrade to Helium Network scalability and reliability.

Editors Note: The title of this story has been changed to reflect the updated and final date for the Helium Network’s migration to the Solana blockchain on April 18th.

Updated details are available in the March 16th story: https://blog.helium.com/an-update-on-the-helium-networks-migration-to-solana-4550e20552a9

The original and unedited post from February 17, 2023 follows below

After months of meticulous planning and technical development, the Helium Foundation is proud to formally propose March 27, 2023, as the migration date to the Solana blockchain. To ensure a smooth transition, an Upgrade Readiness Working Group is being formed with volunteers in the community to oversee the migration process and will have the final say in the migration date. More information on this working group and how to get involved is described in this post. This upgrade will encompass all wallets, Hotspots, and Helium Network state, and will take place over a 24-hour transition period commencing at approximately 1500 UTC / 10:00 AM ET. A full breakdown of what to expect is outlined below.

The completion of the migration marks a new era for the Helium Network, enabling it to achieve greater scale and truly become a network of networks. The Helium community has on-boarded nearly 1 million hotspots, and commercial demand for the Network is becoming a larger focus. Today, the Helium community has to split its focus on maintaining a purpose-built blockchain (our current Helium Layer 1 solution) and enabling the expansion of decentralized wireless networks. With the ability to power thousands of transactions per second, combined with its massive ecosystem of developers, applications, and integrations, Solana has the speed and scale necessary to take on the blockchain responsibility while the Helium core-developers and community can focus on building wireless protocols and enabling utility on these networks. Once completed, HNT will become natively compatible with other platforms within Solana’s ecosystem, adding utility for HNT, MOBILE, and IOT token holders.

The move to Solana was enabled by the community passing HIP-70 last year and introducing several solutions to scaling the Helium network. In parallel to the migration of the Network state to the Solana blockchain, the transition of Proof-of-Coverage and Data Transfer processing to Oracles removes major scaling bottlenecks for both of these core functionalities. As stewards of the Helium Network, specifically, and decentralized wireless networks at large, the Helium Foundation is thrilled to share this milestone with the entire Helium community and usher in the new phase of the Network.

TL;DR

• The Helium Network will migrate to the Solana blockchain on March 27th.
• Migration documentation is now live on docs.helium.com and is broken out by various audiences. Docs will continue to be updated over the next month.
• The Helium Foundation is kicking off an Upgrade Readiness Working Group.
• A majority of Hotspot Owners and token holders (HNT and MOBILE) will not need to take any action to participate in the upgrade. Owners of large fleets of Hotspots may want to work with community developers to test specific claim functionality or develop custom wallet solutions as they already have on the Helium L1.
• If you are still using the original Helium Hotspot app (blue icon), you must upgrade to the new Helium Wallet app (black icon). You can do this seamlessly by installing both apps, ensuring they are up to date, and following in-app instructions.
• The current Helium blockchain will be halted during a 24-hour transition period on the proposed March 27th date. Data Transfer and Proof-of-Coverage activity will be unaffected.

As a friendly reminder to the Helium community, our official documentation remains the definitive source of truth for all Helium-related information. Developers can find Helium’s Solana smart contract information in the Helium Docs under https://docs.helium.com/solana. We advise that you treat any other website or application that promises you access to this upgrade on platforms like Twitter, Discord direct messages, etc., with skepticism. Do not provide your private key or seed phrase to unofficial applications. Please refer to announcements in Helium Discord or the official Helium Twitter account for up-to-date news about the upgrade. If you have any questions about the upgrade, please post them in the #solana-migration-questions channel on the Helium Discord.

Upgrade Readiness Working Group

Following the approval of HIP 70 by the Helium community, Helium Core Developers have been working hard to develop programs for the Solana blockchain, build new Governance tools on Realms, implement PoC Oracles, establish Open LNS and Data Transfer Accounting Oracles, and load Helium account state data to the Solana Devnet.

In addition to the extreme care in the development, and ongoing audits by reputable firms in the Solana ecosystem, the Helium Foundation recognizes the importance of addressing all downstream impacts and is forming an ad-hoc Upgrade Readiness Working Group. This group will represent a diverse cross-section of technical experts from the community and various stakeholders to review the migration, ensure the availability of sufficient documentation, and raise any concerns before moving forward.

We’re grateful to the following organizations that have already volunteered to contribute to this effort:

• RAK
• Bobcat
• Seeed Studio
• Hotspotty
• Mycelium Networks
• BlockJoy
• Sharespot
• CalChip Connect

We welcome additional volunteers to apply for the Upgrade Readiness Working Group. If you qualify as one of the below groups, please apply through the form below. Applications close on February 24th.

1. Manufacturers with at least 50k hotspots deployed
2. Hotspot owners or fleet managers with at least 50 hotspots deployed
3. Organizations that interact with the Helium API
4. Service providers managing and maintaining token balances

Apply here: https://forms.gle/8xSXaSgxKUtHbhby6

What can you expect on March 27th?

The final stage of the Upgrade will take place on March 27th, 2023 beginning around 1500 UTC / 10:00 AM ET. During this 24-hour transition period, all users will be migrated to the Solana blockchain.

• On this day, Core Developers will initiate a chain halt via a chain variable. Validators will stop producing blocks, and chain followers like routers, blockchain nodes, and ETLs will no longer sync blocks and transactions after the halting block. The network and account state will be effectively frozen at this time.
• After Core Developers validate that block production has halted, a final snapshot of the Helium blockchain will be taken. Subsequently, the chain state will be migrated to the Solana blockchain, including all accounts/tokens; Hotspots will be minted as NFTs.
• While Proof-of-Coverage and Data Transfer will continue, Hotspots will not be able to be added or changed, token transfers will not be completed, and downstream applications like the Helium Explorer will go offline. Most Hotspot owners, however, may not even notice this downtime.
• Note that any rewards generated by Proof-of-Coverage activity in the prior 24 hours will be available to claim in your Helium Wallet after the transition period. Oracles will update claimable balances, and Hotspot Owners will be able to use the new claim function. You can claim your rewards at a time that is convenient for you.
• Within 24 hours, applications and chain transactions will be back online.
• Helium tokens, such as HNT and MOBILE, will be available on the Solana network 1:1 for the tokens on the Helium L1.

What potential risks may result in a delay of the 27th upgrade?

While the Helium Core Developers are confident in the known risks that lead up to March 27th, some potential unknowns may impact the process. The Upgrade Readiness Working Group will only proceed with the chain migration once they have addressed these risks. Here are some reasons why an extension may be necessary:

• The Helium Community receives a new HIP that requires a software update before the migration. This could happen if implementing the proposed change before the migration makes more sense than after, likely because of technical feasibility and difficulty.
• The smart contract audit identifies critical features that need remediation.
• Unforeseen issues with the Solana network that delay migration.

Additional Resources

Office Hours:

Over the next month, Helium Core Developers will hold Office Hours over Zoom to provide any hands-on technical support and answer questions. Office Hours will be held once a week every Friday until the Migration on March 27th.

Register for Office Hours here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkd-qvqz8pGNFhR3mhLdf6GQuVI2VfhWwv

FAQ:

Over the next month, the Helium Community will build a robust FAQ hosted on docs.helium.com. Moderators, Mentors, and Community Members will gather and respond to any questions submitted.

Submit questions in the Community Discord under #solana-migration-questions or at this form: https://forms.gle/mCK1b6TEMRRrPTsU6.

Thank you to the Helium Community, Helium Core Developers, and all ecosystem partners for their active participation in ensuring a smooth transition. We are excited about this next step to scale the Helium Network and make decentralized wireless a viable reality.