Algorand Boosters Push Back on Helium’s Proposed Move to Solana

Decentralized Wi-Fi network Helium Network has proposed moving to the Solana blockchain. But a Solana competitor has another idea in mind.

AccessTimeIconSep 12, 2022 at 8:04 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 4:18 p.m. UTC

The Helium Network’s proposed migration to Solana has a competitor waiting in the wings.

Early Monday, two Algorand executives tweeted their interest in bringing the decentralized Wi-Fi network to their blockchain instead of Solana. Founder Silvio Micali and Chief Technology Officer John Alan Wood took not-so-subtle digs at Solana with tweets saying Helium “needs a secure, robust and scalable chain.”

Borderless Capital, the Algorand-focused venture firm and Helium investor, also pushed for Helium to reconsider its prospective new home. It called for the community to scrap its proposed vote on moving to Solana and “evaluate proposals from other leading [level 1] blockchains first.”

The pro-Algorand calls come two weeks after Helium ecosystem developers first proposed a vote to migrate to Solana in the name of scalability and network efficiency, abandoning its own unstable chain.

“We agree that Helium can not maintain and operate its own [layer 1] chain,” Borderless capital tweeted. “But, it is impossible for the community, third-party developers, staking providers and users to understand the pros and cons of moving to a [chain] like Solana without more rigorous analysis and transparency.”

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Cam Thompson is a news reporter at CoinDesk.


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