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Nova Labs’ legal chief said the CLARITY Act could stop crypto regulation from reversing whenever US political leadership changes. The SEC dismissed its digital asset claims against Nova Labs with prejudice in April 2025, three months after suing the company over HNT distributions. CLARITY could classify programmatically distributed tokens such as HNT as digital commodities rather than securities. The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, financial advice. We do not make any warranties regarding the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of this information. All investments involve risk, and past performance does not guarantee future results. We recommend consulting a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

Giuseppe Ciccomascolo began his career as an investigative journalist in Italy, where he contributed to both local and national newspapers, focusing on various financial sectors.

Upon relocating to London, he worked as an analyst for Fitch's CapitalStructure and later as a Senior Reporter for Alliance News. In 2017, Giuseppe transitioned to covering cryptocurrency-related news, producing documentaries and articles on Bitcoin and other emerging digital currencies. He also played a pivotal role in establishing the academy for a cryptocurrency exchange website. Crypto remained his primary area of interest throughout his tenure as a writer for ThirdFloor.

Solana-based DePIN protocol Helium Mobile reached a new milestone in March 2026, recording $2.5 million in monthly revenue, its highest level to date, as reported in Syndica’s latest DePIN report. The decentralized wireless network, built on Solana, continues to shift toward a usage-driven model, with carrier offload and network utilization playing a larger role than new infrastructure deployment.

This latest performance places first-quarter 2026 revenue close to surpassing Helium Mobile’s entire mobile revenue for 2025, signaling an acceleration in real-world adoption and monetization.

Subscriber Growth and Product Expansion According to Blockworks data, Helium Mobile currently has almost 700,000 total sign-ups, gaining almost 100,000 sign-ups in the past two months, reflecting continued interest in its service model. Monthly subscriber additions also increased, rising to 14,000 in March from 12,000 in February.

The company introduced Helium Hangouts, a new in-app feature that allows subscribers to discover local venues with Helium connectivity.

This feature aims to deepen user engagement and reinforce the network’s real-world utility by connecting digital participation to physical locations.

At the same time, Helium’s broader usage metrics continue to expand. Daily offload reached 111 terabytes, while total subscribers stand above 3 million. Average daily data offload increased by 10%, and the number of daily offload users rose by 12% in March, indicating stronger engagement across the network.

Shift From Deployment to Utilization Helium’s growth strategy has increasingly emphasized network utilization over rapid infrastructure expansion. Monthly hotspot deployments remained in the low thousands, a sharp contrast to early 2025 levels that ranged between 27,000 and 30,000 per month.

Despite slower deployment, the existing network base of approximately 128,000 hotspots continues to support rising traffic volumes. Real-world usage has begun to validate this approach. Thousands of users connected through Helium infrastructure at the Okeechobee Music Festival, demonstrating the network’s ability to handle dense, high-demand environments.

This shift suggests that Helium has entered a phase where demand growth can be absorbed by existing infrastructure, improving capital efficiency while supporting higher throughput.

Revenue Composition and Carrier Offload As mentioned in Syndica’s March 2026 DePIN report, Helium Mobile’s revenue growth remained consistent throughout the first quarter. Monthly revenue rose 14% from $2.2 million in February to $2.5 million in March. This marks the third consecutive month that Helium Mobile has generated more than $2 million in revenue, a threshold first crossed in January 2026.

Carrier offload now represents the majority of Helium Mobile’s revenue. In March, offload-related fees accounted for 57% of total revenue, continuing a steady increase from near parity earlier in the year. Major United States carriers are routing larger volumes of traffic through Helium’s network, reinforcing its role as a complementary infrastructure layer within the telecom ecosystem.

This transition highlights a structural shift in Helium’s business model. While subscriber revenue remains important, enterprise demand from carrier partners increasingly drives overall income.

Solana DePIN Ecosystem Rebounds According to Syndica’s March 2026 DePIN report, The broader Solana DePIN sector also showed signs of recovery in March. Projects including Helium, Render, Hivemapper, UpRock, NATIX, XNET, and GEODNET collectively generated $2.9 million in revenue, representing a 16% increase from February.

At the same time, deployer rewards reversed a prolonged decline. Total rewards distributed across Solana DePIN protocols rose 31% to $2.1 million, up from February’s $1.6 million. Upcoming token generation events from projects such as Wingbits and Dabba may further increase incentives and network participation.

Wireless-focused protocols reached another milestone, delivering a combined 45,000 terabytes of offloaded data in March. This represents a 22% increase from February’s 37,000 terabytes and underscores rising demand for decentralized connectivity solutions.

Performance Across Key DePIN Projects Several projects within the ecosystem reported notable gains. Dabba Network recorded a 24% increase in usage, reaching 42,000 terabytes of data consumption. The project also signaled a transition toward on-chain infrastructure through a newly published roadmap.

XNET achieved 150 terabytes of offloaded data in March, a 40% increase from the previous month. It also introduced Passpoint, a feature that streamlines WiFi authentication by removing the need for captive portals. This development aims to reduce user friction and attract more venue operators.

Hivemapper delivered one of the strongest recoveries in the sector. Revenue rose from $9,000 in February to $75,000 in March, driven by renewed token burn activity and new product releases. Contributor participation increased 51% to 242, while total mapped distance grew 38% to 11 million kilometers.

Render Network nearly doubled its revenue to $176,000, supported by progress in integrating decentralized GPU infrastructure through a partnership proposal with Salad. Meanwhile, UpRock expanded its reach with the launch of OpenClaw DePIN and a global internet survey covering over 500,000 devices.

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Helium Mobile has been acquired by Noble Mobile, a U.S.-based telecom startup founded by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, while the Helium Network and its native HNT token have remained under existing operational structures.

Summary

Noble Mobile has acquired Helium Mobile, while Nova Labs says the Helium Network and HNT token operations remain unchanged. Helium’s network continues to burn roughly $50,000 in data credits daily, with Blockworks data showing a 7-day HNT deflation rate of 9.72%. HNT remains under technical pressure after breaking below a falling wedge pattern, with support near $0.60 and resistance between $0.65 and $0.70. According to announcements from both companies, Noble Mobile has taken control of Helium Mobile’s wireless service business, gaining access to an existing subscriber base and a network relationship that allows traffic to be routed through Helium’s decentralized wireless infrastructure.

https://twitter.com/helium_mobile/status/2061802807465017453?s=20

The transaction has generated debate among community members, with some users questioning whether a decentralized project could effectively be sold.

Nova Labs and Helium executives have since clarified that the deal covers only Helium Mobile, a consumer-facing service, and does not include ownership of the Helium Network itself.

Noble Mobile currently operates by leasing spectrum from T-Mobile. Through the acquisition, the company has committed to using connectivity provided by the Helium Network, which relies on more than 138,900 community-operated hotspots to deliver wireless coverage.

Data cited by Blockworks shows the Helium ecosystem burns roughly $50,000 worth of data credits each day. Because data credits are created by burning HNT, continued network usage contributes to token demand through Helium’s mint-and-burn economic model. Additional data from the platform also indicates the token’s rolling seven-day deflation rate stands at 9.72%.

Source: Blockworks The acquisition has not changed Helium Network operations Community concerns intensified shortly after the announcement, prompting Helium co-founder Amir Haleem to explain the distinction between Helium Mobile and the Helium Network.

https://twitter.com/amirhaleem/status/2062208980928368707?s=20

Haleem stated that the decentralized network remains under Nova Labs’ stewardship and will continue operating as before. Hotspot operators are still expected to earn HNT rewards for providing coverage and data transfer services that can be used by telecom providers, including large carriers such as AT&T.

For existing Helium Mobile subscribers, the transition is not expected to bring immediate service disruptions. Company guidance states that customers can retain their current phone numbers and continue using the service without changes during the migration process.

Pricing remains one area where uncertainty persists. While Helium Mobile’s published FAQ states that affordability will remain a priority, the company said future pricing details will be communicated as the transition progresses.

HNT price remains under pressure despite network demand growth Market reaction to the acquisition has been relatively muted. Helium (HNT) gained roughly 1.7% over the past 24 hours, though the token continues to trade within a longer-term downtrend.

Helium price has broken down from a falling wedge pattern on the daily chart — June 4 | Source: crypto.news Technical analysis of the daily chart shows HNT recently broke below the lower boundary of a falling wedge pattern that had been developing since February. While falling wedges often resolve to the upside, the bearish breakdown suggests sellers remain in control of price action.

Momentum indicators continue to support that view. The MACD remains below its signal line with negative histogram readings, indicating persistent downside momentum. Meanwhile, the Aroon indicator shows Aroon Down at 100% and Aroon Up at 0%, a configuration that typically signals a strong bearish trend.

The breakdown has pushed HNT toward support near $0.60. If that level fails to hold, traders may begin watching the psychological $0.50 area as the next major downside target.

On the upside, the former wedge support between $0.65 and $0.70 now acts as the first resistance zone that bulls would need to reclaim to improve the technical outlook.

Despite continued growth in network usage and data credit burns, the chart suggests traders remain cautious as HNT searches for a stable bottom.