Helium Mobile, the decentralized wireless network built on Solana, reached a new milestone on February 14, 2026, recording 3,394,901 daily active users. This figure represents an all-time high for the network and reflects sustained growth in real-world adoption. Daily active users currently stand at 2,473,730, signaling continued strength even after the peak.
On the same day, Carrier Offload volumes reached a record 126 terabytes, marking a new all-time high for data transferred through Helium’s infrastructure. The simultaneous surge in user activity and wholesale data traffic highlights the increasing role Helium plays within the broader telecommunications ecosystem.
Expanding Network Footprint
Helium Mobile now serves almost 2.5 million daily users through a network of 126,713 community-deployed hotspots. These nodes, operated by individuals and businesses, provide coverage that enables carriers to offload mobile data traffic more efficiently.
Total Helium Mobile sign-ups reached 595,846 this week, effectively doubling the subscriber base since the network crossed 300,000 users in June. The expansion demonstrates growing consumer demand for alternative mobile service models that blend decentralized infrastructure with traditional carrier partnerships.
Hotspot infrastructure growth has moderated relative to prior periods, but utilization has increased significantly. According to Helium’s Q4 2025 Tokenholder Report, Data Credit (DC) burn from Carrier Offload and broader network usage rose to $2.3 million in Q4 2025, up 53% quarter over quarter, and network utilization increased to 76.9% from 62.5% in Q3, which means more than three-quarters of rewardable entities actively served data.
This shift indicates that demand growth now absorbs existing infrastructure more efficiently, improving network economics without requiring proportionate capital expansion.
Revenue Driven by Usage, Not Speculation
Helium’s economic model centers on Data Credits, which users and carrier partners burn to access network services. According to Blockworks data, daily Data Credit burns consistently reach $40,000. On February 14, Data Credit burns surpassed $56,000, reflecting heightened activity across both retail and carrier channels.
Carrier Offload continues to function as the network’s primary wholesale revenue engine. In Q4 2025, Carrier Offload Data Credit burn reached $2.3 million. Total data transfer volume increased to 5,513 terabytes, up 47.7% from the prior quarter.
Helium Mobile service provider traffic contributed additional revenue, while subscription income provided recurring baseline stability. Combined, these channels produced $5.2 million in total revenue during the quarter, although $2.9 million of that figure stemmed from a now-terminated discretionary burn program. Excluding discretionary burns, sustainable Carrier Offload revenue covered 54.8% of HNT emissions, a marked improvement from 17% in the previous quarter and just 1.9% one year earlier.
This progression illustrates a narrowing gap between protocol emissions and organic network revenue. Sustainable operating cash flow improved from -$5.9 million in the prior quarter to -$1.9 million, reflecting disciplined emission reductions and stronger carrier utilization.
On January 2, Helium founder and CEO Amir Haleem announced that the Solana-based DePIN protocol would stop allocating protocol revenue toward $HNT buybacks.
While clarifying that Data Credits would continue to be burned for Carrier Offload, Haleem said the network had effectively poured revenue “into a hole”. The decision marked a shift in capital allocation strategy and underscored management’s focus on strengthening sustainable, usage-driven economics rather than relying on buyback mechanisms.
Unlike many crypto-native platforms that rely on speculative trading activity, Helium generates revenue from real-world telecom usage. As long as subscribers place calls, stream media, and use mobile data, the network records Data Credit burn. This dynamic provides a comparatively stable income stream that does not depend directly on token price appreciation or trading volume.
DePIN in a Challenging Market Environment
Broader crypto markets have experienced significant volatility, and many tokens remain well below previous peaks. Messari’s State of DePIN 2025 report notes that tokens of earlier DePIN projects from 2018 to 2022 declined between 94% and 99% from their all-time highs. However, the same report highlights that investors often rely on outdated data when evaluating DePIN networks.
In 2021, many DePIN projects generated minimal revenue and depended heavily on inflationary token incentives. By contrast, the 2025 cohort of DePIN networks generate meaningful onchain revenue, operates with more sustainable emission schedules, and grows through utility rather than subsidies.
The report further observes that DePIN revenue growth has proven more resilient than DeFi and Layer 1 protocols during bear markets.
While token prices declined broadly across sectors, some DePIN networks demonstrated revenue expansion that decoupled from price action. This divergence supports the argument that infrastructure-oriented networks can sustain economic activity even when speculative capital retreats.
Helium’s recent performance aligns with this thesis. Daily active users climbed to record levels, Carrier Offload volumes reached new highs, and Data Credit burns remained elevated despite broader market uncertainty. The network continues to function as a production-grade component of carrier infrastructure rather than as a purely speculative asset.
Structural Efficiency in Telecom
Helium addresses structural inefficiencies in the telecom industry. Traditional carriers face rising capital and operating expenditures when expanding coverage, particularly in dense indoor environments such as malls, transit hubs, and entertainment venues. By leveraging a distributed base of community-operated hotspots, Helium enables carriers to extend coverage at a fraction of historical costs.
Hotspots provide granular quality-of-service metrics and coverage telemetry that carriers often struggle to obtain indoors. This data improves routing decisions and capital allocation, effectively turning the network into an intelligence layer that complements licensed spectrum and existing infrastructure.
As carriers increasingly adopt multi-network operating models, decentralized wireless networks offer an alternative path for scaling coverage without concentrating capital on owned infrastructure. Helium’s latest all-time highs in users and offload volume demonstrate that this model can operate at scale.
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