The Rising Narrative: A Glimpse into the Present and Future of DePIN

Introduction

The Internet, as a symbol of globalization, is actually a product of the peak period of the Cold War.

In 1969, the U.S. military developed the prototype of the internet, "ARPAnet"(, to create a network that could avoid centralized single points of failure and autonomously recover in the event of a nuclear strike. It adhered to the original intention of "decentralization" and adopted a fully distributed architecture with "end-to-end direct links."

However, over the past 55 years, from Web1 to Web2, the rapid development of the internet has instead given rise to a "terminal-link server" centralized architecture with a many-to-one structure, which is contrary to its original intention. The Web2 giants hold absolute discourse power in the online world, possessing immense influence and value distribution rights.

In recent years, the Web3 wave, which advocates for decentralization and the de-platforming of services, has been gaining momentum. However, merely applying decentralization does not fundamentally resolve inherent contradictions; issues such as efficiency bottlenecks and security risks still persist. The key to a fundamental solution lies in thoroughly transforming the underlying technology stack of the internet to disrupt the efficiency and security problems caused by the overly centralized Web2.

In this context, DePIN may provide a new solution worth paying attention to: by combining the financial attributes and incentive mechanisms of Web3, DePIN can build an efficient P2P physical resource network, create a "decentralized physical network infrastructure," and endow the network with programmable capabilities, achieving an upgrade of "DePIN+" to construct a new internet architecture.

At the same time, the explosion of AI in the Web3 field has not only injected new vitality into it but also witnessed the trend of blockchain applications expanding from on-chain to the real world, such as RWA, AI, DePIN, etc.

The rise of DePIN means that the boundaries between the physical reality and the blockchain world are gradually blurring. Next, let's take a look at the present and future of DePIN.

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Overview of DePIN: What & Why

) What is DePIN?

DePIN### Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network, 去中心化物理基础设施网络( is a model that combines physical infrastructure resources with blockchain technology, coordinating global resource collaboration through distributed ledgers, token incentives, and smart contracts.

In short, DePIN creates a "resource sharing + economic incentive" bilateral market by linking hardware with blockchain. This community-driven model is more flexible than traditional point resource management, with stronger scalability and robustness.

A complete DePIN network usually consists of project parties, off-chain physical devices, suppliers, and demanders, and the basic operating model is divided into five steps:

1. Off-chain hardware devices: usually provided or requested by the project party, mainly divided into:

• Customized dedicated hardware: such as Helium's dedicated hotspot device
• Professional-grade hardware: such as idle computers equipped with GPU and CPU
• Smart mobile devices: such as smartphones, watches, etc.

2. Proof: Data generated by physical devices needs to be uploaded to the blockchain through off-chain infrastructure as a tamper-proof record.

3. Identity Verification: Verify the on-chain account address of the device owner.

4. Reward Distribution: Distribute token rewards to the on-chain address of the device owner.

5. Demand Matching: Completing the resource exchange and matching between supply and demand sides on the DePIN market platform.

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) Why do we need DePIN?

DePIN can address several challenges faced by traditional centralized physical infrastructure networks:

• Centralized control: vulnerable to attacks, low transparency, users have no control.
• High entry barriers: New entrants find it difficult to overcome high costs and regulatory hurdles.
• Resource waste: Centralized management leads to low resource utilization rate.
• Insufficient incentive mechanism: users' participation enthusiasm is not high

The core value of DePIN can be summarized as:

• Resource Sharing and Digitalization: Transforming idle physical resources into tradable digital assets
• Decentralized Governance: Achieving fair incentives based on open protocols and cryptoeconomic models
• On-chain settlement: Reduce settlement costs through blockchain
• Innovation: Open and permissionless systems accelerate the pace of innovation.

DePIN Development Status

Currently, DePIN projects mainly involve fields such as computing power, data collection and sharing, wireless, sensors, and energy. Most of the top 10 projects by market capitalization belong to the storage and computing power sectors.

AI is the key word of DePIN in this cycle, and a number of AI DePIN projects dedicated to providing infrastructure support for AI have emerged.

According to DePIN Ninja's data, the number of launched DePIN projects has reached 1,561, with a total market value of approximately $22 billion. Messari predicts that by 2028, the DePIN market size may exceed $35 trillion.

The current DePIN projects are mainly focused on deployment on the Solana public chain, as well as on DePIN-specific chains like IoTex and Peaq. Polygon and Arbitrum are also gradually emerging as rising stars.

The DePIN project is mainly divided into two directions: one focuses on the intermediate layer of DePIN; the other focuses on expanding the demand side of DePIN.

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DePIN Middleware

DePIN-related IoT devices face technical challenges and liquidity pressure when attempting to connect to the blockchain on a large scale. This has led to the emergence of middleware that connects devices to the DePIN network, providing project parties with development frameworks, tools, and comprehensive solutions.

) DePIN infra

• DePHY: Provides open-source hardware solutions, SDKs, and tools for DePIN projects.

• W3bStream: Allows IoTeX DePIN projects to easily generate logic based on smart device data to trigger blockchain operations.

Liquidity Plan

• PINGPONG: DePIN liquidity and service aggregator, optimizing mining rewards across multiple networks.

• Parasail: A re-staking protocol specifically designed for DePIN, activating idle assets to provide economic guarantees for DePIN services.

DePIN Application Layer

The DePIN application layer occupies a large share of the DePIN track, mainly divided into four major sectors: cloud networks, wireless networks, sensors, and energy.

Cloud Network

including decentralized storage and computing.

Storage aspects:

• Filecoin is based on IPFS technology, using a proof of storage mechanism to ensure data integrity. Miners earn FIL rewards by contributing storage space.

• Arweave provides a permanent storage solution, where users only need to pay a one-time fee.

In terms of computing power:

• Render Network provides decentralized GPU rendering services

• io.net achieves efficient collaboration of distributed GPUs through a complete product architecture.

• PinGo solves the fragmentation problem of idle computing power resources and provides computing capability for AI models.

wireless network

Dewi### decentralized wireless( is an important part of DePIN, including:

• Hive 5G: Building a decentralized 5G network like Pollen Mobile

• WiFi: such as Wicrypt, Metablox, Wifi Dabba, etc.

• LoRaWAN: Provides low-cost communication services for IoT devices like Helium

• Bluetooth: Enables short-range data transmission

) sensor

Mainly monitor data such as environment, geographic location, health, etc:

• Environment: Such as WiHi unified platform simplifies weather data sharing

• Geography: For example, HiveMapper collects map data through onboard cameras.

Energy

DePIN enables users to directly utilize surplus energy production:

• Starpower: Create a decentralized virtual power plant

• Powerpod: Create a decentralized community charging station network

• Arkreen: Building pathways for accessing renewable energy data

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How to view the future of DePIN?

) DePIN trend

1. Combining with web2 application scenarios: spanning multiple fields such as IoT, smart cities, energy sharing, and edge computing.

2. Lowering hardware barriers: transitioning from professional equipment to consumer-grade products, such as encrypted phones, etc.

3. Financialization: The tokenization of physical hardware creates a new space for on-chain finance.

4. DePIN and AI mutual nourishment: DePIN provides computing power, data, and other resources for AI, while AI enhances the intelligence level of DePIN.

The constraints of DePIN's move towards scaling

• The technical implementation complexity is high
• Market acceptance is still unclear
• The profit model has uncertainties.
• May face regulatory policy intervention

Factors to Consider for a DePIN Potential Project

hardware

• Self-made vs Third-party
• One-time vs Continuous Costs
• High Density vs Low Density
• Scarcity vs Commonness

Token Economics Design

• Use BME or SFA model
• Use points + token economic model
• Empower tokens with governance functions
• Introduce a staking mechanism
• The project party repurchases tokens to add to the liquidity pool

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Summary

DePIN constructs a distributed bilateral market through the "Web3 + token economy" framework, integrating global idle resources and addressing issues of resource monopoly and inefficient distribution. It shows great potential but still faces challenges such as technology, market, and regulation.

DePIN relies on the flywheel effect and requires a foundation built over time. With the improvement of blockchain performance and the maturity of token economic models, DePIN is now poised for explosive growth, but it still needs to wait for the opportunity for large-scale application. It will not become a silent narrative; the future is promising.

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