DePIN utilizes blockchain technology to securely verify transactions, reducing reliance on intermediaries, lowering transaction costs, improving efficiency, and increasing transparency. This article will delve into the operational principles, advantages, potential projects, and future challenges of DePIN.
Table of Contents:
1. Operational Principles of DePIN
2. Advantages of DePIN
1. Decentralization
2. High Transparency
3. Incentive Mechanism
4. Promoting Competition
3. Potential Projects in DePIN
1. Render Network
2. Filecoin
3. Arweave
4. Theta Network
5. Akash Network
6. IOTA
7. Helium
8. Spheron Network
4. Future Challenges of DePIN
5. DePIN + AI Projects
6. Popular Tracks in DePIN
7. In-depth Analysis of DePIN
According to the report “The DePIN Sector Map” by investment research firm Messari, DePIN, short for “Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks,” refers to “the deployment of real-world physical infrastructure and hardware networks using cryptographic economic protocols.”
In other words, DePIN aims to establish a more efficient and transparent system by incentivizing participants to collectively build physical infrastructure networks, including energy networks, transportation systems, and telecommunication networks, through token incentives. With the use of blockchain technology, DePIN can securely record and verify transactions, track asset ownership and usage, and automate payments. One of the major advantages of DePIN is the reduction of reliance on authorities and intermediaries, thereby improving efficiency, reducing costs, and increasing transparency.
This article will provide an in-depth analysis of the operational principles, advantages, potential projects, and future challenges of DePIN.
The structure of DePIN consists of two parts: on-chain and off-chain.
On-chain: Responsible for coordinating decentralized resources and providing a decentralized ledger that does not require trust or permission, ensuring reliable outcomes for both supply and demand. This part uses blockchain as a ledger, records operations through smart contracts, and uses cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange while providing users with token rewards to incentivize them to become resource suppliers.
Off-chain: Responsible for the actual provision of resources. Users supply their idle physical resources in exchange for token rewards. For easily operable computer resources, users can provide resources by installing designated software. For more complex resource requirements, specific hardware is needed for resource supply.
Overall, the on-chain part is responsible for the economic consensus, while the off-chain part is responsible for the physical execution. The operation of DePIN projects relies on the integration of both on-chain and off-chain components.
Ownership of the DePIN network is decentralized among numerous participants rather than concentrated in a single organization. This reduces reliance on centralized management organizations, lowers the cost of managing physical infrastructure, and enhances transaction security to prevent issues such as hacking and corruption.
Through the application of blockchain technology, all transaction records on DePIN are publicly transparent and easily traceable, thereby enhancing the credibility of the network and helping to prevent fraud, forgery, and other illegal activities.
DePIN provides economic incentives to resource providers and consumers through token economic models, encouraging more participants to contribute to and maintain the network, thereby creating new entrepreneurial and innovative opportunities.
Unlike centralized platforms monopolized by a few, in DePIN, individuals and communities can directly participate in resource production, distribution, and utilization. Additionally, DePIN decentralizes control over physical infrastructure, empowering individuals and communities with more power and enabling peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions.
Projects in the DePIN track are categorized according to the types of physical infrastructure resources they provide, including computing resources, storage resources, IoT applications, and other areas. Each project has different technical principles and targets specific market demands and application scenarios.
Render Network Foundation is a provider of decentralized GPU rendering solutions that aims to connect node operators with artists and extend 3D rendering work and applications to the cloud. The system achieves high scalability, speed, and cost-effectiveness through a decentralized peer-to-peer network, providing customers with more affordable rendering options.
Filecoin is a decentralized storage network based on the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) that aims to create an efficient marketplace for unused storage space globally, reducing storage costs and improving data security and reliability.
Arweave is a decentralized storage network designed to store data indefinitely, often referred to as a “permanently hosted network.” It is a permanent and decentralized network hosting numerous community-driven applications and platforms.
Theta Network is a blockchain-powered decentralized video streaming network. Users share internet bandwidth and computing resources in a peer-to-peer manner to watch video content and earn tokens. It is worth noting that Theta Network has received support from Steve Chen, co-founder of YouTube, and Justin Kan, co-founder of Twitch.
Akash Network is a project that combines blockchain and cloud computing to create a decentralized cloud computing market that is more accessible and cost-effective. The network operates on a blockchain-based platform, allowing users to rent out unused computing power or purchase computing resources at competitive prices. This model reduces waste and costs for cloud service providers and consumers, promoting the efficient utilization of global computing resources.
IOTA is a distributed ledger technology (DLT) with a unique architecture and an open-source Web3 product suite for individuals, businesses, and institutions. It is built on a directed acyclic graph (DAG) called “Tangle” and serves as a multi-dimensional blockchain. Additionally, IOTA enables data and value exchange on decentralized platforms through direct and secure transfers, recording them immutably on the network.
Helium is a decentralized blockchain network designed for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, attracting users to build the IoT through a token incentive mechanism (native cryptocurrency HNT). The Helium mainnet was launched in July 2019, enabling low-power wireless devices to communicate and transmit data within its node network.
Spheron Network is a Web3 infrastructure platform that provides tools and services to achieve decentralized cloud storage and computing. Audited data centers can join the market regulated by Spheron to ensure permissionless access and improved security. Additionally, Spheron Compute offers a cost-effective alternative to feature-rich traditional cloud services.
Overall, DePIN has the potential to fundamentally change the management and operation of physical infrastructure, creating a more efficient, sustainable, and equitable system. However, DePIN also faces challenges in terms of technology, market, and regulatory compliance. These challenges include improving user experience, maintaining competitive advantages, and complying with regulations.
Although DePIN is still in its early development stages, with technological advancements and increased market awareness, these innovations are expected to address the current challenges and bring significant changes to areas such as data storage, computing, and image transmission.
2024/04/26
AI+DePIN Hot Project: io.net’s Website Data Altered by Hackers, $IO Airdrop Announcement Delayed
io.net, an AI+DePIN project, has attracted market attention since its launch. Recently, it has become the center of community discussions due to the release of its token economic model, the opening of user point inquiries, and the announcement of the airdrop of its native token $IO on the 28th.
2024/04/18
io.net Releases Token Economic Model: A Detailed Look at the AI+DePIN Hot Project
DePIN is a bridge between blockchain and the physical world, making it one of the most important areas for encrypted investments in the present and future. “io.net” is undoubtedly one of the outstanding projects in this field, encompassing AI+DePIN+Solana concepts, almost hitting all the hot spots. It completed a $30 million Series A financing in March, with investment firms including Hack VC and Multicoin, making it a highly recognized project. Let’s take a detailed look.
2024/03/12
Why AI+DePIN Could Be the Main Upward Trend in This Bull Market?
If DePIN can utilize the supply chain cloud services or mobilize the hardware devices of the entire network, such as GPUs, to build infrastructure networks, there will be strong demand in areas such as large-scale model training, distributed machine learning, data storage verification mining, and distributed inference. In this round of DePIN, if it can ride the wave, it will mainly rely on the driving force of the AI track. In the beginning, there may be projects that rely on a simple PPT narrative, but in the long run, the projects that can be implemented will not be too bad.
2024/03/02
Three GPU Mining Projects for Retail Investors in the Depin+AI Wave: Creating a Decentralized Computing Power Network
io.net aims to build the “Internet of GPUs” to solve the shortage of GPU computing power caused by the AI boom. The platform’s computing power can be used for tasks such as model training, batch inference, hyperparameter tuning, and reinforcement learning. It aggregates GPU resources from data centers, cryptocurrency miners, and other idle sources and automatically handles task scheduling, organization, and resource expansion.
2024/02/09
Investment Institutions Focus on DePIN Track: Three Projects Positioning Ahead in 2024
Since the concept of DePIN was proposed, it has attracted the attention of major investment institutions. In the outlook for 2024, investment institutions such as Messari, Coinbase, and Spartan Group have bet on the DePIN track. Recently, DePIN tokens such as $DIMO, $MOBILE, and $HONEY have gained significant increases, further attracting market attention. The need for AI has also increased due to the LLM trend, further increasing the demand for DePIN.
2024/01/19
What Is MetaBlox, the DePIN Newcomer with Five Times More Nodes Than Helium?
Among the 650+ DePIN projects, Helium, a decentralized wireless network that was born in 2013 and transformed into Web3 in 2017, has attracted attention. The project focuses on the two hot scenes of the Internet of Things and 5G, attracting 405,525 Helium IoT devices and 4,958 Helium 5G mobile devices to join the network.
2023/12/21
A Comprehensive Look at the Characteristics of Related Projects in the DePIN Track
The opportunity in the track lies in the ability to fully utilize idle resources, overcome the drawbacks and bottlenecks of centralized service providers, and the sustainable development of projects relies on whether they can build sufficient moats that cannot be replaced by other networks. Possible advantages include the resource capacity and density of network nodes and a sound economic system. This article will introduce potential investment opportunities in the DePIN track in the categories of sensors, servers, wireless networks, and computing resources.
2024/02/15
A Detailed Analysis of the Narrative Potential, Challenges, Territory, and Industry Cases of DePIN
DePIN refers to infrastructure-related projects that utilize blockchain technology and cryptographic economics to incentivize the allocation of capital or unused resources to establish a more transparent and verifiable network. The goal is to achieve more efficient extension track suites than centralized networks. DePIN is a broad field consisting of several sectors, each playing a different role in decentralizing network infrastructure. In this report, we will introduce the development of computing networks, wireless networks, storage, and sensors.
2024/01/11
Fidelity Perspective: What Is DePIN and Can It Become a “Disruptive Real-World” On-Chain Infrastructure?
In today’s rapidly developing digital economy, blockchain technology is no longer limited to the virtual world but has begun to infiltrate various aspects of our daily lives. Recently, Fidelity and venture capitalist Mahesh Ramakrishnan discussed how decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) reconstruct real-world infrastructure using public blockchains.
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