With a scale of US$9 billion, new and old applications dance together on the DePIN track

DePIN, a new term in the Web3 field, emerged from the end of 2023, trying to capture market attention in 2024.

This concept translated as "decentralized physical infrastructure network" is actually familiar to you. For example, the decentralized storage project Filecoin belongs to this field. It’s just that when it became popular, DePIN had not yet been refined by Messari, a cryptocurrency research organization.

In fact, even when Messari first proposed the DePIN concept at the end of 2022, the discussion about it only lasted about one month.

Until December 2023, the scene focuses on the two project tokens of Helium (MOBLE) on the mobile phone and Hivemapper (HONEY) on the car side. The price market has skyrocketed, and the cryptocurrency market Only after investors' sense of smell was stimulated, the DePIN concept finally gained popularity, and the application scenarios became richer and more diverse than the "storage" that was previously the most familiar in the market. ‍‍‍

Overview of the DePIN project (picture from Messari)‍‍

Currently, The valuation of DePIN Track is approximately US$9 billion. Messari estimates that by 2028, this industry is expected to grow to a size of US$3.5 trillion.

Simply put, DePIN uses Token incentives to encourage individuals to share network or hardware resources, including computing power, wireless networks (WiFi), servers, sensors, and blockchain Node equipment and AI-related resources that have been hot for a year.

Compared with traditional centralized facilities, DePIN features the following advantages:

• Break the limitations caused by the monopoly of the current information and communication technology infrastructure

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• Allow users to share costs such as capital, assets and labor for a common goal, reducing costs through blockchain ledgers Manage overhead and achieve revenue sharing through token incentives

• Decentralized decentralized networks are more resilient and reduce the risk of single points of failure

• In an open, permissionless global ecosystem, potential speeds are an order of magnitude higher than centralized systems

Currently, Ethereum is the main blockchain network deployed by the DePIN project, and its competing chain Solana network has begun to adapt to the DePIN project. Emerge. There are a gathering of new and old players in the project market. Filecoin and Theta Network are familiar faces in the industry, while Helium and Hivemapper are entering the top ranks.

This article will be classified according to specific scenarios to help you understand what DePIN is and where the opportunities lie.

Storage

Filecoin (FIL)< /strong>

Filecoin is a peer-to-peer network for storing files, with built-in economic incentives and cryptography to ensure files are reliably saved for long periods of time , its architecture is based on the IPFS protocol.

On the Filecoin network, users pay to store files in a distributed shared space. Filecoin includes a variety of use cases, including Web2 data, NFT, Web3 game assets, etc., which is more economical, reliable, and diverse than traditional centralized cloud storage.

• Total supply of FIL: 1,960,979,373 FIL

• Circulation supply: 496,332,000 FIL

• Current price: $6.22

• Historical high price: $237.24

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• Historical lowest price: $1.83

Theta Network (THETA)

Theta Network is a blockchain network focused on streaming content storage. It was originally created in Ethereum, and later building a native blockchain network.

At Theta Network, video and media platforms reduce content distribution costs. When end users share the storage space or bandwidth of their personal computers, mobile devices, smart TVs or IoT devices, they can earn network rewards. Theta Network supports Turing-complete smart contracts and is fully compatible with Ethereum. Usage scenarios include NFT, DApp applications and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO).

• THETA total supply: 1,000,000,000

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• Circulating supply: 1,000,000,000

• Current price: $1.13

• Historical high price: $15.90

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• Historical lowest price: $0.03977

Arweave(AR)

Arweave is designed to work permanently through distributed computing networks To store files, it uses a new blockchain-like data structure to try to subvert the market dominated by existing storage giants such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft.

It has a lot in common with Filecoin. Arweave uses its native Token AR to support services. When people spend AR to store data, the nodes (miners) who maintain the network will receive AR revenue. During the on-chain transaction process, AR will be injected into the endowment fund, which slowly releases rewards through technology indefinitely. Arweave ensures unlimited storage through this mechanism.

• Total AR supply: 65,454,185 AR

• Circulating supply: 65,454,185 AR

• Current price: $9.40

• Historical price: $90.94

• Historical lowest price: $0.4854

Computation

Render Network (RNDR)

Render Network is the first decentralized GPU rendering platform built on the Ethereum blockchain. It allows complex GPU-based rendering tasks to be processed and distributed over a peer-to-peer network, making the transaction of rendering 3D environments, models and objects more streamlined for end users.

Node operators with idle computing power can contribute their unused GPUs to the entire network and earn RNDR by processing users' rendering needs.

• Total supply of RNDR: 530,962,615

• Circulating supply: 371,908,453

• Current price: $4.02 

• Historical high price: $8.76

• Historical lowest price: $0.03676

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Akash (AKT)

Akash is on Cosmos Hub The fully autonomous Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain developed is also an open source super cloud. It enables users to buy and sell computing resources securely and efficiently, and is designed for public affairs.

With Akash Cloud, users can deploy infrastructure and sell their unused cloud resources to others. Developers can purchase cloud resources to deploy and run applications.

• AKT total supply: 224,981,645

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• Circulating supply: 224,981,645

• Current price: $2.93

• Historical high price $8.08

• All-time low $0.1672

Wireless Network

Helium(HNT, IOT, MOBILE)

Helium Network is a decentralized, blockchain-based wireless network infrastructure that allows individuals and organizations to gain incentives for sharing wireless networks. Currently, Helium has expanded from its own Layer 1 blockchain to Solana. The main token driving the network is HNT, while the IOT and MOBILE tokens are used to support LoRaWAN and 5G networks respectively.

Hotspots in Helium enable people to own and operate a wireless network that supports a variety of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, including smart pet collars, food delivery systems, smart Bicycles and electric vehicles, tracking devices, cooling systems, smart lighting systems and more.

• MOBILE total supply: 80.56B 

• Circulation supply: 80.56B

• Current price: $0.002844

• Historical high price: $0.007791

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• Historical lowest price: $0.0000704

Internet of Things

IoTeX(IOTX)

IoTeX is a Layer 1 blockchain network designed to provide security for interactions between Internet of Things (IoT) devices and users. Its goal is to help users securely access data.

Currently, the IoTeX ecosystem includes a decentralized network composed of users, developers and enterprises, and the three jointly govern the entire ecosystem. IoTeX is promoting actual products to run on the blockchain network, such as blockchain-based cameras, supply chain optimization equipment, etc. It claims to be fast, secure and scalable, and is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

• Total IOTX supply: 9,441,378,959

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• Circulating supply: 9,441,378,955

• Current price: $0.04564

• Historical high price: $0.2611

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• Historical lowest price: $0.001239

Hivemapper(HONEY)

Hivemapper is built on the Solana blockchain It is a decentralized digital map network that supports drivers to use special driving recorders to capture images of various places to create maps. It works like a "mining machine" to mine HONEY rewards for image contributors. Anyone can use the Hivemapper Explorer to Website to view the current status of the map.



Hivemapper driving recorder provides data for Web3 maps

• HONEY total supply: 6,200,807,534

• Circulating supply: 608,048,086

• Current price: $0.2024

• Historical highest price: $0.4315

• Historical lowest price: $0.0085

New DePIN applications‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

In addition to the above DePIN projects, there are also emerging projects on the track Some new potential applications and scenarios have also expanded to AI computing power and even energy, and their incentive plans and economic models are already being brewed.



DePIN track new application

As a user, if you have these DePIN You can try to contribute to the resources that projects need to share. Of course, you must identify whether these projects provide a safe sharing environment. You also need to analyze whether the incentives have real value, such as whether the project brand hardware is worth investing in.

Don't forget, the "tragedy" of Filecoin miners' losses caused by several plummets in FIL between 2021 and 2022 is still vivid in our minds.