Author: Paul Veradittakit, Partner at cryptocurrency investment company Pantera Capital
Translated by: Luffy, Foresight News
Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) is the integration of blockchain and infrastructure networks. Currently, DePIN exists in industries such as energy, telecommunications, storage, artificial intelligence, and data collection.
In the previous cryptocurrency cycle, many projects capitalized on the DePIN trend and targeted markets with huge opportunities. However, when their core products failed to attract enough attention from both the supply and demand sides, they turned to token economics.
However, among the surviving projects, many companies have spent time building infrastructure and have achieved sustainable profitability by solving existing problems, even without relying on token economics. Let’s take a look at some of these cases.
Geodnet
Core problem solved
Traditional Global Positioning Systems (GPS) often lack the accuracy required for advanced applications, which demand centimeter-level accuracy rather than meter-level accuracy. Geodnet’s solution has improved positioning accuracy by 100 times compared to traditional GPS technology.
Target customers
Geodnet serves industries that rely on high-precision geospatial data, including:
Autonomous vehicles
Agriculture
Smart cities
Defense and security
Space exploration
Profit model
Data licensing: Selling geospatial data to commercial customers.
Node participation fees: Costs associated with mining equipment installation and usage.
Partnerships: Collaborating with industries such as agriculture and autonomous driving systems to integrate Geodnet’s services into existing workflows.
Geodnet network reported a year-on-year revenue growth of over 500%, reaching $1.7 million in 2024.
Token economics
Geodnet network incentivizes participants using its native token, GEOD:
Miners earn tokens based on data contributions and network uptime.
Token burn mechanism: Tokens are burned during data transactions, introducing deflationary measures.
Average daily earnings: Miners earn approximately $4.30 per day, with an expected return on investment period of 3-4 months.
Circulation: Token distribution ensures liquidity while incentivizing early adopters.
Token usage: Used for payments, staking, and governance within the network.
Ways to participate and contribute
1. Become a miner:
Purchase mining equipment (costs between $500 and $700).
Set up and connect the mining equipment to the network, uploading 20-40GB of data per month.
2. Use the network: Access real-time Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) correction data through subscription or direct purchase.
3. Develop applications: Develop software for specific industries based on Geodnet’s data.
4. Governance: Participate in protocol governance by staking GEOD tokens and voting on proposals.
Helium
Core problem solved
Traditional mobile network operators (e.g., T-Mobile) require significant capital expenditure to build base stations, maintain infrastructure, and expand coverage. Helium solves this problem by creating a decentralized wireless network that leverages community-owned hotspots to provide affordable, scalable, and flexible network connectivity for mobile and IoT devices.
Target customers
Consumers: Can use Helium’s decentralized network to access unlimited data for a monthly fee of $20.
Telecom operators: Achieve WiFi offloading for major operators, reducing their infrastructure costs.
IoT device manufacturers: Provide connectivity for low-power IoT devices through the LoRaWAN protocol.
Enterprises and institutions: Help organizations deploy dedicated wireless networks for asset tracking, sensors, and environmental monitoring.
Profit model
Helium Network generates revenue through two main avenues:
1. Direct-to-consumer mobile plans: Offers a $20 per month unlimited data plan, allowing users to simultaneously access Helium network hotspots and partner networks (e.g., T-Mobile).
2. Operator WiFi offloading fees: Charges telecom operators $0.50 per GB for offloading data through Helium’s decentralized hotspots instead of traditional base stations.
Financial performance
Subscribers: Over 100,000 direct subscribers and over 300,000 indirect WiFi offloading users.
Revenue: Generates seven-figure annual revenue from mobile subscriptions and operator offloading fees.
Forecast: With expanding partnerships with telecom operators, potential annual revenue from WiFi offloading business alone could exceed $50 million.
Token economics
Helium Network’s HNT token is at the core of its incentive and payment structure:
Reward earning: Hotspot operators earn HNT by providing coverage and transmitting data.
Usage: Tokens are used for network transactions, payment for network services, and governance proposals.
Token burn mechanism: Tokens are burned when used for network services, reducing supply.
Ways to participate and contribute
1. Hotspot deployment:
Purchase and set up hotspots compatible with the Helium Network to provide network coverage and earn HNT rewards.
Choose from 16 approved hardware types designed for IoT or mobile offloading.
2. Consumer plans: Subscribe to Helium Network’s $20 per month mobile plan for affordable mobile data coverage.
3. Operator partnerships: Telecom operators can integrate with Helium Network for data offloading, reducing operational costs.
4. Governance and staking: Stake AKT tokens for network governance, propose upgrades, and vote on critical upgrades.
Akash
Core problem solved
Akash Network aims to address the high costs, scalability limitations, and centralization issues of traditional cloud computing providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. It solves these problems by providing a decentralized cloud computing marketplace that allows users to monetize idle machines while reducing costs.
Target customers
AI developers: Need high-performance GPUs for training and deploying machine learning models.
Startups and enterprises: Require cost-effective and scalable cloud computing to support data processing, storage, and AI-driven applications.
Profit model
Akash Network generates revenue through the following means:
Marketplace transaction fees: Charge fees for compute leasing and payments processed through the network.
Compute resource leasing: Share in the revenue generated from GPU and CPU leasing for AI training and workloads.
Developer tools: Charge API integration and SDK licensing fees to developers using their compute infrastructure.
Enterprise partnerships: Collaborate with AI labs and decentralized platforms to expand computing capabilities.
Financial performance
Annual revenue: Akash Network reported $2.5 million in annual revenue in 2024 from compute leasing and fees.
Growth rate: Demand for GPU compute resources grew 33-fold due to the proliferation of AI.
Network scale: Supports over 400 GPUs.
Token economics
Akash Network uses the AKT token for payments, governance, and incentives.
1. Usage:
Payment: Buyers use AKT tokens to purchase compute resources.
Staking: Providers stake tokens to secure job opportunities and enhance reputation.
2. Incentives:
Providers earn AKT tokens for supplying compute resources.
Tokens are allocated based on uptime, performance, and task completion.
3. Governance: Token holders can propose upgrades and vote on protocol changes.
4. Token burn mechanism: Network fees are burned, reducing token supply.
Ways to participate and contribute
1. As a provider:
Set up GPU, CPU, or storage servers on the Akash Network.
List resources, set prices, and start earning AKT tokens.
2. As a consumer:
Rent compute resources through Akash Network’s web interface or command-line interface (CLI).
Deploy AI training workloads, web services, and decentralized applications.
3. As a developer:
Access APIs and SDKs to integrate Akash Network’s services into applications.
Utilize GPU clusters for deep learning training or inference tasks.
4. Governance participation: Stake AKT tokens, vote on network upgrades, and resource pricing policies.
Future outlook
The above examples are only a small fraction of effective projects with sustainable revenue. In the coming months, the acceptance of DePIN will undoubtedly increase and give rise to more sustainable, scalable, and profitable companies.
While the mentioned companies are consumer-facing, another area that excites me is infrastructure. Underlying blockchain, oracle services, smart contract services, middleware, token issuance services, and more will benefit from the development of DePIN projects. Some examples include Solana, Peaq, Base, Story, Arweave, Opacity Network, and DeForm.
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