DePin Concept: Bridging Web3 with the Real World

DePIN (Decentralised Physical Infrastructure Networks) refers to decentralized physical infrastructure operating in a decentralized manner with token economics, representing a concept of real-world networks and information transmission.

DePIN stands for Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network, which introduces a new approach to constructing and maintaining infrastructure in the physical world. This infrastructure comprises hardware components providing services in physical scenarios, ranging from WiFi hotspot gateways in wireless networks to solar photovoltaics in energy networks. DePIN is constructed in a decentralized manner by individuals and companies worldwide and can be used by anyone without the need for permission. In return, these builders receive economic incentives and co-ownership of the network's value in using this infrastructure.

DePIN encompasses projects in various domains, including decentralized storage networks like Arweave and Filecoin, decentralized WiFi connectivity devices like Helium, and community software applications like Hivemapper, all falling under the category of “DePIN.”

According to Coingecko data, the DePIN sector currently includes 45 listed projects, ranking 21st among various sectors, with a total value of 10.4 billion USD, trailing only DEX and Metaverse sectors.

In a report by Messari, a forecast was made regarding the total potential market size of the DePIN sector, estimating it to be approximately around $22 trillion, potentially reaching $35 trillion by 2028.

Based on this data, it can be inferred that the potential profit expectations for entering the DePIN sector in the short to medium term are approximately 243 times, while the long-term profit expectations exceed 400 times. These estimations are derived from the report's projections on the future growth potential of the DePIN industry.

The current ecosystem for DePIN projects primarily revolves around ETH, Solana, and Polkadot. Below is a rundown of some of the prominent DePIN projects:

On April 20th of this year, the decentralized Internet-of-Things project, Helium, migrated to the Solana network. Helium currently boasts a market value of nearly $800 million, making it the largest DePIN project within the Solana ecosystem.

The distributed GPU rendering network platform, Render Network, expanded its services from Polygon to the Solana blockchain. Notably, Render Network's parent company, OTOY, has a significant collaboration with Apple. Render's logo has been showcased several times in Apple's official promotional videos, hinting that Render might become an integrated rendering component in Apple's software.

Within the Solana ecosystem, there are other DePIN projects such as the decentralized ride-sharing app Teleport, the distributed mapping network HiveMapper, and the blockchain-based photo collection project Tekkon.

Among the Polkadot-based DePIN projects is Phala Network, a substrate-based computation platform. Phala Network introduced LensAPI Oracle for the decentralized social protocol Lens Protocol. It aids Lens Protocol applications by providing real-world data while ensuring user data privacy and security.

Additionally, there are some DePIN projects that operate independently of mainstream public chains, such as the decentralized bandwidth provider Meson Network. Meson Network collaborates with BNB Chain, utilizing its globally distributed nodes to help BNB Chain shorten snapshot synchronization time for its substantial transaction data (2.5 TB). According to their official data, Meson has currently deployed over 100,000 nodes globally to provide services.

Other notable DePIN networks include IoTeX, a decentralized Internet-of-Things network, longstanding distributed storage projects like Filecoin and Arweave, among others.

For the average investor, the concept of DePIN might not appear as appealing as concepts like BTC ecosystem or MEME, and it might not often be a prime investment target for Web3 players. It's also less commonly discussed on social media platforms. However, the data mentioned above indicates a growing interest from institutional investors in DePIN. The influence of DePIN is rapidly expanding as institutional investors increasingly favor this sector.