DePIN — a set of eight innovative projects redefining the approach to infrastructure

Decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) represent a fusion of real assets with blockchain capabilities. These technological solutions shift control over infrastructure from large corporations into the hands of users themselves. Although the concept is not entirely new, it is in 2024 that the term DePIN gained widespread popularity due to the explosive growth of projects in this field. Let’s explore what lies behind this abbreviation and examine eight of the most promising solutions.

Why DePIN is Changing the Game

For decades, centralized corporations have dictated the terms of managing physical infrastructure. You buy a device, but the company retains control. The familiar scenario: you pay for a router, smartphone, or computer, but real authority over this equipment remains with the manufacturer. DePIN turns this model upside down.

In a decentralized infrastructure ecosystem, your devices become network nodes. You own the data, control access at your discretion, and no corporation can block features or monetize your information without consent. This is a fundamentally different approach to ownership and privacy in the digital world.

Eight DePIN Projects That Are Rewrite History

Data Storage: Filecoin (FIL)

Filecoin has transformed the concept of cloud storage. Instead of paying for Dropbox or Google Drive, users interact with a decentralized peer-to-peer network. Those with free space on their hard drives become resource providers and earn FIL tokens. Prices are determined by the market, ensuring fairness and transparency.

The project already demonstrates real value: critical databases like Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, and GnomAD are stored on its platform. According to the latest data, the market capitalization of FIL is $1.09B, confirming established trust in the platform. A key advantage is the ease of scaling thanks to its distributed architecture.

Computing Power: Render (RNDR)

While Filecoin manages storage, Render covers computational resources. Graphics rendering, 3D scenes, and special effects require enormous power. Previously, this was only accessible to studios with substantial budgets. Render pools unused GPUs into a single resource, allowing anyone to rent computing power.

The business model is simple: owners of graphics cards monetize idle equipment, content creators pay only for actual usage. This lowers the entry barrier for creative professionals worldwide.

Blockchain Indexing: Graph (GRT)

The Graph is critical infrastructure for Web3. This protocol organizes blockchain data, enabling decentralized applications to access information seamlessly. Developers create subgraphs—open APIs for queries—and indexers, who stake GRT tokens (current price $0.04), handle these requests.

The Graph has already become an infrastructure layer for Uniswap, Lido, ENS, Compound, and dozens of other applications. This demonstrates that DePIN works not only in theory but also provides concrete working solutions.

Streaming Video: Theta (THETA) and Livepeer (LPT)

Two platforms—Theta and Livepeer—compete to redefine video streaming. Theta offers a decentralized CDN network with its own blockchain. Validators include Google, Samsung, and Sony. Users generate TFUEL tokens (and also stake THETA), sharing bandwidth.

Livepeer goes further, specializing in transcoding and distributing video. Node operators earn LPT (current rate $3.13) for maintaining infrastructure. Both platforms serve as full replacements for YouTube and Twitch, but without centralized control.

Permanent Storage: Arweave (AR)

While Filecoin stores data temporarily, Arweave stores it forever. This platform is designed for permanent, censorship-resistant data storage. Using the Proof of Access (PoA) mechanism, the network ensures that node operators have access to the information they store.

Users pay with AR tokens (current cost $3.84) for data recording, and nodes are incentivized to preserve information for years. Arweave has expanded and now supports decentralized applications and smart contracts.

Cloud Computing: Akash (AKT)

Akash offers a decentralized alternative to Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform. Developers can post their application requirements on an open marketplace, while infrastructure providers offer their services. The system creates a competitive market where prices naturally fall.

Particularly interesting for AI: machine learning researchers rent computational resources for training models, paying only for actual usage time. The AKT token is traded at around $0.47, facilitating payments within the network.

Internet of Things: IOTA

IOTA occupies a unique niche—creating a platform for the IoT ecosystem. The Tangle architecture (directed acyclic graph) allows transactions without fees. When a user performs a transaction, they confirm two previous ones, making each participant a validator.

This solution works even on resource-constrained IoT devices. Users can monetize collected data—for example, a weather sensor can sell information for IOTA tokens (current rate $0.10), creating a new data economy.

Prospects and Challenges of DePIN

DePIN is on the verge of transforming the infrastructure layers we interact with daily. As blockchain performance improves, real opportunities emerge for decentralizing telecommunications, energy, and transportation. Projects like Render have already proven that unused resources can be monetized without cumbersome bureaucracy.

However, the technology faces several obstacles. Most projects have not yet been tested in large-scale applications. Security issues remain critical: if a network handles confidential information, protecting data on the blockchain becomes a complex task. Additionally, DePIN solutions are relatively inexpensive today due to the technology’s youth and low demand. If infrastructure does not scale proportionally to growing demand, the economic model could collapse.

Final Vision

2024 marked the arrival of mature DePIN. Filecoin and its counterparts are already performing real functions, serving millions of users. As blockchain networks become faster and cheaper, the wave of DePIN projects will grow.

This is not just a technological innovation—it’s a transition to a new model of ownership and control. Users are gradually gaining power over their data, and fair distribution of value among all participants is becoming a reality. In the coming years, the attention of investors, developers, and ordinary people will be focused precisely on this direction. DePIN represents a future where infrastructure belongs to everyone.