DePIN Tokens Lag, Revenues Rise as Sector Is ‘Forced Into Fundamentals’

Low token prices continue to impact decentralized physical infrastructure networks (Demin), but revenues across the sector are showing signs of resilience, according to A a report From Masari.

most Demin Cryptocurrencies stagnant or decline in 2025: Cryptocurrencies launched between 2018 and 2022 lag behind their all-time highs by 94-99%, the report said. But a subset of networks reported growing cross-chain revenues, representing a shift away from speculative valuation toward underlying economic activity.

DePIN uses blockchain and cryptocurrency incentives to coordinate and maintain networks of real-world devices such as storage, wireless, power, and sensors through peer-to-peer sharing rather than centralized networks.

The sector now represents nearly $10 billion in traded market cap and generated an estimated $72 million in on-chain revenue in 2025. Leading revenue-generating DePIN networks trade at around 10 to 25 times revenue, in contrast to valuation multiples exceeding 1,000 times revenue during the 2021 market cycle.

“DePIN was forced to the basics,” said Marcus Levin, co-founder of the DePIN XYO project. Decryption. “When token prices are fixed, the only thing that matters is whether someone is actually paying for the service, and whether the network can sustain itself without subsidies. This shift is healthy.”

The Massari report notes that only a limited set of strategies remain viable to scale up DePIN projects sustainably. One is an alternative financing model, such as InfraFi and reliance on speculative capital during bull markets.

InfraFi, which seeks to finance physical infrastructure using crypto-native capital such as stablecoins, is emerging as one potential path forward. With more than $175 billion in stablecoins outstanding, InfraFi’s early deployments suggest that DePIN assets could attract yield-seeking capital, although the model introduces new credit, duration and regulatory risks and is still in its early stages.

Dylan Payne, senior research analyst at Messari and author of the report, said: Decryption That DePIN can increase its reputation by generating sustainable revenues from selling valuable resources to the market. “In favorable market conditions, such ‘tricks’ [partnerships, ecosystems and community] “It can actually help accelerate the build of supply-side growth, but the newly added supply must generate corresponding revenue for DePIN to be viable,” he said.

“From our point of view, DePINs should not abandon these supply-side growth strategies but at the same time should prioritize research [product-market fit] On the demand side.”

DePIN also intersects with growing demand from AI companies.

Levin said AI developers have growing needs for compute, storage and especially verifiable real-world data, which some DePIN networks can provide. Over time, AI buyers will likely focus less on decentralization as an ideology and more on outcomes like cost, reliability and data provenance, he said.

Despite the weak overall symbolic performance, private investment in this sector remains active. DePIN startups have raised nearly $1 billion in 2025, largely at seed and Series A stages, indicating continued private market conviction even as public markets price limited survival for many projects.

Bain and Levine disagree on whether 2026 will represent a new record for investment, Bain said. Decryption There have been “no clear catalysts for increased investment this year,” while Levin predicted that the influx of funds driven by DePIN is “starting to look bankable.”

“You’re now seeing more diligence around unit economics, payback periods, and whether revenues will hold up when incentives wane,” he said. “When investors can point to real demand, recurring revenue, and clearer paths to increase capital expenditures, they write bigger checks.”