It is no longer a PPT concept. Which DePIN projects have real income?

It is no longer a PPT concept. Which DePIN projects have real income?

Table of Contents

Some DePIN projects have achieved sustainable profitability by solving existing problems, without even relying on the flywheel effect of the token economy.

Written by Paul Viraditakit

Compiled by: Lovi, Foresight News

Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) is a combination of blockchain and infrastructure network. Currently, DePIN is present in industries such as energy, telecommunications, storage, artificial intelligence, and data collection.

In the latest round of cryptocurrency cycles, many projects took advantage of the DePIN craze to target areas with huge market opportunities, but when the underlying products failed to gain enough traction on both the supply and demand sides, they turned to premium crypto economics.

However, among the companies that survived, many spent time building infrastructure and achieved sustainable profitability by solving existing problems, even without relying on the flywheel effect of token economics. Let’s take a look at some of these cases.

Geogrid

The underlying issues have been resolved

Traditional Global Positioning Systems (GPS) often lack the accuracy required for advanced applications that require centimeters rather than meters. Geodnet Networks solutions improve positioning accuracy by 100 times compared to traditional GPS technology.

Target customers

Geodnet serves industries that rely on high-resolution geospatial data, including:

  • Self-driving cars
  • agriculture
  • Smart city
  • Defense and security
  • Space exploration

Profit model

  • Data Licensing: Selling geospatial data to commercial customers.
  • Node Participation Fee: Fees associated with the installation and use of mining machines.
  • Partnerships: Working with industries such as agriculture and autonomous driving systems to integrate Geodnet services into existing workflows.

In 2024, Geodnet Networks reported revenue growth of more than 500% year-over-year to $1.7 million.

Token economy

Geodnet uses the native token GEOD to incentivize participants:

  • Miners earn tokens based on data contribution and network uptime.
  • Destruction mechanism: Destruction of tokens during data transactions and introduction of deflation mechanism.
  • Average Daily Income: The average daily income per miner is around $4.30, and the expected investment payback period is 3-4 months.
  • Trading: Distributing tokens ensures liquidity while incentivizing early adopters.
  • Token Usage: Used for payment, storage, and governance within the network.

How to participate and contribute

1. Become a miner:

  • Purchase mining equipment (cost ranges between $500-700).
  • Set up and connect your mining machine to the network, and upload 20 to 40 GB of data per month.

2. Use the Internet:

  • You can access real-time motor correction (RTK) data via subscription or direct purchase.

3. Application development:

  • Develop software for specific industries based on data from Geodnet.

4. Governance:

  • Participate in protocol governance by signing GEOD tokens and voting on proposals.

Helium

The underlying issues have been resolved

Traditional mobile network operators, such as T-Mobile, require huge capital expenditures to build base stations, maintain infrastructure, and expand coverage. Helium is solving this problem by creating a decentralized wireless network that uses community-owned hotspots to provide affordable, scalable, and resilient network connectivity for mobile and IoT devices.

Target customers

  • Consumers: Pay $20 per month to use unlimited data provided by the Helium decentralized network.
  • Telecom Providers: Enable WiFi offloading for major operators, reducing their infrastructure costs.
  • IoT Device Manufacturers: Providing connectivity for low-power IoT devices via the LoRaWAN protocol.
  • Businesses and Enterprises: Helps organizations deploy private wireless networks for asset tracking, sensors, and environmental monitoring.

Profit model

The Helium Network generates revenue in two primary ways:

1. Direct-to-consumer mobile phone plans:

  • It offers an unlimited data plan for $20 per month, which allows users to use both Helium hotspots and partner networks like T-Mobile.

2. Operator’s WiFi switching fee:

  • Telecom providers will be charged $0.50 per gigabyte to route data over the decentralized hotspots of the Helium network instead of traditional cell towers.

Financial performance

  • Subscribers: More than 100,000 direct subscribers and more than 300,000 indirect users of WiFi switching.
  • Revenue: Generates seven-figure annual revenue from mobile subscriptions and telco switching fees.
  • Forecast: As operator partnerships expand, potential revenue from WiFi offloading alone is expected to exceed $50 million annually.

Token economy

Helium Network’s HNT token is the core of its incentive and payment structure:

  • Earn Rewards: Hotspot operators earn HNT by providing coverage and data transfer.
  • Usage: Tokens are used for network transactions, payment of network services, and governance proposals.
  • Destruction mechanism: When HNT tokens are used to pay for network services, they are destroyed, reducing supply.

How to participate and contribute

1. Deploy the hotspot:

  • Purchase a hotspot compatible with the Helium network and set it up to provide network coverage and earn HNT rewards.
  • Choose from 16 certified device types designed for IoT or mobile offloading.

2. Consumer Package:

  • Subscribe to Helium Network’s $20/month mobile plan for affordable mobile data coverage.

3. Operator Partnership:

  • Communications service providers can integrate with the Helium network to offload data traffic and reduce operating costs.

4. Governance and Stacking:

  • Share HNT tokens to participate in network management, submit proposals, and vote on major upgrades.

Akash

The underlying issues have been resolved

Akash Network aims to solve the high costs, scalability limitations and centralization issues of traditional cloud computing providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, etc. It solves these problems by providing a decentralized cloud computing market that allows users to profit from idle machines while reducing costs.

Target customers

  • AI developers: They need high-performance GPUs to train and deploy machine learning models.
  • Startups and enterprises: Need affordable and scalable cloud computing to support data processing, storage, and AI-driven applications.

Profit model

Akash Network generates revenue through:

  • Marketplace Transaction Fees: Transaction fees are charged on account rentals and payments processed through the network.
  • Compute Resource Rental: Share revenue generated by renting GPUs and CPUs for AI training and workloads.
  • Developer Tools: By charging API integration and SDK licensing fees to developers who use its computing infrastructure.
  • Enterprise Partnerships: Collaborate with AI labs and decentralized platforms to expand computing power.

Financial performance

  • Annual Revenue: Akash Network reported $2.5 million in 2024 from compute rentals and fees.
  • Growth rate: Due to the popularity of AI, the demand for GPU computing resources has increased by 33 times.
  • Network Scale: Supports more than 400 GPUs.

Token economy

The Akash Network uses AKT tokens for payments, governance, and incentives.

1. Application:

  • Payment: Buyers purchase computing resources using AKT tokens.
  • Staking: Service providers distribute tokens to gain business opportunities and grow their reputation.

2. Motivation:

  • Service providers earn AKT tokens for supplying computing resources.
  • Tokens are distributed based on uptime, performance, and task completion.

3. Governance:

  • Token holders can suggest upgrades and vote on protocol changes.

4. Destruction mechanism:

  • Network fees are burned, reducing the token supply.

How to participate and contribute

1. As a provider:

  • Set up a GPU, CPU or storage server on the Akash network.
  • List your resources, set your price and start earning AKT tokens.

2. As a consumer:

  • Use Akash Network’s web interface or command line interface (CLI) to rent computing resources.
  • Deploy AI training workloads, web services, and decentralized applications.

3. As a developer:

  • Access application programming interfaces (APIs) and software development kits (SDKs) to integrate Akash network services into your applications.
  • Use GPU clusters to train deep learning or inference tasks.

4. Participation in governance:

  • Share AKT tokens to vote on network upgrades and resource pricing policies.

Looking forward

These are just a few examples of successful projects that generate sustainable revenues. In the coming months, DePIN adoption will undoubtedly increase again, giving rise to more sustainable, scalable and profitable companies.

The companies mentioned above are all consumer-facing, but another area that interests me is infrastructure. The underlying blockchain, oracle services, smart contract services, middleware, token issuance services, etc., these companies are located in the areas that will benefit from the development of the DePIN project. Some examples include Solana, Peaq, Base, Story, Arweave, Opacity Network, and DeForm.

Author: Paul Viraditakit

This content is intended only to provide market information and does not constitute investment advice.

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