According to Cointelegraph, Web3 investment company MV Global pointed out in a report on September 5 that decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs) will become the "next important application" of Web3, which is expected to attract a large number of new users into the encryption field.

MV Global said real-world adoption has accelerated, with users in the hundreds of thousands across multiple protocols. This is just the beginning of what we believe will be a wave of growth, not only for current Web3 users, but also for Web 2 users.

DePINs is a blockchain protocol designed to decentralize real-world infrastructure and systems, including communication networks, data warehouses, and energy markets. MV Global said the ecosystem currently includes more than 1,000 projects with a total market value of more than $50 billion.

By leveraging token incentives and on-chain governance, DePINs are solving long-standing challenges such as the “cold start problem” of resource-intensive networks and significantly reducing infrastructure costs.

MV Global said the DePIN project clearly demonstrates the practical application of crypto technology and can solve real-world problems.

Connectivity protocols, such as Helium, which focuses on mobile networks, are replacing expensive legacy infrastructure by crowdsourcing capital expenditures. The report notes that emerging projects worth paying attention to include Destra.network, Chirp, and Andrena.

Sensor networks, such as Dimo, Hivemapper and Geodnet, operate devices in physical spaces and capture valuable data. Emerging DePIN use cases include decentralized energy storage solutions and marketplaces, such as Daylight, EC3 and Entheos, the report said.

Meanwhile, blockchains dedicated to DePIN projects, such as Peaq and IoTeX, are emerging to meet their specific needs.

The market for decentralized data storage and computing protocols, including Filecoin and Arweave, is expected to reach $128 billion by 2028, driven by demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

The growth of connectivity, sensors and emerging primitives such as energy networks highlights the practical impact of DePINs on real-world infrastructure, the report said.