Some DePIN projects have achieved sustainable profitability by solving existing problems without even relying on the flywheel effect of token economics.
Author: Paul Veradittakit, Partner at Pantera Capital, a cryptocurrency investment company
Compiled by: Luffy, Foresight News
Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) is the fusion of blockchain and infrastructure network. Currently, DePIN is present in industries such as energy, telecommunications, storage, artificial intelligence, and data collection.
In the last crypto cycle, many projects took advantage of the DePIN craze to target directions with huge market opportunities, but when the core products failed to gain enough traction on both the supply and demand sides, they turned to cryptocurrency token economics.
However, of those projects that have survived, many companies have spent time building infrastructure, and they have achieved sustainable profitability by solving existing problems, without even relying on the flywheel effect of the token economy. Let’s take a look at some of these cases.
Geodnet
Core issues to be solved
Traditional global positioning systems (GPS) often lack the accuracy required for advanced applications that require centimeter-level rather than meter-level accuracy. Geodnet Network’s solution improves positioning accuracy by a factor of 100 compared to traditional GPS technology.
target customers
The Geodnet network serves industries that rely on high-precision geospatial data, including:
self-driving cars
agriculture
Smart City
Defense and Security
Space Exploration
Profit Model
Data Licensing: Sell geospatial data to commercial customers.
Node participation fees: fees associated with the installation and use of mining machines.
Partnerships: Working with industries such as agriculture and autonomous driving systems to integrate Geodnet Network’s services into existing workflows.
In 2024, Geodnet Networks reported revenue growth of more than 500% year-over-year to $1.7 million.
Tokenomics
The Geodnet network uses native token GEOD to incentivize participants:
Miners earn tokens based on data contribution and network uptime.
Destruction mechanism: Tokens are destroyed during the data transaction process and a deflation mechanism is introduced.
Average daily income: The average daily income of each miner is approximately US$4.30, and the expected investment payback period is 3 – 4 months.
Circulation: The distribution of tokens ensures liquidity while incentivizing early adopters.
Token usage: used for payment, staking and governance within the network.
How to participate and contribute
1. Become a miner:
Purchase mining equipment (cost between $500 – $700).
Set up and connect the miner to the internet and upload 20 – 40GB of data per month.
2. Use the Internet: Access real-time dynamic (RTK) correction data through subscription or direct purchase.
3. Development of applications: Develop software for specific industries based on data from the Geodnet network.
4. Governance: Participate in protocol governance by pledging GEOD tokens and voting on proposals.
Helium
Core issues to be solved
Traditional mobile network operators such as T-Mobile require huge capital expenditures to build base stations, maintain infrastructure and expand coverage. Helium solves this problem by creating a decentralized wireless network that leverages community-owned hotspots to provide affordable, scalable, and resilient connectivity to mobile and IoT devices.
target customers
Consumers: Pay $20 per month for unlimited data on the Helium decentralized network.
Telecom operators: Implement WiFi offloading for major operators and reduce their infrastructure costs.
IoT device manufacturers: Provide connectivity for low-power IoT devices via the LoRaWAN protocol.
Enterprises and Institutions: Helps organizations deploy private wireless networks for asset tracking, sensors and environmental monitoring.
Profit Model
The Helium Network generates revenue through two main channels:
1. Direct-to-consumer action plan: Offers an unlimited data plan for $20 per month, allowing users to use Helium network hotspots and partner networks (such as T-Mobile) at the same time.
2. Operator WiFi offloading fee: Telecom operators are charged US$0.50 per GB to offload data through decentralized hotspots on the Helium network instead of traditional base stations.
financial performance
Subscribers: 100,000+ direct subscribers and 300,000+ indirect WiFi offload users.
Revenue: Generates seven-digit annualized revenue from mobile subscriptions and carrier offload fees.
Forecast: Potential annual revenue from WiFi offloading alone is expected to exceed $50 million as carrier partnerships expand.
Tokenomics
The Helium network’s HNT token is at the heart of its incentive and payment structure:
Earn Rewards: Hotspot operators earn HNT by providing coverage and transmitting data.
Purpose: Tokens are used for online transactions, payment for online services and governance proposals.
Burning mechanism: HNT tokens are destroyed when used to pay for network services, reducing the supply.
How to participate and contribute
1. Hotspot deployment:
Purchase and set up a hotspot compatible with the Helium network to provide network coverage and earn HNT rewards.
Choose from 16 approved hardware types designed for IoT or mobile offloading.
2. Consumer plan: Subscribe to Helium Network’s $20 monthly mobile plan to get affordable mobile data coverage.
3. Operator partnerships: Telecom operators can integrate with Helium networks to offload data traffic and reduce operating costs.
4. Governance and staking: pledge HNT tokens to participate in network governance, make suggestions and vote on key upgrades.
Akash
Core issues to be solved
Akash Network aims to solve the high cost, scalability limitations and centralization issues of traditional cloud computing providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and others. It solves these problems by providing a decentralized cloud computing marketplace that allows users to monetize idle machines while reducing costs.
target customers
Artificial Intelligence Developers: 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:
Market Transaction Fees: Transaction fees are charged for calculating leases and payments processed over the network.
Computing resource leasing: A share of the revenue generated from GPU and CPU leasing for AI training and workloads.
Developer Tools: By charging developers for using its computing infrastructure for API integration and SDK licensing.
Enterprise partnerships: Work with artificial intelligence labs and decentralized platforms to expand computing capabilities.
financial performance
Annual Revenue: Akash Network reported $2.5 million in 2024 from calculated leases and fees.
Growth rate: Due to the popularity of artificial intelligence, the demand for GPU computing resources has increased by 33 times.
Network scale: Supports more than 400 GPUs.
Tokenomics
The Akash Network uses the AKT token for payments, governance, and incentives.
1. Application:
Payment: Buyers use AKT tokens to purchase computing resources.
Staking: Providers stake tokens to gain access to jobs and increase their reputation.
2. Incentive:
Providers earn AKT tokens for supplying computing resources.
Tokens are distributed based on uptime, performance, and task completion.
3. Governance: Token holders can propose upgrades and vote on protocol changes.
4. Destruction mechanism: Network fees are destroyed, reducing the token supply.
How to participate and contribute
1. As a provider:
Configure GPU, CPU or storage servers on the Akash network.
List resources, set prices and start earning AKT tokens.
2. As a consumer:
Rent computing resources using Akash Network's web interface or command line interface (CLI).
Deploy AI training workloads, web services, and decentralized applications.
3. As a developer:
Access the API and SDK to integrate Akash Network's services into your applications.
Leverage GPU clusters for deep learning training or inference tasks.
4. Governance participation: pledge AKT tokens to vote on network upgrades and resource pricing policies.
Looking to the future
These are just a few of the projects that work well and generate sustainable income. In the coming months, DePIN acceptance will undoubtedly increase again and lead to the creation of more sustainable, scalable and profitable companies.
The above companies are all consumer-facing, but another area that excites me is infrastructure. The underlying blockchain, oracle services, smart contract services, middleware, token issuance services, etc., these companies are in areas that will benefit from the development of the DePIN project. Some examples include Solana, Peaq, Base, Story, Arweave, Opacity Network and DeForm.
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