The Rise of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePINs)

The Blockchain Association (BA) based in Washington D.C. has kicked off its 'Blockchain Policy Summit' with an opening address from the incoming U.S. President, Donald Trump, who expressed his commitment to stand alongside the industry and lead the development of the crypto sector. The first day of the summit includes closed-door discussions between dozens of member organizations and government officials to delve into the current blockchain industry trends and the future direction of U.S. policies. IoTeX, a member organization, has been invited to participate in the summit. Recently, the BA officially welcomed IoTeX, highlighting their expertise in the DePIN field, which is gaining increasing interest from policymakers and regulators in Washington D.C. IoTeX's substantial knowledge is expected to enhance BA's communication with the new government. The Blockchain Association, representing the crypto industry in Washington D.C., consists of nearly 100 leading organizations and protocols. It aims to establish a reasonable and beneficial regulatory framework for blockchain technology. Over the past three years, the BA has actively engaged with numerous blockchain leaders at the policy level, participating in hundreds of discussions in the Senate and the House of Representatives. In 2023 alone, the BA was involved in 175 meetings with the Senate and House members. With the influence of the crypto-friendly political landscape under the newly elected President Trump, the Blockchain Policy Summit is highly anticipated, with notable attendees such as Senators Tim Scott, Bill Hagerty, Cynthia Lummis, and Representatives Patrick McHenry, French Hill, Ro Khanna, among others. Leading industry organizations with compliant and positive government relations, including a16z, Coinbase, Consensys, Grayscale, Messari, Ripple, Uniswap, Filecoin, and IoTeX, will participate as members at the summit. IoTeX, as a member representing DePIN, is at the forefront of discussions. DePIN, a hot topic at the summit, has piqued the interest of Washington's policymakers and regulators. As a groundbreaking technology that connects real-world devices and infrastructure with the digital world, DePIN holds unique advantages in unlocking traditional industry value and energy. IoTeX, as a leader in the DePIN ecosystem, will collaborate with other industry leaders in the DePIN working group, such as Multicoin, Hedera, Filecoin, Helium, CESS, and Geodnet, to drive discussions and policymaking on integrating real-world applications with blockchain innovation. Larry, IoTeX's ecosystem lead, emphasized the crucial 100 days ahead for U.S. crypto legislation, highlighting the growing acceptance of DePIN among legislators. Raullen Chai, IoTeX's CEO and Co-founder, stressed the importance of collaboration with policymakers in establishing a thriving DePIN and crypto ecosystem. By joining the Blockchain Association, IoTeX aims to provide clear pathways for DePIN projects to launch and expand under regulatory guidance, ensuring accessibility for all users. Through long-term collaborations with professional organizations like the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) and IEEE, IoTeX is well-positioned to facilitate dialogues between DePIN and Washington's policymakers, marking a significant step in connecting the physical and digital worlds through decentralized technology.

Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePin) are reshaping the tech industry by facilitating decentralized projects in real-world infrastructure. Recent developments in the DePin sector include VanEck's $2.5 million investment in DAWN for decentralized wireless service, IoTeX's collaboration with the Blockchain Association for DePin political advocacy, Exabits securing $15 million in seed funding, and more. Exabits, an AI GPU tokenization startup, received $15 million in seed funding. By tokenizing GPU compute resources, Exabits has reached a $150 million valuation and experienced a 300% quarterly revenue increase. GPUs play a vital role in the DePin AI ecosystem due to the high computing demands of AI research. While companies like Aethir focus on GPU-as-a-service partnerships, Exabits offers a unique perspective that shows promise in the sector.

In a recent message, Acurast's Co-Founder Alessandro De Carli celebrated a year of significant progress for the project, emphasizing the importance of community involvement. He expressed gratitude to various contributors, including Cellhasher for their hardware R&D, Passive Crypto Mining for their educational content, and Kevin for his valuable feedback. De Carli highlighted the importance of a collaborative community in achieving Acurast's vision of transforming computing by leveraging billions of smartphones to create a decentralized, secure, and confidential computing platform for developers. The message also detailed Acurast's journey since the launch of the Acurast Lite, noting unprecedented growth in compute provision and activity on their incentivized testnet, which has become the most active chain in the Kusama ecosystem with over 120 million transactions. This success allowed the team to optimize the protocol significantly, achieving over 100x scalability. However, as more developers engaged with the protocol, it became clear that the pricing and reward system required a redesign to ensure long-term sustainability and community participation. Looking ahead, Acurast has set a target for the Token Generation Event (TGE) in April 2025, following extensive discussions on the benefits of delaying the event for better system design. Upcoming milestones include the public release of iOSTokenomics, the launch of a new reward and pricing system, and the introduction of staking and economic security. Acurast aims to redefine the future of computing, particularly in the context of AI, and invites the community to join in this transformative journey.

Solana has launched Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) Compute, a groundbreaking decentralized system designed to address the surging demand for computing power driven by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI). Traditional computing systems are struggling to meet this demand, but DePIN offers a novel solution by leveraging underutilized resources, akin to how Airbnb allows homeowners to share their vacant properties. This innovative approach enables users to monetize their idle GPUs, making them available for developers, researchers, and startups in need of computational resources. The functionality of DePIN Compute is straightforward: users can rent out their unused GPU power, creating a new income stream while optimizing resource utilization. This decentralized model is particularly beneficial for smaller developers and researchers who often find high-performance computing platforms financially prohibitive. By utilizing blockchain technology, DePIN Compute ensures a fast, cost-effective, and scalable method for sharing computing resources, ultimately democratizing access to advanced technology. The significance of DePIN Compute is underscored by recent investments, notably VanEck's commitment of over $10 million to the project, reflecting strong confidence in its potential. VanEck's prior backing of Solana has already contributed to a positive market response, including the filing for the first SOL-based Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) in the United States. As AI continues to evolve, initiatives like DePIN Compute are set to revolutionize how computing power is accessed and utilized, fostering innovation and enabling a broader range of individuals and organizations to benefit from cutting-edge technology.

The DePIN project Roam has recently unveiled its "2025 Roadmap," highlighting significant advancements across six major product lines, including innovative WiFi hardware devices. The roadmap outlines that the Roam Loan and Roam Discovery products are set to launch in the first quarter of 2025, while upgrades to the existing Roam Growth product will be finalized by the second quarter. Additionally, the second half of the year will see the rollout of the new version 2.0 of the Roam APP, alongside the introduction of the Innovator Hub, aimed at fostering developer engagement in the ecosystem's co-construction. On the technical front, Roam is set to prioritize the Proof of Presence protocol in the upcoming year, which will facilitate real-time verification of local interactions within the Roam network. Furthermore, the launch of Roam DAO is anticipated in the latter half of the year, marking a significant step towards decentralized governance. By the end of 2025, Roam plans to achieve full integration of WiFi and cellular data networks, enhancing connectivity for its users. Currently, Roam boasts over 1 million global WiFi nodes and has attracted more than 1.72 million users. The project has consistently held the top position in the DePINscan hardware node count leaderboard since December 3. ChainCatcher advises readers to approach blockchain developments with a rational mindset, emphasizing the importance of risk awareness and caution regarding virtual token issuances and speculative activities. All information provided is intended for market insight and does not constitute investment advice.

GEODNET is revolutionizing global positioning services through its decentralized Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) network, which provides cost-effective and precise GPS and GNSS corrections. With centimeter-level accuracy, GEODNET caters to high-precision applications including autonomous vehicles, agricultural automation, and drone deliveries. Founded in 2021 by Mike Horton, who has over 25 years of experience in GNSS and RTK technology, GEODNET has rapidly expanded to over 10,000 RTK base stations globally, making it the largest RTK network in the world. This growth has resulted in an impressive $2 million in annualized revenue, reflecting a 455% increase from the previous year. Utilizing a Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) model, GEODNET significantly reduces the capital and operational costs associated with building a global RTK network. By distributing costs among infrastructure owners, the company has managed to cut expenses by 90% compared to traditional models. This innovative approach has allowed GEODNET to deploy its base stations quickly and efficiently. The network's partnerships with organizations such as the US Department of Agriculture demonstrate its practical applications and scalability, particularly in supporting tractor auto-steering technology. GEODNET's ecosystem continues to grow through strategic collaborations with companies like Boson Motors, Wingbits, and Propeller, enhancing its RTK capabilities across various sectors. These partnerships not only extend GEODNET's reach but also improve the accuracy of applications ranging from precision agriculture to advanced flight tracking. As GEODNET aims to expand its node network to achieve full global coverage within the next few years, its focus on cost efficiency, scalability, and reliability positions it to meet the increasing demand for precise geolocation services in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.