Will DePIN Become the Next Narrative?
Every few months in the digital assets industry, a new buzzword is released into the wild. Although some are mere hype, others have the potential to revolutionize a sector as they turn into narratives. And in 2024, a good portion of digital assets investors are looking at Decentralized Physical Infrastructure or DePIN.
A DePIN is a decentralized application (dApp) that uses tokens to incentivize users to crowdsource and build connected real-world physical infrastructure. Physical infrastructure networks include computing, storage, energy, and agriculture networks.
Currently, it costs businesses significant upfront capital to build and scale these infrastructures, usually resulting in centralized networks. But with DePIN, users can aid in decentralizing these networks while being rewarded.
For example, Helium uses blockchain technology to create a decentralized wireless network that allows anyone to get paid for providing coverage and connection through their personal devices.
Source: https://www.peaq.network/blog/what-are-decentralized-physical-infrastructure-networks-depin
This allows DePIN projects to have several advantages, such as incredible scaling, as thousands of users can participate at a fraction of the cost, and it is community-driven with open governance.
Although some attention has been paid to DePIN projects, the current total market capitalization according to CoinGecko is only ~$23 billion. The potential to become a bigger sector is there as it also intersects with the Real-World Assets narrative. However, most projects have failed to see massive adoption as they remain experimental but still worth keeping an eye on these projects.