The digital revolution has altered the way in which we use information and services. Now, a new wave of innovation is poised to reshape the very foundation of our infrastructure: decentralised physical infrastructure networks (DePINs).
Imagine a world where people like us offered our resources – storage, processing, and even idle bandwidth – making the internet more robust and democratic. This is the essence of DePINs. Using blockchain technology and networking utopias is what DePINs is striving for, and they are creating an economic ecosystem where all can participate and all can gain.
From Centralised to Collective: A New Economic Order was a term coined by Henry Wallace.
In the classical understanding, infrastructure is the control of a physical asset, data used, communication tower, light pole, etc., by a centralised entity. This model has limitations. A single point of failure can cripple a system. Access is restricted by way of high prices because of the lack of competition.
DePINs break this mould. They allow individual considerations like you and me to contribute our tangible assets to the collective pool. This economy is built upon a tokenised currency that rewards participation. Participants get tokens to provide storage, processing power, or anything else. These tokens are redeemable within the DePIN network and they are also listed on numerous cryptocurrency exchanges.
There are numerous benefits associated with DePINs as compared to more traditional, centralised infrastructure models.
Increased Resilience: DePINs are not that susceptible to outages in view of their distributed infrastructure. The hardware failure or sabotage on one node is also tolerated by the network as there is no single point of failure. Geographically distributed data replication makes the fault tolerance to be more increased.
Enhanced Scalability:
DePINs readily accommodate changes. The more users contribute resources to the network, the bigger its automatically scalable capacity becomes. This inherent scalability allows DePINs to service unplanned spikes in usage without performance degradation.
Reduced Costs:
Avoidance of centralised providers removes overhead costs associated with administration and maintenance of physical infrastructure. Therefore, in the DePIN ecosystem competition lowers user service fees. Decreased operational costs lead to substantial savings for the infrastructure providers and the end users.
Open Access:
DePINs create a trustless environment where anyone can play and add value to the network. This encourages innovation and competitiveness since developers can use DePIN assets in the development of new applications and services. Open access also allows people to get involved as stockholders of the cyberspace that they use.
Be Part of the DePIN Revolution: If You Want to Get Engaged
The DePIN movement is gaining momentum, and some projects are already implementing the work of creating this new infrastructure. Here are five examples where you can get involved.
STORJ:
The DePIN focuses on decentralised cloud storage. You may rent out unused space on your computer and be paid with STORJ tokens. These tokens may be used for the payment for safe and trusted cloud storage offered in the STORJ network.
Website: https://www.storj.io
THETA Network:
THETA employs the principles of DePIN in order to create a decentralised video streaming platform. Those who share their bandwidth as contributors contribute to the improvement of the video streaming quality and get THETA tokens. Or, content creators can also benefit from their share of the tokens generated by the users of the network.
Website: https://www.thetatoken.org
Helium: The DePIN project seeks to create a wireless peer-to-peer network. Users can also install specialised devices called helium hotspots at homes or business premises for others to connect to internet. In return, they earn Helium tokens (HNT) for participating in the network.
Website: https://www.helium.com
Grass:
Grass is a DePIN service that offers users an opportunity to share their forgotten internet bandwidth and thus constitute a network for AI companies which use it to train their models. With the installation of the Grass web extension, you become able to donate your unused internet bandwidth to the Grass network. AI companies use this network for training their models and in exchange, you receive Grass (GRS) tokens which is a native token of the platform.
Website: https://www.getgrass.io
Silencio:
Silencio creates a map of noise pollution based on the crowd. They apply DePIN principles by using smartphones as mobile data collection points. You can
download the Silencio mobile app and grant it access to your phone microphone so that it can help in noise pollution data collection and you earn Noise tokens, the platform native token in return.
Website: https://www.silencio.network
Render Network:
Render Network exists in the DePIN ecosystem without being a DePIN itself. It employs a distributed system of GPUs, aimed at providing high performance rendering for creative professionals. The users are allowed to contribute their spare GPUs to the network and make tokens in RNDR in return. Such tokens can be used as a fee of rendering the services in the net.
Website: https://rendernetwork.com
These are just some examples as DePIN field is dynamic. By conducting some research, you will be able to identify the appropriate DePIN projects that correspond to your interest and technical knowledge.
Getting Started: You in the Depin Economy?
Here's how you can take the first steps towards participating in the DePIN economy:
Research: Learn the DePIN projects and how to use them and the best place to get potential projects is DePIN HUB (https://depinhub.io)
Choose a Project: Select a DePIN project which corresponds to your technical competence and wish.
Set Up Your Infrastructure: However, there are some projects that may require you to make use of a certain product such as software, hardware (e.g. Helium hotspot), etc. in providing your resources.
Join the Community: Most of the DePIN projects have active online communities where you can learn, share your experiences and get to know other participants.
The Future is Decentralised
DePINs represent a new way of building and managing the anthropogenic environment. This technology can be utilised to democratise access to important services in a positive way, reinforce the internet, and help people gain from a new economy.
There are many prospects that await in the path too. With the DePIN, you will be a creator of the sustainable and just future. Hence, get started today by researching, selecting a project and be a part of the DePIN revolution!
