Web3 is no longer just about DeFi, NFTs or memecoins. A new wave is here, it’s backed by something far more tangible: physical infrastructure. This is the world of DePIN — Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks — and it’s one of the most important trends in crypto right now.
So… What Is DePIN, Really?
DePIN is the idea of building real-world infrastructure using Web3 principles: decentralization, token incentives, and community participation. Instead of depending on a centralized company to build something (like cell towers, cloud storage or GPS networks), DePIN projects crowdsource the hardware and let people earn tokens for participating.
It’s a shift from WEB3 as software to WEB3 as infrastructure.
Two Sides of DePIN: Digital vs Physical
Tom Trowbridge categorizes the ecosystem into two buckets:
Digital DePIN projects — like Aethir, Akash, Arweave, Filecoin, Fluence, Golem, io.net, Livepeer, Render Network — focus on cloud infrastructure: compute power, storage, rendering. They’re taking on giants like AWS, but with decentralized architecture.
Physical DePIN projects — like Daylight, DAWN, DIMO, Geodnet, Glow, Helium, Hivemapper, MapMetrics, NATIX, Huddle01, WeatherXM, Wingbits, XNET — leverage everyday hardware (routers, antennas, dashcams) to build Wi-Fi networks, mobility systems, weather tracking and more.
The common thread? They all use the crowd to deploy and manage infrastructure and reward people through tokenomics.
Why Is DePIN Growing Now?
A convergence of three trends makes DePIN possible today:
Mature software — Networks of distributed devices can now be coordinated globally.
Cheap hardware — Routers, antennas, dashcams are affordable and accessible.
Token incentives — Crypto economics enable trust, coordination, and rewards.
And unlike most of crypto, DePIN is generating real revenue — sometimes even millions of dollars — which can be used to buy and burn tokens, directly driving value for holders.
As Tom says:
“When your users deploy the infrastructure, your cost drops to zero and your protocol scales without capital expenditure”
DePIN is a model for building real-world infrastructure through crypto-native incentives. It flips the traditional system on its head: instead of a company raising capital to build infrastructure, DePIN protocols incentivize the community to do it together.
If you’re a builder, investor, or just curious where the next trillion-dollar Web3 opportunity lies — DePIN is it.
📖 Explore the full DePIN Token Economics Report by Tom Trowbridge to learn how token models, revenue mechanics, and user incentives are reshaping infrastructure itself.
