Decentralized Physical Infrastructures (DePINs) are networks aimed at changing real-world and digital systems with blockchain technology. DePINs leverage technology to build a tokenized incentive model for participants offering physical and digital resources. In this article, we will explore what DePINs are, their main use cases, and how they seek to design an open, transparent, and distributed technological infrastructure.
What are Decentralized Physical Infrastructures (DEPIN)?
DePINs connect a network of providers or participants that offer different types of physical and computing resources. Its goal is to build a decentralized infrastructure to facilitate access to services such as storage, computing power or computing capacity. Through blockchain technology and smart contracts, DePIN networks facilitate a peer-to-peer (P2P) incentive model based on tokens, which are used by participants and users to connect to a service marketplace.
Participants can offer full or spare capacity of physical resources, such as devices, machines, equipment (GPUs, CPUs) or any type of hardware that can be used to build services and networks. They are also able to provide computing resources, for example, computing power, connectivity, storage space and bandwidth.
Features of DEPINS
Thanks to the use of blockchain technology, DePINs have a number of distinctive features. These include:
- Decentralization
- Community governance
- Open and transparent service markets
- Lower costs for platforms and users
- Token-based incentive model
- Uncensored Systems
How do they Works
Basically, users can connect to a DePIN development network and provide spare capacity of their resources, such as storage space, to earn rewards in the form of native tokens related to each decentralized infrastructure project. In turn, anyone can access that decentralized storage space by making a payment in said token. The fees (commissions) charged to end users for renting said storage would be the method of sustainability for the network.
In general terms, DePIN protocols seek an alternative to centralized services and systems, both physical and digital, after the dominance of large technology companies, such as Google, Amazon or Microsoft. As Web3 gains strength as an evolution of the Internet , the relevance of DePINs aligns with the search for real-world infrastructures, powered by blockchain and crypto, for the construction of a new range of decentralized products and services.
Use Cases and Industries:
- Decentralized storage
- Computer networks
- Smart sensors
- Connectivity and WiFi
- Energy
- Mobility
- Data
- Infrastructure for artificial intelligence (AI)
- Video and decentralized streaming
- Geospatial data
