DePIN Token Ecosystem: Investment Opportunities in the Rise of Distributed Infrastructure

From Physical to Digital: How DePIN is Reshaping Blockchain Infrastructure

Distributed Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) are becoming the new hot spot in the crypto industry for 2024-2025. These projects leverage blockchain technology incentives to convert idle hardware resources in the real world (such as GPUs, bandwidth, storage space) into shared economy models, creating decentralized and efficient infrastructure systems.

Compared to traditional cloud computing or CDN services, DePIN projects offer stronger censorship resistance, lower costs, and higher reliability. This innovative paradigm is attracting global capital attention: according to market data, the total market capitalization of the DePIN sector has surpassed $32 billion, with an average daily trading volume of about $3 billion, demonstrating market enthusiasm for this track.

Core Value Mechanisms of DePIN Tokens

In the DePIN ecosystem, tokens play multiple roles:

Incentivize Participation: Tokens reward network contributors, encouraging users to contribute computing resources, storage, or bandwidth. This token incentive model breaks through the limitations of traditional business models.

Governance Rights: DePIN token holders can participate in network decision-making and influence project development through DAO mechanisms.

Economic Closed Loop: Tokens circulate within the ecosystem, allowing participants to earn rewards and pay for services, forming a complete economic cycle.

The Rise of DePIN Projects at the Computing Layer

Internet Computer (ICP) — Reshaping Cloud Architecture

Internet Computer is a decentralized computing platform developed by the DFINITY Foundation. Its core idea is to enable web applications to run directly on the blockchain without relying on traditional cloud service providers.

ICP launched major upgrades in 2024, including Tokamak, Beryllium, and Stellarator, significantly improving network throughput and security. However, the latest data shows that ICP tokens have fallen 72.92% over the past 12 months, with the current price at only $3.03, and circulating market cap dropping to $1.66 billion. This volatility reflects the overall market adjustment but also offers opportunities for investors who remain optimistic about ICP’s long-term prospects.

Bittensor (TAO) — AI-Driven New Computing Network

Bittensor adopts a unique approach: combining AI model training with blockchain incentive mechanisms to create a distributed machine learning marketplace. Participants in the network can earn TAO tokens by contributing training data and computing resources.

TAO tokens experienced significant volatility in 2024, with the current price at $222.40, down 55.48% year-over-year, but the circulating market cap remains at $2.13 billion. This indicates that the market still believes in Bittensor’s long-term potential in the AI era.

Rendering and GPU Computing Ecosystem

Render Network (RENDER) — Democratization of GPU Resources

Render Network connects idle GPUs worldwide to provide affordable and powerful computing resources for 3D rendering, animation production, and virtual content creation. In 2024, the project migrated from Ethereum to Solana, optimizing transaction speed and cost structure.

The current RENDER token price is $1.28, with a market cap of $662 million. Despite an 83.09% decline over the past year, the project’s application prospects in creative industries and AI video generation remain broad.

Multi-Chain Competition in Storage Ecosystem

Filecoin (FIL) — Pioneer of Decentralized Storage

Filecoin built a peer-to-peer storage marketplace allowing users to rent out idle hard drive space. The launch of Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM) in 2024 opened new application scenarios, with total value locked (TVL) exceeding $200 million.

The current FIL price is $1.24, with a market cap of $906 million, down 81.81% year-over-year. Continuous growth in storage demand keeps FIL an important position in the DePIN ecosystem.

Arweave (AR) — Commitment to Permanent Storage

Unlike Filecoin, Arweave promises to provide permanent data storage. The project uses a unique “blockweave” structure and SPoRA consensus mechanism to ensure the persistent preservation of historical data.

The protocol 2.8 update released in January 2025 further improved network efficiency. The current AR price is $3.47, with a market cap of $227 million, down 79.83% annually.

Data Indexing and Query Layer

The Graph (GRT) — The Google of Blockchain Data

The Graph provides developers with query APIs (Subgraphs) for blockchain data. GRT tokens incentivize indexers, curators, and delegators to maintain this distributed data network.

The current GRT price is only $0.04, with a market cap of $391 million, down 83.58% year-over-year. Despite price pressures, the project’s infrastructure value for the entire Web3 ecosystem cannot be ignored.

Video Streaming and Edge Computing

Theta Network (THETA) — Decentralized Video Delivery

Theta Network incentivizes viewers to share bandwidth, reducing streaming costs. The EdgeCloud solution combines cloud computing with edge computing, supporting broader application scenarios.

THETA’s current price is $0.27, with a market cap of $267 million, down 88.74% annually. This price decline offers an entry point for investors confident in the demand for video streaming.

IoT and Data Sovereignty

JasmyCoin (JASMY) — Data Custodian in the IoT Era

Founded by former Sony executives, Jasmy aims to give individuals full control over their IoT data. Rumored collaborations with NVIDIA and Ripple have boosted market confidence.

JASMY’s current price is $0.01, with a market cap of $299 million, down 84.41% annually.

Helium (HNT) — Decentralized Revolution in Wireless Networks

Helium incentivizes users to deploy hotspot devices to build extensive low-power IoT networks. Its deployment on Solana improves transaction efficiency.

HNT, like JASMY, has experienced market adjustments, but its mission to build a global IoT infrastructure remains steadfast.

IoTeX (IOTX) — Modular Foundation of DePIN

IoTeX launched IoTeX 2.0 in 2024, introducing modular DePIN infrastructure (DIM) and universal security pools (MSP), providing a unified trust layer for the entire DePIN ecosystem. Over 230 dApps and more than 50 DePIN projects have gathered within the ecosystem.

IOTX’s current price is $0.01, with a market cap of $68.31 million, making it one of the most affected projects during this market adjustment, but its infrastructure mission gives it long-term value.

New Players Empowered by Data and AI

Grass Network (GRASS) — Crowdsourced AI Training Data

Grass incentivizes users to share internet bandwidth to collect public network data for AI model training. The large-scale airdrop in October 2024 attracted 1.5 million wallets to participate.

GRASS’s current price is $0.30, with a market cap of $129 million, down 87.63% annually.

Shieldeum (SDM) — Web3 Security Infrastructure

Shieldeum offers Web3 network security services via DePIN, including data encryption, threat detection, and high-performance computing. The project raised $2 million USDT for node testing.