Pantera Partners: Three Major Projects to Help You Understand the DePin Track

Author: Paul Veradittakit, Partner at Pantera Capital; Translated by: Wuzhu, Golden Finance

Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePin) is the combination of blockchain and infrastructure networks, currently applied in industries such as energy, telecommunications, storage, artificial intelligence, and data collection.

In the last crypto cycle, many projects capitalized on the hype of DePin, discovering problems with huge market opportunities. However, when the core products failed to gain attention in terms of demand and supply, they turned to crypto token economics.

However, for those companies that have survived, many have spent time building their infrastructure, allowing them to create sustainable revenue by solving existing problems, even independent of token economics flywheel. Let's check them out!

Geodnet (Real-time Kinematics)

is addressing the core issue

Traditional GPS systems often lack the precision required for advanced applications, which need centimeter-level accuracy rather than meter-level accuracy. Compared to traditional GPS technology, Geodnet's solution can improve positioning accuracy by 100 times.

target customers

Geodnet serves industries that rely on high-precision geospatial data, including:

• Autonomous vehicles

• Agriculture

• Smart City

• National Defense and Security

• Space Exploration

Profit Model

• Data licensing: Selling geospatial data to commercial clients.

• Node Participation Fee: Costs associated with miners installing and using.

• Partnerships: Collaborate with industries such as autonomous systems to integrate Geodnet services into existing workflows.

In 2024, Geodnet reported a year-on-year revenue growth of over 500%, reaching 1.7 million USD, with an operating rate exceeding 2.2 million USD by the end of the year.

Token Economics

Geodnet uses its native GEOD token to incentivize participants:

• Miners earn tokens based on data contribution and network uptime.

• Destruction mechanism: Tokens are destroyed during data transactions, increasing deflationary pressure.

• Daily Earnings: The average daily earnings for each miner is approximately $4.30, with an expected return period of 3-4 months.

• Circulation: Token distribution to ensure liquidity while incentivizing early adopters.

• Token Utility: Used for payments, staking, and governance within the network.

Participation and Contribution

1. Become a miner:

• Purchase mining equipment (priced between 500 to 700 dollars).

• Set up the miner and connect it to the network, uploading 20-40GB of data each month.

2. Use the network:

• Access RTK correction data via subscription or direct purchase.

3. Develop applications:

• Build software for specific industries using Geodnet's data.

4. Governance:

• Participate in protocol governance by staking GEOD tokens and voting on proposals.

Helium ( Wireless Infrastructure )

The core issue being addressed

Traditional mobile network operators (such as T-Mobile) require substantial capital expenditures to build cell towers, maintain infrastructure, and expand coverage. Helium addresses this issue by creating a distributed wireless network that leverages community-owned hotspots to provide affordable, scalable, and resilient connectivity for mobile and IoT devices.

target customers

1. Consumers - Providing affordable mobile plans (20 dollars per month) with unlimited data through its decentralized network.

2. Telecom providers – Provide WiFi offloading capabilities for major operators, reducing their infrastructure costs.

3. IoT Device Manufacturers - Providing connectivity for low-power IoT devices through the LoRaWAN protocol.

4. Enterprises – Help organizations deploy private wireless networks for asset tracking, sensors, and environmental monitoring.

Income Model

Helium generates revenue through two main channels:

1. Direct-to-consumer mobile plan:

• Use Helium hotspots and partner networks (such as T-Mobile) to provide a $20 monthly unlimited plan.

2. Carrier WiFi offloading fees:

• Charge telecommunications providers $0.50/GB to offload data via Helium's decentralized hotspots (instead of traditional mobile signal towers).

Financial Performance

• Users: Over 100,000 direct mobile users and more than 300,000 indirect WiFi uninstall users.

• Revenue: Generated seven-figure annualized on-chain income through mobile subscriptions and carrier offload fees.

• Prediction: With the expansion of operator partnerships, the potential annual revenue from WiFi offloading alone is estimated to exceed 50 million dollars.

Token Economics

The HNT token of Helium is at the core of its incentive and payment structure:

1. Earn rewards:

• Hotspot operators earn HNT by providing coverage and transmitting data.

2. Practicality:

• Tokens are used for network transactions, data usage payments, and governance proposals.

3. Burn Mechanism:

• HNT tokens are burned when used to pay for network services, thereby reducing supply and creating deflationary pressure.

How to participate, contribute, and access Helium

1. Hotspot Deployment:

• Purchase and set up Helium-compatible hotspots to provide network coverage and earn HNT rewards.

• Choose from 16 approved hardware types specifically designed for IoT or mobile offloading.

2. Consumer Plan:

• Subscribe to the Helium Mobile $20/month plan for affordable mobile data coverage.

3. Carrier Partnership:

• Telecom providers can integrate with Helium to offload data traffic, thereby reducing operational costs.

4. Governance and Staking:

• Stake HNT tokens to participate in network governance, propose upgrade suggestions, and vote on key changes.

Akash (Compute)

is addressing the core issues.

Akash addresses the high costs, scalability limitations, and centralization issues of traditional cloud computing providers like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. Akash solves this problem by offering a decentralized cloud computing marketplace that allows users to monetize idle machines at lower costs.

target customers

1. AI Developers - Need high-performance GPUs to train and deploy machine learning models.

2. Startups and enterprises – need cost-effective and scalable cloud computing to support data processing, storage, and AI-driven applications.

Income Model

Akash generates income in the following ways:

1. Market Fees – Transaction fees are charged for calculating leasing and processing payments through the network.

2. Computing Resource Leasing – Earn a portion of the income generated from AI training and workloads through the leasing of GPUs and CPUs.

3. Developer Tools - Monetize API integration and SDK licensing costs for developers using its computing infrastructure.

4. Business Partnership – Collaborate with AI laboratories and decentralized platforms to expand computing power.

Financial Performance

• Annual Revenue: Akash reports that the calculated rental and fee income for 2024 is $2.5 million.

• Growth Rate: Driven by AI adoption, the demand for GPU computing resources has increased by 33 times.

• Network scale: supports over 400 GPUs

Token Economics

Akash uses AKT tokens for payment, governance, and incentives.

1. Practicality:

• Payment - The buyer uses AKT tokens to pay for computing resource fees.

• Staking – Providers stake tokens to ensure work and enhance reputation.

2. Incentives:

• Providers earn AKT tokens by offering computing resources.

• Tokens are allocated based on uptime, performance, and job completion.

3. Governance:

• Token holders can propose upgrades and vote on protocol changes.

4. Destruction Mechanism:

• Fees are burned, reducing the token supply and increasing deflationary pressure.

How to participate, contribute, and access Akash

1. As a provider:

• Set up GPU, CPU, or storage servers on the Akash network.

• List resources, set prices, and start earning AKT tokens.

2. As a consumer:

• Use the Akash Web interface or CLI to rent computing resources.

• Deploy AI training workloads, web services, and decentralized applications.

3. As a developer:

• Access the API and SDK to integrate Akash's services into applications.

• Utilize GPU clusters for deep learning training or inference tasks.

4. Governance Participation:

• Stake AKT tokens to vote on network upgrades and resource pricing policies.

Outlook

The above is just a short list of viable and sustainable income-generating projects. The coming months will undoubtedly see an increase in the acceptance of DePin, leading to more sustainable, scalable, and profitable companies.

These companies are all consumer-facing, but another aspect that excites me is the infrastructure. Underlying blockchains, oracle services, smart contract services, middleware, integration, token issuance services, etc. are areas where companies will gain significant benefits from increasing the use of DePin projects. Some examples include Solana, Peaq, Base, Story, Arweave, Opacity Network, and DeForm.