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

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

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

During the last crypto cycle, many projects leveraged the hype of DePin and identified issues with significant market opportunities. However, when their core products failed to gain attention in terms of demand and supply, they turned to crypto token economics.

However, for those that survived, many took the time to build their infrastructure, so much so that many were able to generate sustainable revenue by solving existing problems, even independently of the tokenomics flywheel. Let's have them!

Geodnet (Real-Time Kinematics)

The core problem being addressed

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 the installation and use by miners.

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

In 2024, Geodnet reported a year-on-year revenue increase of over 500%, reaching 1.7 million dollars, with an operating rate exceeding 2.2 million dollars 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.

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

• Daily Earnings: The average daily earnings for each miner is about $4.30, with an expected payback 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 and 700 dollars).

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

2. Use Network:

• Access RTK correction data by subscription or direct purchase.

3. Develop applications:

• Build software for specific industries using data from Geodnet.

4. Governance:

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

Helium ( Wireless Infrastructure )

is addressing the core issues.

Traditional mobile network operators (such as T-Mobile) require significant 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 customer

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

2. Telecom providers - Provide WiFi offloading capabilities to major operators, reducing their infrastructure costs.

3. IoT device manufacturers – Providing connectivity for low-power IoT devices through the LoRaWAN protocol.

4. Enterprises – Assist organizations in deploying private wireless networks for asset tracking, sensors, and environmental monitoring.

Revenue Model

Helium generates revenue through two main channels:

1. Direct-to-consumer mobile plan:

• Use Helium hotspots and partner networks (e.g., T-Mobile) to offer a monthly unlimited plan for $20.

2. Operator WiFi offload fee:

• Charge telecom providers $0.50/GB to offload data through Helium's decentralized hotspots instead of traditional cell 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 revenue through mobile subscriptions and carrier offload fees.

• Forecast: As partnerships with operators expand, it is estimated that the potential annual revenue from WiFi offloading alone will 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. Destruction 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. Operator Partnerships:

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

4. Governance and Staking:

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

Akash (Computation)

The core problem being addressed

Akash addresses the high costs, scalability limitations, and centralization issues of traditional cloud 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 a lower cost.

target customer

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 lease and processing payments over the network.

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

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

4. Corporate Partnerships - Collaborating with AI labs and decentralized platforms to expand computing power.

Financial Performance

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

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

• Network Scale: Supports over 400 GPUs

Token Economics

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

1. Practicality:

• Payment - Buyers use 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 providing 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. Burn mechanism:

• The 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 lease 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.

• Use 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 brief list of some viable projects with sustainable income. 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. Areas like underlying blockchains, oracle services, smart contract services, middleware, integration, token issuance services, etc., are fields where companies will gain tremendous benefits from the increased use of DePin projects. Some examples include Solana, Peaq, Base, Story, Arweave, Opacity Network, and DeForm.