DePin: Crypto Meets AI Real-World Use Cases

GM, Anon! Over the weekend, the market saw a worrying dump, causing widespread panic. Amidst this turmoil, Solana surged, overtaking BNB to claim the fourth-largest spot in market capitalization.

In AI news, the Nvidia GTC conference commenced today, likely driving substantial gains for AI coins, as seen from coins like Render's performance over the weekend. Additionally, investors are closely monitoring the Fed's FOMC meeting scheduled for this week.

The AI sector is poised for significant growth in the crypto space, with many anticipating billions of dollars flowing into this sector over the long term. However, another industry often overlooked by AI investors is DePin, which focuses on the structural side of the technology supporting AI coins. Today, we'll delve into DePin and explore its potential synergies with the AI sector. Let's dive in!

Today, we'll delve into:

• Revising DePin Fundamentals

• DePin metrics and developments

• How to earn with Aethir

• Io.net’s airdrop program

• Getting involved with GamerHash

• Taking advantage of Gpu.net’s points program

The Opportunity

In their 2023 report on DePin, Messari introduced the concept of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks. This report delved into how blockchain technology can revolutionize the deployment and management of real-world physical infrastructure and hardware networks. Messari envisioned a future where the construction and upkeep of such networks are incentivized through tokens, employing cryptographic economic protocols.

Anticipating substantial growth, Messari predicted that DePin could attain a market value of $3.5T by 2028. Recent advancements in DePin projects suggest that Messari's forecasts are proving to be accurate.

Setting The Stage

Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DePin) transforms how we conceive, build, and interact with infrastructure projects. We have covered this sector before, wherein we rightfully named it the “next frontier of blockchain revolution.” If you have been following the news, then you will know that DePin is one of the hottest sectors in crypto right now.

But what makes it so special? Why are some of the smartest people in crypto actively working and researching DePin?

The reason is twofold:

• Firstly, DePin fits perfectly in the intersection of two of the most innovative fields in the world – crypto and AI.

• It is an actual real-world use case of crypto.

DePin redefines the methodology behind infrastructure development and opens up a myriad of possibilities for enhancing efficiency, accessibility, and innovation in the physical world.

At its core, DePin leverages blockchain technology to facilitate a crowd-sourced model for infrastructure projects. 

This model harnesses collective intelligence, skills, and resources to accelerate the development and deployment of infrastructure. By tokenizing aspects of these projects, DePin provides a tangible means to incentivize and reward contributions, ensuring a more engaged and invested community.

The Implications of DePin

The implications of such a system are profound. 

• Acceleration and Responsiveness: Traditional infrastructure projects, often mired in bureaucratic red tape and hindered by centralized decision-making processes, can be sluggish and inefficient. DePin, by contrast, promises to drastically accelerate these projects, potentially boosting their development by 10 to 100 times. 

• Cost-Effectiveness: Utilizes a decentralized approach to tap into unused and idle resources, optimizing allocation and significantly reducing waste and overhead costs compared to traditional infrastructure projects.

• Global Accessibility: Facilitates permissionless scaling, enabling infrastructure solutions to transcend geographical and jurisdictional boundaries, making them accessible worldwide.

• Neutrality and Collective Ownership: Operates on a model of inherent neutrality and collective ownership, contrasting with the exclusionary and profit-driven motives of conventional infrastructure.

• Integration with DeFi: Enhances viability and utility by integrating with decentralized finance systems for frictionless micropayments, facilitating funding and ensuring equitable benefit distribution.

• Resilience and Adaptability: Promotes a new era of more resilient and adaptable infrastructure capable of meeting the evolving demands of society.

• Bridging Digital and Physical Worlds: Acts as a bridge between the blockchain ecosystem and physical infrastructure, potentially redefining the convergence of our physical and digital realities.

Current State Of DePin

The DePin ecosystem currently encompasses more than 650 projects spread across six core subsectors, covering critical infrastructure compute, AI, wireless, sensors, energy, and services. 

• These projects collectively hold a market capitalization exceeding $22B and generate approximately $15M in on-chain annual recurring revenue (ARR). 

• Notably, the number of nodes within DePINs has surged by over 600,000, showcasing significant growth trends.

Anticipated growth factors include the market's expected expansion to $3.5T by 2028, escalating demand for high-quality streaming and online content, increased necessity for valuable datasets across diverse industries, and a rising need for online data storage solutions and software-based DePINs.

Furthermore, the supply side is poised for expansion, with an influx of nodes and the emergence of decentralized marketplaces connecting GPU owners with creators requiring rendering power. 

Notably, DePINs derive revenue from actual utility rather than speculative investments, ensuring transparent and real-time payment mechanisms traceable on the blockchain. Founders in this sector focus on developing open-source hardware and software solutions to catalyze the growth of valuable on-chain products and services, while diversified use cases continue to emerge within the Web3 space.

For a comprehensive exploration of DePin's functionalities, don't miss this insightful three-part series by Pivot dedicated to unraveling the intricacies of DePin.

Diving Deeper: DePin & DeRen

Decentralized Resource Networks (DeRens) and DePins represent the diversification of blockchain technology across various sectors. While both aim to decentralize resources and authority, they differ in focus, functionality, and broader implications.

• DeRens primarily deal with virtual assets like computational resources and financial instruments, enabling intermediary-free exchanges and the conversion of tangible assets into digital tokens. 

• Conversely, DePins focus on decentralizing physical systems such as energy networks and logistics, aiming for more efficient and universally accessible management.

• Goals include making digital services more accessible and transparent for DeRens, while DePins seek to enhance the robustness and sustainability of physical infrastructures. 

• Both face challenges like scalability and security, albeit with differing emphases on digital transactions for DeRens and physical asset protection for DePins.

Promising DePin Projects

Now that you're up to speed on what DePin is and how it operates on a fundemental level, let’s take a look at some of the most promising DePin projects in the market.

Aethir

Aethir is building a distributed GPU-based compute infrastructure for dynamic, enterprise use cases. 

• It connects enterprises with idle GPU resources to industries needing computational power, such as AI, virtual computing, cloud gaming, and crypto mining. 

• This model maximizes resource utilization and offers a cost-effective solution for demanding industries, eliminating the need for them to invest in hardware. 

• Central to Aethir's ecosystem is the $ATH token, which facilitates transactions within this vibrant marketplace. 

• Demand-side participants purchase $ATH to rent computing power, while the supply-side and investors receive $ATH as rewards. 

• Aethir's commitment to repurchasing $ATH with profits bolsters its value, making it a resilient investment.

Owning Aethir Checker Nodes

Checker Nodes are essential for verifying the performance and legitimacy of Containers in Aethir's network, helping maintain its integrity. 

• Owners of these nodes get a share of 15% of all $ATH tokens from the mining rewards pool. With only 100,000 nodes available and a four-year unlock schedule, each node receives a monthly allotment of $ATH, offering a return on investment.

• The launch of Checker Nodes has a tiered pricing structure that benefits early adopters. This encourages quick participation due to competitive pricing and the potential for FOMO. 

Find out how to purchase your Checker Nodes here. Make sure to use the code “M6LABS”.

Io.net

io.net provides access to distributed GPU clusters for machine learning, addressing issues like limited availability, high costs, and poor hardware choices in centralized services. 

• Like Aethir, io.net also aggregates idle GPU into a DePIN, offering significant computing power for computational-intensive industries.

• io.net enhances its offerings with three products: io.net Cloud for scalable GPU clusters, io.net Worker for computation management, and io.net Explorer for network insights, providing a complete solution for GPU resource users and suppliers.

IONet’s Ignition Airdrop Program

GALXE’s Ignition Airdrop Program offers incentives to community members for their active participation on io.net, community engagement, and contributions to network expansion.

Don’t miss out.

GamerHash

GamerHash is a platform launched in 2017 and is currently up 2600% year to date, with a current user base of 760K, initially focused on allowing gamers to earn through crypto mining. 

• It's now expanding to include technical integrations and a new AI app, aiming to provide GPU power for AI, 3D rendering, LLM models, and data analysis, under the new DePin initiative. 

• GamerHash is collaborating with AI L1 projects and DePin market leaders to become a B2C power provider amidst a significant GPU shortage.

• Key milestones include over 2M transactions to gamers' wallets, rewards over $15M, and a hardware value from active users surpassing $20M. 

• The AI product development is phased, with plans ranging from a proof-of-concept for GPU power contribution to the integration of gaming GPUs in computing marketplaces for generative AI model work, addressing the GPU shortage and potentially solving a major issue.

• GamerHash’s native token, GamerCoin ($GHX), has a total supply of 808 million, with 80% in circulation. The platform is operational on BSC and ETH, with plans to expand to Solana.

Share your computing power and earn with GamerHash here.

GPU.net

GPU.net is a decentralized graphics processing unit (GPU) infrastructure project that plans to power the next generation of technologies, including Generative AI, Web3 Metaverses, high-end graphics rendering, and crypto mining. 

• Co-founded by Suraj Chawla and Kirubakaran Reddy, GPU.net secured a significant investment of $500K from Momentum 6 & Alphablockz, along with support from industry leaders like Nvidia and Taanga Studios.

• As GPU.net prepares for its Testnet launch this month, it aims to revolutionize industries reliant on GPU resources. By providing an on-demand GPU infrastructure, GPU.net enables users to access powerful graphics processing capabilities seamlessly. 

• Users can get involved by exploring the GPU.net whitepaper and setting up as a provider or consumer. The platform offers transparent pricing, reliability, and data privacy through decentralized architecture.

• GPU.net's roadmap includes partnerships, community growth, token launches, and platform scaling to accommodate thousands of node providers globally in 2024. With a focus on trustless computing, API integration with AI protocols, and niche compute clusters.

How to get involved? 

• Node sales are planned to go on sale from the 21st of March, so keep an eye out on their homepage here.

• Gpu.net will be airdropping 5% of their tokens to users who partake in their points program. Sign up here.

That’s it for today, make sure you understand the true implications and power of DePin as it’s poised to become the next frontier of blockchain revolution.