Every DePIN Has a Story

Sean Carey, the co-founder of Helium, says decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) can solve real-world problems while rewarding users. This is what he expects to see in the future.

Every DePIN Has a Story

By Sean Carey - Apr 25, 2023

This is what to expect from decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) in the future.

In 1987, I sat outside the Medco Center in Springfield, Kentucky, with my grandfather, Bob Burns, a blind ex-industrial laundry worker from Boston. At 80, Bob spent many of his final days at Medco Center, seated in a folding chair and following the sun like a human sundial. One day, he showed me a remarkable watch that, with the press of a button, would speak the current time – a fascinating device for a seven-year-old. This moment marked the beginning of my curiosity in how technology could change everyday life, and the start of my journey in what is now called decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN).

This op-ed is part of CoinDesk's new DePIN Vertical, covering the emerging industry of decentralized physical infrastructure.

The charm of a DePIN project lies in its origin story. For many of us, DePIN is about scratching that metaphorical itch that comes from the quirks and gaps in business and society. During my tenure at Helium, one of the significant challenges we faced was incentivizing hosts to plug in our hotspots. While it was easy to get friends and family on board, achieving widespread adoption in 2013 seemed nearly impossible. Six years later, Amir Haleem, Marc Nidjam, Andrew Thompson, and the team cracked the code by creating the Helium Blockchain. This moment marked the genesis of DePIN for me and many others. With the network rapidly growing beyond and sustaining nearly 400,000 devices, the seemingly impossible became possible.

Helium is often cited as the purest example of the power of decentralized physical infrastructure. Hardly a day goes by without hearing this sentiment. But Helium did more than create a blockchain and nifty hotspots; it pioneered a new way of thinking.

DePIN Brings Simplicity

Let’s face it, Web3 can be complex and challenging to grasp. One of the strengths of a DePIN is its tangible nature, which makes it easier for participants to identify and understand. Not only can the average consumer comprehend what a DePIN is, but in many cases, it also enhances the user experience for them. Consumers are therefore likely to participate at more than one level within an ecosystem.

DePIN also democratizes concepts traditionally controlled by large corporations. For example, consider a project called Wingbits, which aims to democratize the sharing of ADS-B data for tracking airplane paths. This data is valuable not only commercially but also for society. Many flight tracking projects rely on users supplying ADS-B data, yet these users typically receive no benefits. With Wingbits, users are rewarded for tracking flight data through ADS-B, for which they earn a share of the revenue through a token infrastructure with sound economics.

Differentiating DePINs

More recently, DePINs have moved beyond custom hardware. Now, DePIN projects include everyday items like phones, computers, servers and even standard hardware bought for general purposes. Because of this, we’ve decided to categorize DePIN into two types: Commodity and Bespoke. This way, we can explore and make the most of both everyday and specialized hardware in expanding the DePIN ecosystem.

Commodity DePIN is all about scalability, versatility and inclusivity. It empowers projects to use a wide range of hardware, from laptops and smartphones to specialized platforms like Raspberry Pi units. By separating infrastructure software from specific hardware requirements, Commodity DePIN allows projects to adapt easily to different environments and resource constraints. Whether in bustling cities or remote areas, Commodity DePIN thrives by utilizing everyday hardware resources, democratizing infrastructure development and promoting grassroots innovation. Another big advantage is its potential for rapid growth, as supply chains don’t hinder the onboarding of existing hardware. Examples in this category include UpRock, Natix and Silencio.

In contrast, Bespoke DePIN is all about precision and optimization. This approach involves designing and creating custom hardware to meet specific project needs. Companies like Hivemapper, GEODNET, Ambient and Dimo Network are great examples of Bespoke DePIN. They engineer hardware solutions tailored for specific tasks, such as mapping, connectivity or data processing. This customization offers unmatched performance, reliability and scalability. It also opens up new possibilities for innovation, allowing projects to push the boundaries of what’s possible in fields like IoT, telecommunications, and environmental monitoring.

There is no reason why DePINs cannot simultaneously be both commodity and bespoke. A DePIN may initially operate as a commodity network, and as it grows and gains financial stability, it can transition to offering bespoke solutions that enhance the network’s capabilities. In certain instances, bespoke devices may even prove to be more beneficial and rewarding (due to the cost and complexity of the device rewards are greater in many cases) to own than their commodity counterparts.

DePIN Trends

While predicting the future is