Cryptocurrency DePIN Market: A Focus on Decentralized Infrastructure Projects to Watch After 2024

The rapid adoption of depin is drawing attention as an innovative track in the cryptocurrency industry. This sector, with the potential to reach trillions of dollars in market size, is breaking through the limitations of traditional Internet of Things (IoT) and demonstrating new possibilities for Web3 through token economies.

depin stands for “Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks,” a fusion product of blockchain technology and conventional IoT. This concept was first introduced to the public in 2022 through a crypto report by research firm Messari.

Why is Filecoin the symbol of depin: What the innovation in decentralized storage reveals

Filecoin is the most iconic cryptocurrency project within the depin track. Since its inception in 2013, it has revolutionized the data storage industry. By leveraging token incentive mechanisms, it enables users to share their surplus storage space and integrate it into a decentralized network.

The innovation of this decentralized storage model lies in its economic efficiency. Traditional cloud storage services, provided by centralized data centers, tend to be costly, forcing users to choose from limited packages. In contrast, storing 1TB of data on the Filecoin network costs only about 1/120 of conventional servers, significantly reducing resource waste—about 68%—of traditional infrastructure that was underutilized.

However, Filecoin’s journey has not been smooth. Due to past market fluctuations, FIL tokens plummeted from a peak of $237.6 to $2.46, experiencing a 98.97% decline. This dramatic price fluctuation has led to divided opinions on the project’s valuation. Some see it as a disruptive depin project, while others remain skeptical due to the limited market scale and early-stage adoption challenges.

Nevertheless, among cryptocurrency investors who have experienced multiple market cycles, different evaluations have emerged. Currently, the price of Filecoin is around 2.48% of its all-time high, suggesting that the bubble has been deflated by the market. Still, with trading volume and market capitalization remaining among the top, this currency is regarded as one of the high-quality projects to watch within the depin sector from 2024 onward.

Render’s pioneering GPU sharing: a high-value model within the depin track

Render is expected to be a highly innovative project within the depin track. As a decentralized GPU rendering platform, it utilizes surplus GPU processing power from users to convert 2D and 3D computer models into realistic images and scenes.

This solution has a wide range of applications. It provides decisive value in fields where visual content is crucial, such as metaverse, AR/VR, game development, short videos, film production, and 3D animation. The rapid expansion of these industries offers enormous growth potential for Render.

Render’s strength is not limited to resource sharing. It meets market demand using advanced technology and high added value, creating community consensus and fundamental value for the RNDR token. This trust and technological strength are further reinforced through partnerships with major industry players like Macromedia, Disney, Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, Microsoft, Hasbro, and AT&T.

Since the entire depin track is still in its early stages, Render is evaluated as a project with long-term holding value.

Bandwidth sharing on Theta Network: the potential of a decentralized video platform

In the decentralized streaming media space, Theta Network holds a prominent position. Ranked 66th in the cryptocurrency market cap list, with a market size of about $1 billion, it functions as a representative cryptocurrency in this field.

Compared to traditional streaming media platforms, Theta Network’s token model is highly innovative. Its unique bandwidth sharing mechanism allows users to receive bandwidth services from the nearest node when watching video content. This design not only improves streaming quality but also significantly enhances overall network efficiency.

Thus, Theta Network is positioned as a promising project within the depin track, attracting the attention of crypto investors.

The innovation unleashed by depin: Rethinking the traditional IoT industry

To understand the impact of depin track on the traditional IoT industry, it is essential to start with fundamental issues in the existing market structure.

Breaking monopolies and high prices

Most traditional IoT-related industries—such as telecommunications, computing power, storage, and energy—are monopolized by giant companies like telecom giants, Amazon, Google, Tencent, and Alibaba. As this structure has been entrenched for years, resource allocation has become centralized, user bargaining power has diminished, and resource utilization inefficiencies have worsened. For example, in the data storage market, the utilization rate of purchased resources averages only 68%, with the rest wasted, leading to chronic resource wastage.

The emergence of depin is moving toward a fundamental solution to these problems.

Reducing trust barriers and entry barriers

In traditional IoT industries, small platforms and individual entrepreneurs attempting to provide services face the major challenge of gaining user trust. Most users are reluctant to entrust their data to lesser-known services, making it difficult for new entrants to grow.

However, integrating blockchain networks offers an innovative solution to this trust issue. Small-scale, decentralized platforms and individuals can freely offer their physical resources—such as CPU processing power, network bandwidth, and storage space—to the network and earn token incentives. Thanks to blockchain’s transparency and immutability, trust structures shift from dependence on individual companies to protocol-level trust.

Optimizing resource allocation and creating markets

In the traditional IoT space, it is estimated that about one-third of resources remain unused. This represents hundreds of billions of dollars in economic losses. The depin model allows fragmented resources to be freely accessed by the network and matched appropriately to user needs, transforming these vast unused resources into productive assets. This opens up a highly promising new blue ocean market.

Outlook for depin beyond 2024 and investment considerations

The depin track remains in its early stages in both technological maturity and market development. The current market size is approximately $5 billion, which is limited compared to mainstream tracks like Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, considering its market potential and technological capabilities, the depin sector is likely to emerge as one of the most attention-grabbing cryptocurrency tracks in recent years.

Engaging with the sector from a long-term perspective during this awareness phase could yield greater returns than entering after the market has become more active.

At the same time, careful consideration is essential for investment decisions. The cryptocurrency market is highly volatile and carries significant uncertainty. Factors such as the technical implementation of depin projects, adoption speed, and regulatory changes introduce multiple risks. Investors should fully recognize these market volatilities and risks when making their own investment decisions.

A rational, diversified approach that balances long-term growth opportunities with risk management is recommended for engaging with the depin track.