DePIN's Explosion in 2025: From Physical Infrastructure to Web3 Revolution

Distributed Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) is becoming the most关注 track in the crypto industry. This is not only because it has a market cap of over $3.2 billion and a daily trading volume of nearly $3 billion, but also because it represents an important turning point for blockchain moving from virtual to real-world applications. From energy grids to wireless networks and data storage systems, DePIN is transforming idle resources into value through token incentives. Investment giants VanEck and Borderless Capital have already投入 heavily, and some funds believe DePIN has the potential to bring the next 1 billion users into Web3.

Current Status of Core Projects in the DePIN Ecosystem

After experiencing market fluctuations in 2024, the performance of DePIN projects has become differentiated. According to the latest data, some projects face adjustments, but their fundamentals are still deepening.

Two Pillars of the Computing and AI Track

Internet Computer (ICP) was once a DePIN star, but its market cap has fallen from $430 million at the end of last year to the current $175 million, a decline of over 74%. Its current price is $3.20. Although it has experienced a correction, its upgrades released this year, such as Tokamak and Beryllium, are solidifying its foundation. This year, it also plans to integrate with Solana.

In contrast, Bittensor (TAO), after a surge of over 150% last year, is also facing adjustments. Its circulating market cap has dropped from $380 million to $250 million, with a current price of $260.70. However, its innovative model as an on-chain AI training network—tokenizing machine learning model participants for rewards—continues to attract capital attention.

Differentiation in the Storage Sector

Filecoin (FIL), after launching its Virtual Machine (FVM), saw its ecosystem TVL surpass $200 million, but its token price dropped from $11.47 last year to $1.48 now. This reflects market considerations of storage demand—real applications still need time to validate.

Arweave (AR) adopts a “permanent storage” differentiation strategy. Its price of $3.87 has also fallen over 80%, but its new protocol upgrade 2.8 emphasizes energy efficiency optimization, with a market cap of $25.318 billion.

New Stage of Content and Bandwidth

Render Network (RENDER), after migrating from Ethereum to Solana and completing token rebranding, is currently trading at $2.07, down 74%. However, its application scenarios in AI rendering and gaming are expanding. Theta Network (THETA) focuses on video streaming optimization; its price has fallen to $0.30, with a market cap of $297 million. Its newly launched EdgeCloud方案 aims to build a global computing grid.

Data Indexing and IoT Multi-Chain Future

The Graph (GRT), as the “Google of blockchain data,” supports multiple chains including Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Optimism. Its current price of $0.04 reflects market adjustment, with a market cap of $427 million.

IoTeX (IOTX) introduced its 2.0 upgrade, which includes DePIN infrastructure modules. There are over 50 DePIN projects within its ecosystem. Its current price is only $0.01, with a market cap of $74.45 million.

JasmyCoin (JASMY), although its current price of $0.01 has lost most of its gains, still retains imagination due to its focus on IoT data sovereignty and Sony background. Helium (HNT), after migrating to Solana, uses IOT and MOBILE subnet tokens to achieve differentiated incentives.

Why DePIN Still Deserves Attention

Despite the general correction in token prices, the core value proposition of DePIN remains unchanged:

Innovative Economic Model—By incentivizing tokens, it mobilizes idle resources globally (CPU, bandwidth, storage, GPU) without traditional centralized investments. This approach is lighter and faster than building data centers like Amazon Web Services or Alibaba Cloud.

Expansion of Industry Applications—From initial storage and computing, DePIN has extended into 5G networks (Helium), video streaming (Theta), AI data collection (Grass Network, which, despite not having the latest data, has achieved 200% growth and 1.5 million wallets), energy grids, and more.

Cross-Chain Interoperability—The DePIN ecosystem in 2025 is breaking the limitations of single chains. Plans to integrate ICP and Solana, IoTeX’s multi-module design, and The Graph’s multi-chain indexing all point toward an interconnected DePIN future.

Market Challenges and Opportunities Coexist

Technical complexity remains a bottleneck—how to ensure seamless communication between blockchain and physical assets, and how to design truly incentive-compatible token models.

Regulatory uncertainty is high—various countries are still exploring classification and regulatory frameworks for DePIN, especially for projects involving energy, communications, and critical infrastructure.

Market education takes time—compared to traditional cloud service providers, DePIN’s cost advantages and reliability still need large-scale validation.

But precisely because of these challenges, 2025 will be a关键 period for DePIN—projects that persist through difficulties with technological innovation and establish real applications will become the foundation of the next growth wave.

Underlying Logic: Why Investors Still Favor DePIN

Although DePIN’s market cap has adjusted from its peak, its fundamental strength remains intact. From energy internet to global CDN, from AI training to data security, each application scenario represents a trillion-dollar market.

The current price correction is more a rational market process—speculation recedes, and true builders emerge. Projects focusing on technological upgrades (such as ICP’s cross-chain, Arweave’s energy efficiency, IoTeX’s DIM modularization) and expanding real applications are paving the way for the next growth cycle.

The story of DePIN is just beginning.