The Potential and Data Analysis of the DePin Project

DePin, as a relatively abstract project type, may have a broader range of application scenarios compared to public chains, DeFi, or MEME. The uniqueness of this type of project is primarily reflected in two aspects: the diversity of business domains and service targets, as well as the difficulty of data acquisition.

The DePin project involves multiple fields such as cloud computing, cloud rendering, file storage, network hotspots, and even meteorology, with its services not limited to the Web3 ecosystem. For example, a decentralized cloud computing platform provides a large number of services for Web2 enterprises in AI training, inference, and gaming computation. Another platform based on GNSS satellite reference stations is dedicated to providing services for agriculture, engineering, transportation, and geology.

Due to the significant differences between DePin projects and the fact that the main work may not be executed on the blockchain, the data in this sector is often overlooked. Recently, a DePin project established a deep partnership with a comprehensive data platform, creating a smart contract registration ledger on-chain to identify various behaviors and data of the project on-chain, achieving standardized computation of on-chain data.

Comparison of DePin Project Data

From the demand side, the demand situation of DePin projects can be measured through two indicators: protocol fees and protocol revenue.

The protocol fees reflect the project's ability to create economic value. For example, a certain GPU computing-related DePin project generated $58.7 million in protocol fees over the past year, capturing 5.7% of the infrastructure market as reported by a data platform. It is noteworthy that the project's protocol fees show a growth trend and have a low correlation with the fluctuations of the cryptocurrency market, primarily because its main clientele comes from the Web2 sector.

The protocol revenue reflects the net cash inflow of the project and the income distribution system. The same project has accumulated dividends of 22.2 million USD in the past year, with retained protocol revenue of 36.5 million USD.

In comparison, the protocol fees generated by public chain projects are the highest. In addition, a certain GPU computing DePin project ranks among the top in terms of protocol fees and revenue within DePin projects, even surpassing the once highly regarded distributed storage projects.

From the supply side, the number of active nodes is an important indicator. In GPU-type DePin projects, a certain project's number of active nodes is the highest, far exceeding that of other similar projects.

In terms of ecological integration, the number of active addresses is a key indicator. In GPU computing-related DePin projects, a certain project's number of active addresses is relatively high, indicating a strong user base.

Conclusion

Through comparative analysis, it was found that a certain GPU computing DePin project performed exceptionally well across multiple dimensions, including protocol fees, protocol revenue, active node count, and active address count. Notably, the project's revenue mainly comes from enterprises in the Web2 sector, which results in a lower correlation of its revenue with the fluctuations of the cryptocurrency market, showing a trend of stable growth.

DePin projects that serve areas outside of Web3 have a very rare income model that derives revenue from non-Web3 domains, indicating that their primary revenue model does not rely on the secondary market. This model not only brings stable income to the projects but may also lead to external capital inflows for the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem, showcasing the unique value and potential of DePin projects.