DePIN Project Review: The Cycle of Web3 Hardware Eyewash

The Web3 world seems to be repeating the old formula of "economic incentives + scenario packaging." From Filecoin mining machines to the GameFi craze, and now to the DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) concept, although these projects once enjoyed great popularity, they often struggle to achieve a truly sustainable commercialization path.

The current wave of DePIN has sparked a frenzy of "everything can be mined": charging, making calls, installing sockets, driving, watching ads, and even drinking water can earn token rewards. These applications, which seem closer to real life than games, appear to have "real value". However, when we delve into the actual implementation and economic models of these projects, we uncover concerning phenomena.

Market research shows that most device suppliers in the current DePIN field come from Huaqiangbei, Shenzhen. The selling price of these devices is often 30 to 50 times their wholesale price, causing the vast majority of hardware investors to lose all their investments. At the same time, the relevant tokens are also almost powerless to rebound, leaving investors to watch their assets diminish, waiting indefinitely for "ecological landing" and "the next round of airdrops." This phenomenon raises doubts: is this really infrastructure innovation, or is it the resurgence of another round of hardware eyewash?

Project Case Analysis

Helium: From Scarcity to No Issues

Helium was once a star project in the DePIN field, building a decentralized LoRaWAN network through Helium Hotspot devices and partnering with major telecom companies to offer low-cost packages. However, the price of its devices skyrocketed from dozens of dollars to $2500, and the promise of "breaking even in three days" ultimately became eyewash. Due to regulatory reasons, nodes in the Chinese region were blocked, resulting in heavy losses for investors and a sharp decline in token prices.

Hivemapper: The road to recouping costs of high-priced cameras

Hivemapper has launched a $549 dashcam, promising users token rewards for uploading geographic data. However, the high hardware price contrasts sharply with the sluggish token performance, resulting in a long payback period. Although the project generates considerable revenue through hardware sales, this reflects more of the income from "selling devices" rather than a healthy DePIN economic model.

Jambo: The Web3 mobile myth of the African market

Jambo launched a Web3 phone priced at $99 in the African market, equipped with wallet functionality, achieving remarkable sales thanks to the surge in the value of a certain well-known project token. However, the actual value and liquidity of its token remain in doubt, making it difficult to form a closed loop for data monetization, and long-term user retention has become a major challenge.

Ordz Game: A Nostalgic Handheld Console's Attempt at Web3

Ordz Game has launched the BitBoy handheld device priced at 0.01 BTC, incorporating the "Play to Earn" concept. However, its gaming experience is limited to a retro ROM level, lacking innovation. The token liquidity and value are insufficient, essentially a simple copy of the GameFi model.

TON Mobile: A Controversial Work with High Price and Low Configuration

During the peak period of a well-known messaging application and blockchain project, the TON phone was launched at nearly $500. However, users generally reported that its specifications were far from those of mainstream phones in the same price range, with only 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Despite the included accessories and hints at future airdrops, its ecosystem development remains at the conceptual stage.

Starpower: overpriced smart socket

Starpower, as a smart power DePIN project, sells various smart power devices. A regular outlet can cost up to 100 dollars, while similar products on e-commerce platforms are priced at less than one-tenth of that. The project lacks technological transparency and a clear ecological incentive plan, making it difficult to sustain solely based on conceptual hype.

Future Prospects of DePIN

The DePIN theory theoretically offers infinite possibilities for the application of the Web3 "economic incentive model" in the real world. It has the potential to decentralize real-world infrastructure, build large-scale user networks, and achieve fair incentives and transparent governance through token design.

However, most DePIN projects at the current stage have become tools for "selling hardware". A truly successful DePIN requires a strong supply and demand model design, a continuously transparent incentive mechanism, and an in-depth understanding of the hardware and infrastructure fields.

Currently, most DePIN projects are not solving real problems, but rather packaging concepts to harvest users. When hardware becomes a tool for hype, and tokens turn into worthless "digital coupons", all narratives revolve around airdrop expectations, and DePIN degenerates into another round of Web3's Ponzi scheme.

Looking to the future, we expect to see DePIN projects that genuinely rely on practical usage and real income for survival, rather than pseudo-innovations that depend on hardware sales or empty stories. Only then can DePIN truly realize its grand vision of innovating real-world infrastructure.