According to the latest report from Messari, blockchain technology is undergoing a quiet revolution driven by Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) projects. The sector’s impressive revenue of over $500 million in 2024 marks a staggering 100x growth compared to 2022.
This explosive growth mirrors the early golden era of DeFi and NFTs, with the number of projects in the DePIN space nearly doubling within a year. DePIN tokens now account for 5% of the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency industry. Notably, more than 13 million devices worldwide contribute to the daily operations of the DePIN ecosystem. In 2024, 20 DePIN projects surpassed 100,000 active nodes, and 5 projects achieved the milestone of over 1 million nodes.
Investment activity in DePIN is also surging, particularly at the seed stage. The private market is seeing greater capital inflows in pre-seed and seed rounds compared to Series A funding. Among the top 22 DePIN tokens, only 4 tokens have declined in value since their launch. Virtuals Protocol has achieved extraordinary success with a growth rate exceeding 30,000% since its token launch. NEURAL and NodeAI also stood out, posting gains of over 2,000%.
From an infrastructure perspective, Solana and Base have emerged as frontrunners. Solana attracts innovators with its fast transaction processing capabilities, while Base leverages Coinbase’s strong brand and extensive network.
Related: 10 Coins with the Most Impressive Growth in 2024
The momentum in the DePIN sector shows no signs of slowing as we move into 2025. Recently, Sui DePIN, the first DePIN layer on the SUI blockchain, announced an upcoming DEX offering. In December, Chirp launched Kage, the first play-to-earn game on the SUI blockchain. This game uniquely combines Pokémon Go-style gameplay with IoT technology, opening up promising new directions for the industry.
