How do Geodnet, Helium, Akash, and DePIN projects achieve sustainable profitability?

How do Geodnet, Helium, Akash, and DePIN projects achieve sustainable profitability?

How do Geodnet, Helium, Akash, and DePIN projects achieve sustainable profitability?

Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) is the integration of blockchain and infrastructure networks. Currently, DePIN exists in industries such as energy, telecommunications, storage, artificial intelligence, and data collection.

In the previous cryptocurrency cycle, many projects capitalized on the DePIN trend and targeted markets with great opportunities. However, when their core products failed to generate sufficient attraction from both the supply and demand sides, they shifted their focus to token economics.

However, among the surviving projects, many companies spent time building infrastructure and achieved sustainable profitability by solving existing problems, even without relying on token economics as a flywheel effect. Let’s take a look at some of these cases.

Geodnet

Core Problem Solved:
Traditional Global Positioning Systems (GPS) often lack the precision required for advanced applications, which demand centimeter-level accuracy rather than meter-level accuracy. Geodnet’s solution has improved positioning accuracy by 100 times compared to traditional GPS technology.

Target Customers:
Geodnet serves industries that rely on high-precision geospatial data, including:
– Autonomous vehicles
– Agriculture
– Smart cities
– Defense and security
– Space exploration

Profit Model:
– Data licensing: Selling geospatial data to commercial clients.
– Node participation fees: Costs associated with mining machine installation and usage.
– Partnerships: Collaborating with industries such as agriculture and autonomous driving systems to integrate Geodnet’s services into existing workflows.

Geodnet reported a revenue growth of over 500% in 2024, reaching $1.7 million.

Token Economics:
Geodnet network incentivizes participants using its native token, GEOD:
– Miners earn tokens based on data contributions and network uptime.
– Burning mechanism: Tokens are burned during data transactions, introducing deflationary measures.
– Average daily earnings: Approximately $4.30 for each miner, with an expected payback period of 3-4 months.
– Circulation: Token distribution ensures liquidity while incentivizing early adopters.
– Token usage: Used for payments, staking, and governance within the network.

Ways to Participate and Contribute:
1. Become a miner:
– Purchase mining equipment (costs between $500 and $700).
– Set up and connect the mining machine to the network, uploading 20-40GB of data per month.
2. Use the network: Access real-time kinematic (RTK) correction data through subscription or direct purchase.
3. Develop applications: Develop software tailored to specific industries based on Geodnet network data.
4. Governance: Participate in protocol governance by staking GEOD tokens and voting on proposals.

Helium

Core Problem Solved:
Traditional mobile network operators (e.g., T-Mobile) require significant capital expenditure to build base stations, maintain infrastructure, and expand coverage. Helium addresses this issue by creating a decentralized wireless network that utilizes community-owned hotspots to provide affordable, scalable, and flexible network connectivity for mobile and IoT devices.

Target Customers:
– Consumers: Can access unlimited data provided by Helium’s decentralized network for a monthly fee of $20.
– Telecom operators: Achieve WiFi offloading for major carriers, reducing their infrastructure costs.
– IoT device manufacturers: Provide connectivity for low-power IoT devices using the LoRaWAN protocol.
– Enterprises and institutions: Help organizations deploy dedicated wireless networks for asset tracking, sensors, and environmental monitoring.

Profit Model:
– Helium network generates revenue through two main avenues:
1. Direct-to-consumer mobile plans: Offers a $20/month unlimited data plan where users can simultaneously access the Helium network’s hotspots and partner networks (such as T-Mobile).
2. Operator WiFi offloading fees: Charges telecom operators $0.50 per GB to offload data through Helium’s decentralized hotspots instead of traditional base stations.

Financial Performance:
– Subscribers: Over 100,000 direct subscribers and over 300,000 indirect WiFi offloading users.
– Revenue: Seven-figure annual revenue from mobile subscriptions and operator offloading fees.
– Forecast: With the expansion of operator partnerships, potential annual revenue from WiFi offloading business alone could exceed $50 million.

Token Economics:
Helium network’s HNT token is at the core of its incentive and payment structure:
– Earning rewards: Hotspot operators earn HNT by providing coverage and transmitting data.
– Usage: Tokens are used for network transactions, payment for network services, and governance proposals.
– Burning mechanism: When HNT tokens are used for network services, they are burned, reducing the token supply.

Ways to Participate and Contribute:
1. Hotspot deployment:
– Purchase and set up hotspots compatible with the Helium network to provide network coverage and earn HNT rewards.
– Choose from 16 approved hardware types designed for IoT or mobile offloading.
2. Consumer packages: Subscribe to Helium network’s $20/month mobile plan to access affordable mobile data coverage.
3. Operator partnerships: Telecom operators can integrate with the Helium network to offload data traffic and reduce operational costs.
4. Governance and staking: Stake AKT tokens to participate in network governance, propose ideas, and vote on critical upgrades.

Akash

Core Problem Solved:
Akash network aims to address the high costs, scalability limitations, and centralization issues of traditional cloud computing providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. It solves these problems by providing a decentralized cloud computing marketplace that allows users to monetize idle machines while reducing costs.

Target Customers:
– AI developers who need high-performance GPUs for training and deploying machine learning models.
– Startups and enterprises requiring cost-effective and scalable cloud computing for data processing, storage, and AI-driven applications.

Profit Model:
– Akash network generates revenue through the following means:
1. Marketplace transaction fees: Charging fees for compute leasing and payments processed over the network.
2. Compute resource leasing: Sharing revenue from GPU and CPU leasing for AI training and workloads.
3. Developer tools: Charging API integration and SDK licensing fees to developers using their compute infrastructure.
4. Enterprise partnerships: Collaborating with AI labs and decentralized platforms to expand compute capabilities.

Financial Performance:
– Annual revenue: Akash network reported $2.5 million in revenue in 2024 from compute leasing and fees.
– Growth rate: Demand for GPU compute resources grew 33x due to the proliferation of AI.
– Network scale: Supports over 400 GPUs.

Token Economics:
Akash network utilizes the AKT token for payment, governance, and incentives.
1. Usage:
– Payment: Buyers use AKT tokens to purchase compute resources.
– Staking: Providers stake tokens to secure job opportunities and enhance reputation.
2. Incentives:
– Providers earn AKT tokens for supplying compute resources.
– Tokens are allocated based on uptime, performance, and task completion.
3. Governance: Token holders can propose upgrades and vote on protocol changes.
4. Burning mechanism: Network fees are burned, reducing token supply.

Ways to Participate and Contribute:
1. Providers:
– Set up GPU, CPU, or storage servers on the Akash network.
– List resources, set prices, and start earning AKT tokens.
2. Consumers:
– Rent compute resources through Akash network’s web interface or command-line interface (CLI).
– Deploy AI training workloads, web services, and decentralized applications.
3. Developers:
– Access APIs and SDKs to integrate Akash network’s services into applications.
– Utilize GPU clusters for deep learning training or inference tasks.
4. Governance participation: Stake AKT tokens to vote on network upgrades and resource pricing policies.

Future Outlook:
The mentioned projects are just a small fraction of effective projects with sustainable revenue. In the coming months, the acceptance of DePIN will undoubtedly increase, giving rise to more sustainable, scalable, and profitable companies.

While the aforementioned companies are consumer-oriented, another area that excites me is infrastructure. Foundational blockchain, oracle services, smart contract services, middleware, token issuance services, etc., are areas that will benefit from the development of DePIN projects. Some examples include Solana, Peaq, Base, Story, Arweave, Opacity Network, and DeForm.

Original Article Link: [Link]