What is DePIN? DePIN, also known as a decentralized physical infrastructure network, from which DApps and Protocols are built smoothly and powerfully. So, if there’s anything interesting about DePIN, let’s find out together in the article below.
To understand more about DePIN, people can refer to some of the articles below:
- What is Filecoin (FIL)? Overview of Filecoin Cryptocurrency
- What is Arweave (AR)? Arweave Cryptocurrency Overview
DePIN Overview
What is DePIN?
DePIN stands for Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks, roughly translated: Decentralized physical infrastructure network, simply visualize DePIN was born to participate in solving the problems of centralized infrastructure networks. today like Google Cloud, Amazon Web Service,… using Blockchain technology & decentralized management by DAO.
DePIN will include some key pieces of the puzzle below:
- Cloud Storage Network (Sever Network): Can be understood as infrastructure platforms with the main purpose of storage. In Web2 we have Google Cloud, Amazon Web Service,… and in Web3 we have Storj, Filecoin, Arweave,…
- Wireless Network: Can be mentioned as 5G or LoRaWAN technology. In Web3, the most prominent project is Helium.
- Energy Network: Are decentralized energy sources that generate energy for the above decentralized infrastructure network.
- Sensor Network: Is the practice of interconnected devices using sensors to collect information from the real world.
What problem does DePIN solve?
Nowadays, using cloud storage such as Google Cloud, Dropbox.com, iCloud, Mega, OneDrive,… has become extremely popular. However, the problem is that because the data is stored centrally, if the storage locations encounter problems such as network attacks, force majeure events (such as earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.), User data is truly at risk.
The birth of DePIN is similar to DeFi mainly in the aspect of Decentralization. Users need infrastructure such as Server, Wireless or decentralized Sensor so that their data is truly safe, secure and of course decentralized.
DePIN’s development potential
DePIN also has a lot of motivation for future development through some numbers as follows: if by 2022 the world has 8 billion people, there will be 6.3 billion people using mobile devices, 5.6 billion people using mobile devices. use the Internet and 5.3 billion people participate in social networks. Besides, there are up to 40 billion smart devices and trillions of sensor devices globally.
With the current problem of centralized infrastructure networks, many people, companies or corporations tend to use more decentralized services to spread risks. We will think in the direction that individuals, companies or corporations will use both services from Web2 and Web3. Services coming from Web3 will be much cheaper than services coming from Web2.
Some of DePIN’s challenges
DePIN’s biggest challenge is when competing directly with giants in the technology industry such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Apple,… with projects in the Crypto market when competing with others. This giant is essentially like “grasshoppers kicking cars”, so I think projects should approach market sharing instead of dominating the market.
Some other challenges include:
- Edge storage is likely to lead to increased node requirements leading to possible increased costs in the future.
- To serve hundreds of millions or even billions of people, DePIN platforms must make a lot more effort on infrastructure to keep up with Web2 infrastructure platforms.
- User experience with DePIN platforms is also lagging behind Web2 infrastructure platforms.
And for most users today, they like to store and use services in places where they feel they can “Catch people with hair, who can catch bald people”. This factor also prevents DePIN from reaching Mass Adoption in the short future.
Summary
DePIN is a necessary piece of the puzzle not only for the world but also for the entire Blockchain market. Even Ethereum is having problems when a large number of their nodes are deployed on Amazon Service. Hopefully through this article everyone can understand what DePIN is?
