DePIN Snapshot:
H1 2024
table of contents
01
DEPIN & THE REAL WORLD APPLICATION OF BLOCKCHAIN
02
Decentralized Compute [RENDER]
03
Decentralized Connectivity [HELIUM]
04
Decentralized Data/Sensor Networks [HIVEMAPPER]
05
Decentralized Storage [SHDWDRIVE]
06
Dive Deeper into the Data
PG 03
PG 07
PG 11
PG 15
PG 19
PG 23
DePIN & the real world
application of blockchain
technology
03
01
As infrastructural efficiency AND resilience become increasingly
essential to resource-intensive industries like AI and data
storage, the Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network
(DePIN) sector has become a high-priority segment of the
web3 ecosystem.
DePIN represents a transformative approach to traditional
infrastructure by leveraging blockchain technology to
incentivize decentralized, community-powered networks.
These networks cover a wide array of applications, from
compute power to connectivity and data storage. As a result,
these decentralized services are collectively poised to unlock a
vast array of cutting-edge use cases across, and far beyond,
the web3 space.
A closer look at Solana’s DePIN
ecosystem
While DePIN initiatives span a broad range of chains and
protocols, Solana has attracted a significant number of DePIN
projects due to its unique combination of high-speed
transactions, low costs, and robust infrastructure.
04
As different chains continue to innovate and compete, a
closer look at the major Solana DePIN sectors reveals
encouraging signs of adoption and user activity that bode
well for the broader industry.
DePINs rely heavily on community participation since they
are decentralized hardware networks, and it’s no surprise
that many of these projects, including io.net, are choosing
the fastest growing ecosystem in crypto - Solana. With
advantages in retail liquidity, speed, scalability, cost, and
mindshare, Solana has become a natural choice for many
web3 projects, including the DePIN category.
- Garrison Yang, io.net
Methodology & key findings
This Snapshot includes an assessment of user growth and
activity across 4 major Solana DePIN projects – Render
Network, Helium Hivemapper, and ShdvDrive – along with a
shortlist of other relevant projects operating in a similar space.
Together, these findings provide a detailed assessment of the
data in our Solana DePIN Ecosystem Dashboard , which pulls
real-time onchain data and synthesizes them into visualizations
that you can analyze, export, and customize at will – all for free.
Additionally, our analysis is supplemented with team
commentary, to provide an honest, up-to-date assessment of
how the leading projects in the space are currently performing.
Our study suggests that, as global GPU demand continues to
outstrip supply, investment in, and adoption of, decentralized
compute solutions will likely outpace other DePIN sectors.
However, we can expect to see a broader range of DePIN
projects launching on Solana, including direct competitors to
established projects on other chains.
Highlights include:
Render NetworkZ
n Successfully rendered ~33M frames, equivalent to
approximately 33,000 GPU hours using NVIDIA RTX 3090
GPUs, or 1,375 continuous days of rendering on a single
GPUE
n Weekly active node operators peaked at 1.9k in January
2024, a 66.3% increase since migrating to Solana.
05
n Node operator rewards increased by 34.3% post-migration,
peaking at 228k RNDR in early January 2024.
Helium NetworkZ
n Token burns for Helium's mobile network vastly outnumber
those of the IoT network, driven by the rapid adoption of
Helium Mobile servicesE
n Helium Mobile subscribers peaked at nearly 90,000 in
January 2024, sustained by competitive pricing and MOBILE
token incentivesE
n Mobile Discovery Rewards growth has accelerated since
December 2023, outpacing new subscriber growth.
HivemapperZ
n Mapped over 50 million kilometers across 90+ countries,
making it the fastest-growing mapping projectE
n Significant rise in net HONEY burns due to increased
network activity and enterprise adoptionE
n Nearly one-third of HONEY token owners are active
contributors, indicating high community engagement.
ShdwDrive,
0 Demonstrated impressive performance in Testnet 2,
handling up to 38,000 transactions per second during surge
scenarios"
0 Number of SHDW token holders peaked at 67k in March
2024, with more top wallets accumulating than selling"
0 Staking activity has shifted towards withdrawals since
rewards ended, typical for pre-utility phases.
06
Decentralized
Compute
07
02
DECENTRALIZED COMPUTE
Decentralized compute networks provide scalable and costeffective computing power by leveraging a network of
decentralized nodes. These networks are crucial for
applications requiring high computational resources, such as AI,
media rendering, and scientific research – in effect linking
crypto to many of the world’s fastest growing industries.
Category definer: Render
Render Network is a pioneer in decentralized GPU rendering
and exemplifies the potential of decentralized compute. This
peer-to-peer marketplace for GPU rendering power provides a
more efficient, cost-effective, and scalable solution compared
to traditional centralized providers like AWS and Google Cloud.
Since migrating to Solana in November 2023, the project has
begun focusing more intensively on AI/machine learning
applications.
08
Render Network has successfully rendered
~33M frames to date.
This massive computational effort would require
approximately 33,000 GPU hours using high-end GPUs like
the NVIDIA RTX 3090, which is equivalent to roughly 1,375
continuous days of rendering if performed by a single GPU.
For added context, a traditional company with similar
resources would typically take significantly longer to
accomplish the same task, due to limited parallel processing
capacity and higher costs associated with maintaining a
dedicated data center​.
The number of active Render node
operators reached an all-time-high the first
week of January.
Weekly active Render node operators reached 1.9k at the
start of 2024, eclipsing any other observed period both pre
and post-Solana migration. The number of node operators
has remained relatively flat since, but overall there has been
a 66.3% increase in active node operators since Render
migrated to Solana. However, it’s worth noting that node operator rewards are up
34.3% overall, even when considering this past spike.
The spike in node operator rewards in early 2024 can be linked
to several critical developments within the Render Network.
Foremost is the fact that Render’s new Burn and Mint
Equilibrium (BME) mechanism took a while to go live after the
Solana migration and the burn only started in January.
Additionally, there may have been an increase in high-demand
rendering projects at the beginning of the year, tied to postholiday production schedules in the film and gaming industries –
but this does not appear to have been a particularly
pronounced trend in previous years.
Part of this growth may be attributed to growing awareness of
Render’s offerings and compute provisioning opportunities.
However, the scale of this growth, relative to Render’s historical
performance on Polygon, suggests that the Solana migration
may have also played a role.
Node operator rewards are up an average of
34.3% since Render’s migration to Solana.
Node operator rewards spiked in early 2024, reaching a weekly
peak of 228k RNDR the first week of January. This was Render’s
second-highest weekly reward, following 290k in April 2023.
09
The pace of RNDR burns has remained
relatively stable, with slight decreases in recent
months.
Since exploding in early January, the pace of RNDR burns has
gradually decreased. This may be due in large part to Render’s
new Burn and Mint Equilibrium, which has created a more stable
environment for RNDR burns by balancing the supply and
demand dynamics more effectively. This model, which went live
this January, ensures that RNDR burns correlate closely with
actual usage, leading to periods of stability​.
The decrease in RNDR burns may also be partially attributed
to growing competition. While Render established a strong,
early foothold within the decentralized compute space, this
sector continues to attract more new players than other
DePIN sectors, which may have eroded some of Render’s
market share.
Projects to watch
In addition to Render, a growing number of decentralized
compute projects have been launched on Solana. Chief
among them includei
s Io.net: an AI-centric global compute network that has
surpassed 120,000 users supplying GPU power, with a
token launch expected in summer 2024e
s Nosana: A cost-effective GPU compute grid that enables
developers to build and deploy applications more
efficiently.
10
Decentralized Connectivity
11
03
DECENTRALIZED CONNECTIVITY
When people think of wireless infrastructure, they often picture
big, expensive, and technically complex installs. Decentralized
wireless networks are based on the idea that, as technology
has progressed, physical networks don’t need to be built from a
top-down approach.
This has led to a surge in usage and consequently, a higher rate
of token burns as users convert HNT to MOBILE tokens.
Category definer: Helium
As the world’s largest decentralized network, the Helium
Network XX. Higher frequencies and the ever-increasing load of
data throughput mean more radios and towers are necessary to
serve subscribers, and Helium’s recent explosion in mobile
network activity indicates that the project is increasingly up to
the task.
Token burns for Helium’s mobile network now
vastly outnumber that of their IOT network.
The significant increase in token burns for Helium's mobile
network compared to its IoT network can be attributed to the
rapid adoption of Helium Mobile's services. Since its launch,
Helium Mobile has introduced affordable and competitive plans
that leverage a combination of T-Mobile infrastructure and userhosted hotspots, making it highly attractive to consumers.
12
That being said, Helium’s IOT network should not be counted
out. As the largest public LoRaWAN network, Helium IOT
Network's influence is evidenced by its substantial real-world
applications. The steady Data Credit burns on the IOT Network
reflect highly durable wireless infrastructure and ongoing utility,
albeit not as Helium’s mobile network.
Daily Helium mobile subscribers peaked in Jan
2024, and have remained above 2023 levels.
Helium Mobile subscriber count reached new highs in January
2024 and have since maintained levels above those of 2023.
This surge was largely driven by Helium Mobile’s $20/month
unlimited phone plan, which has attracted nearly 90,000
subscribers in less than a year.
Many subscribers leverage MOBILE tokens to pay for their cell
phone bills, and the MOBILE token is also used to reward
Helium Mobile subscribers who opt-in to help map the network.
The combination of cost savings and the potential to earn
MOBILE tokens through network participation has sustained
high subscriber numbers well after its early 2024 peak​.
13
Growth in Mobile Discovery Rewards have
greatly outpaced new subscribers, with growth
accelerating from Dec 2023 onwards.
Helium's introduction of enhanced reward mechanisms for
network contributors has played a pivotal role in the
acceleration in Mobile Discovery Rewards growth. In
particular, the Discovery Mapping feature, which rewards
users for sharing location data and helping to expand network
coverage, has been a major incentive. This feature not only
encourages existing users to stay engaged but also attracts
new participants who are eager to earn rewards​.
Furthermore, Helium's crackdown on fraudulent activities and
adjustments in reward distribution have ensured that genuine
contributors receive more significant rewards. These measures,
implemented in late 2023, have led to a more robust and
engaged user base, accelerating the growth of Discovery
Rewards as active participants continue to contribute to the
network's expansion.
New Offerings & Developer Growth
While the onchain data for MOBILE shows a tremendous growth
story, it merely scratches the surface of Helium’s full impact.
Over the past few months, the Helium Mobile carrier rolled out
Group Plans, Hex Boosting, and an International roaming addon for just $15. On top of that, Helium’s recent partnership with
Telefonica further expands the MOBILE Network’s coverage to
Mexico.
According to the Helium team, the project has also observed a
notable increase in developer engagement, with many
developers building applications powered by the Helium
Network. This surge in development activity is a hopeful sign of
sustained growth for Helium and other decentralized wireless
networks.
14
Our IOT Network's success is evident through its extensive use
cases, such as those from Greenmetrics.ai, Heliotics, LoneStar
Tracking, DIMO Network, Baxus, and many more. Cities and
municipalities are increasingly leveraging the coverage of the Helium
IOT Network, saving millions by not having to deploy their own
infrastructure. This community-built network exemplifies the power of
collective effort for the public good.
- Joey Hiller, Helium Foundation
Projects to Watch
While the decentralized connectivity space continues to be
dominated by Helium, several smaller projects are also
competing for market share
– WiFi Dabba: A decentralized connectivity network focused
on providing affordable and high-speed internet access in
India. By using a network of micro-ISPs and blockchainbased systems for payments and operationsŒ
– Pollen Mobile: A decentralized WiFi project that lets
anyone set up and operate their own cell
networks.securely and privatelyŒ
– Uprock: A gamified peer-to-peer network that lets users
store, access, and share data and earn rewards for a wide
range of ecosystem contributions.
Decentralized Data/
Sensor Networks
15
04
DECENTRALIZED Data/Sensor Networks
Decentralized data and sensor networks leverage distributed
technology to collect, process, and share data from a vast array
of sensors, creating a robust, real-time web of information. This
category encompasses a wide range of projects, from
environmental monitoring to smart cities, and industrial IoT
applications. The diversity and real-time capabilities of these
networks make them one of the most exciting sectors in DePIN,
driving innovation in data accuracy, accessibility, and utility
across multiple industries.
Category definer: Hivemapper
Hivemapper is a decentralized, global mapping network that
leverages a fleet of dashcam-equipped vehicles to create and
maintain a real-time map that rivals traditional services like
Google Street View. By incentivizing contributors with HONEY
tokens for mapping and data verification, the project has
managed to map over 50 million kilometers spanning more than
90 countries.
16
Hivemapper is now the fastest growing mapping project of all time, with
more than 200 million total kilometers mapped in its first 18 months.
This week, Hivemapper will reach 12 million unique kilometers mapped,
or 20% of the world’s 60 million km of roads. Hivemapper achieved this
feat despite tight supply of dashcams; an intense surge of interest
starting in late 2023 has resulted in a backorder list of 30,000 units
ahead of the launch of the next-generation Bee dashcam later this year.
This is setting the stage for dramatic acceleration in the growth of
Hivemapper Network map coverage in late 2024 and into 2025.
- Gabe Nelson , Hivemapper
Net HONEY burns have risen significantly in
recent weeks, suggesting heightened
network activity/usage.
Hivemapper has seen steady growth in weekly active
contributors in 2024 driven by investment in the Map AI
platform, which allows anyone with a smartphone or computer
to become an AI Trainer and annotate map data. There are
more than 15,000 weekly active AI Trainers, as your dashboard
shows using onchain transaction data. AI Trainers have
completed more than 638 million tasks to date, resulting in a
huge human-validated dataset to train the Map AI with robust
quality assurance and anti-spam measures in place to validate
the contributions.
Nearly a third of HONEY owners are
contributors, as opposed to just token holders.
Approximately one-third of HONEY token owners actively
contribute to the network rather than merely holding the
tokens. This high level of participation is driven by
Hivemapper’s incentivization model, where contributors can
earn HONEY tokens by engaging in activities such as mapping,
QA, and training the Map AI. The ability to earn rewards
through active participation encourages more users to
contribute, fostering a vibrant and engaged community of
contributors.
The recent spike in HONEY burn in April and May illustrates
rising customer demand. Two of the world’s top 10 mapmakers
are already using Hivemapper data in production, and others
are in the pilot or contracting process. However, because this is
a B2B product catering to enterprises who may consume a
large amount of data in a small period of time, there will be
“lumpier” burn from week to week as more customers come
online and burn becomes more stable. Under the recent MIP-15
change, only 25% of HONEY burned is reminted to contributors
– meaning that customer map data usage has a deflationary
effect on the supply of HONEY.
17
Hivemapper’s weekly contributor count
dropped off in Q3 2023, only to reach new
highs in 2024.
The drop in the number of weekly contributors in Q3 2023 was
primarily due to the temporary maintenance of QA tools ("AI
Trainers"), which led to a reduction in active users. These tools
were taken offline for improvements and were relaunched in late
Q4 2023 and early Q1 2024. The relaunch of these tools
resulted in a surge of contributors, reaching new highs in 2024.
Notably, AI Trainers do not require a dashcam, making it easier
for users to contribute and churn.
In contrast, the number of contributors with dashcams has
been steadily increasing, consistently setting new records.
Metrics such as total and unique kilometers mapped, as seen
on the Hivemapper Explorer, indicate the growth of map
coverage and the project’s overall expansion. This sustained
increase in dashcam contributors and the resurgence of QA
contributors highlight the growing engagement and success of
the Hivemapper network.
Projects to watch
Decentralized data/sensor networks encompass a wide range
of use cases and applications. While no decentralized
competitors to Hivemapper have challenged the project to
date, there is a diverse array of projects operating in other
data ecosystems that are worth followingy
 onocoy: A decentralized reference station infrastructure
that is tackling the challenges faced by legacy global
navigation satellite systemsu
 WiHi: A decentralized solution to the problems of weather
forecasting and climate monitoring, which leverages
decentralized sensors to monitor and report real-time
metrics.
18
Decentralized
Storage
19
05
Decentralized Storage
Decentralized storage networks provide secure, scalable, and
cost-effective data storage solutions by distributing data across
multiple nodes rather than relying on centralized servers. These
projects each offer unique approaches to enhancing data
security, redundancy, and accessibility, making decentralized
storage a cornerstone of the DePIN sector.
While Solana’s decentralized storage ecosystem is still in its
early stages, the growing maturation and adoption of
decentralized storage solutions on other chains, namely Filecoin
and Arweave, underscore the potential for this space. As a
result, we’ve decided to take a look at one of the first
decentralized storage projects to launch on Solana, in terms of
its pre-utility token activity.
Project to watch: ShdwDrive
20
ShdwDrive offers decentralized, performant, and scalable
object storage for web3 builders. The project is designed to
support a wide range of user applications, including web
hosting and content management, archival backup, and social
media content and messaging. Unlike some other players in the
space, ShdwDrive also plans on providing users with optional
data mutability, so they can create and delete files retroactively.
ShdwDrive is still in its testing phase – but
the results so far have been impressive.
ShdwDrive has made significant strides in its development,
particularly with the success of its V2 Incentivized Testnet.
The latest testnet demonstrated the platform's capacity to
handle heavy traffic and maintain network stability. Key
updates include enhanced transport layer security,
persistent connections, and modular codebase
improvements, which collectively boost the network's
resilience and efficiency.
During Testnet 2, ShdwDrive successfully resolved
synchronization and consensus issues, enhancing logging
capabilities, and implementing fixes for critical bottlenecks.
The network managed an impressive average of
approximately 3,000 transactions per second (tps) under
real-world conditions, with the D.A.G.G.E.R. network capable
of handling up to 20,000 to 38,000 tps for certain "surge"
scenarios​.​ These developments underscore ShdwDrive's
increasing readiness for mainnet deployment and its
potential as a leading decentralized storage solution in the
Web3 ecosystem.
The number of SHDW holders has consistently
grown since Jan 2024, peaking at 67k on Mar 27.
The current trading and holding patterns of SHDW tokens
reflect typical behaviors seen in the pre-utility phase of other
blockchain projects. The growth in the number of SHDW
holders can be attributed to the increasing visibility and
accessibility of the token across major cryptocurrency
exchanges. Listings on platforms such as Coinbase, Crypto.com, and
Gate.io have likely boosted the token's exposure and liquidity,
although recent testnet announcements have not fueled new
token holder growth as much as previous events.
21
More of the top wallets are accumulating
SHDW tokens than selling off, but the vast
majority are simply holding their tokens.
The accumulation trend among top wallets indicates strong
confidence in the long-term potential of ShdwDrive. These
wallets are likely accumulating in anticipation of future utility
and value appreciation as ShdwDrive progresses towards its
mainnet launch and begins offering real utility through its
decentralized storage services​.
That being said, the majority of top token holders are opting to
hold their tokens rather than actively trading them, and there is
only a 3% difference between net buyers and sellers among the
top 100 wallets. This data therefore suggests a moderately
optimistic, but not wholly exuberant, sentiment among top
holders.
Staking activity peaked in mid-January, but
withdrawal activity has surpassed new
stakes since rewards ended.
Staking activity peaked in mid-January due to the attractive
rewards offered during the initial staking period. However, as
these rewards ended, there has been a noticeable shift towards
withdrawals surpassing new stakes. This change is typical in pre-utility phases of projects where
token holders are primarily motivated by staking incentives.
Without ongoing rewards, many holders may prefer to maintain
liquidity or reallocate their investments while awaiting the
project's full utility launch.
22
Dive deeper into the data
Onchain data reveals that Solana’s DePIN sector is currently supporting an impressive
range of real-world activities, while demonstrating further potential for more growth and
innovation. As global GPU demand continues to grow, we expect decentralized compute
solutions to continue leading the charge, paving the way for other DePIN sectors to follow.
The information above represents a broad snapshot of several of Solana’s leading DePIN
projects. But many more interesting, actionable insights can be found by diving further
into a particular dataset or combining multiple data sources.
Explore this data for free on Flipside.
We'll be publishing similar snapshots in the future, focused on specific industry
sectors, onchain ecosystems, and more. In the meantime, subscribe to our newsletter
to stay in the loop!
Thank you to community members who we collaborated with to create the dashboard
used in this report: marqu and h4wk
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: This article presents a wide array of verifiable on-chain data.
The interpretations of the data should not be construed as financial advice. Statements
regarding potential causes of identified trends should be understood as conjecture and
are not evidence of causality. Readers are encouraged to use their judgment and
conduct further research when drawing conclusions from the data.