DePIN projects see revenue explode in 2024, reaching more than $500 million—a 100-fold increase from 2022—according to a report from Messari.
Artificial intelligence DePIN projects dominate the revenue stream, followed by off-chain projects. This is a big change from two years ago when on-chain developments accounted for almost all of DePIN revenue.
DePIN Growth Trajectory Reflects DeFi and NFTs’ Early Boom
Blockchain intelligence firm Messari has released a comprehensive report on the Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) industry.
According to reportthe number of active DePIN projects almost doubled last year. DePIN Tokens currently account for 5% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization. More than 13 million devices worldwide contribute to DePIN operations every day.
In 2024, 20 DePIN projects surpass 100K active nodes, with five projects surpassing 1 million nodes.
Investment in these projects is also increasing, especially at the initial stage. Private markets have seen more capital raised in early rounds than in Series A. In liquid markets, low post-listing valuations have been a key factor in achieving high returns.
Of the top 22 DePIN Tokens, only four have lost value since the Token Release Event (TGE). Virtuals Protocol has achieved exceptional growth, increasing by more than 30 thousand % since TGE. Other projects such as NEURAL and NodeAI both grew by more than 2 thousand %.
Investment capital for late-stage projects mainly flows into a few prominent DePIN projects, backed by leading venture capital firms. These projects often issue tokens worth 50-100 times the book price, often reaching post-dilution valuations of billions of dollars.
Contributions from the community play an important role in the development of the industry. Nearly $230 million was raised in 2024 through node sales, crowdfunding, and proprietary protocol liquidity pools.
Meanwhile, Solana and Base have emerged as leading partners in network infrastructure and consumer-facing applications, respectively. Solana’s low-latency design continues to attract infrastructure innovators, while Base benefits from Coinbase’s established brand and retail reach.
Overall, DePIN strength remains strong entering 2025. Sui DePIN, the first DePIN layer on the SUI blockchain, just announced its upcoming initial DEX offering (IDO).
In December, Chirp launched Kage, the first play-to-earn (P2E) game on the Sui blockchain. Kage combines gameplay with IoT utility, featuring a treasure hunt inspired by “Pokémon Go” and rewarding players through blockchain incentives.