The DePIN track has attracted widespread attention in the Web3 industry in 2023. The urgent question is how to promote AI development empowered by the DePIN track in a scalable, decentralized, and secure manner, and seek more innovative opportunities in the Web3 industry.
The recent Consensus 2024 conference and the 45th issue of TinTinWeekly explored the new insights and reflections gained from prominent guests. Let’s delve into this question together!
The 45th issue of TinTinWeekly was successfully held on June 13th at 20:00. The livestream invited Felicia Deng, Chief Marketing Officer of Fog Works, Angela, Asia Pacific Community Lead of IoTeX, Ting, Founder of PowerPod, Asa, Asia Pacific Regional Lead of io.net, and Bo, Marketing Director of Roam, to discuss the development status and innovative applications of the DePIN track in different regions, as well as the transformation and breakthroughs in the future technology market. The online event attracted 22,000 viewers, many of whom interacted closely with the guests in the livestream.
Replay link:
https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1gqxvQlgVRWJB
1. How to find the focal point in the new DePIN track that integrates artificial intelligence technology?
In fact, the concept of DePIN did not exist before last year, but the founding members of the Fog Works team had already been deeply involved in this field and accumulated some projects with DePIN-oriented applications. “At that time, when we were developing decentralized storage DApps, we found that many applications were not particularly user-friendly. From the current development trend of the DePIN track, people are not only concerned about the supply side but also the demand consumption scenarios, which became a highlight at the Consensus 2024 conference,” said Felicia Deng.
As vertical field applications explode, DePINSurf accelerates forward. Angela pointed out that since the Token 2049 conference last year, more and more users have started paying attention to the DePIN or DeFi track, and more topics have begun to explore the new explorations of integrating artificial intelligence technology into these two directions. The number of vertical field applications has also increased, with infrastructure, DApps, and project teams entering the DePIN track, outlining a map of a decentralized network.
For example, IoTeX launched the world’s first DePIN accelerator program, DePINSurf, this year. It is a project specifically designed for DePIN startups, investors, community builders, and ecosystem partners. It aims to help projects achieve rapid growth through the valuable experience and expertise of mentors, ecosystem partners, and other founders, and thus build a stronger DePIN ecosystem. The second phase of DePINSurf was announced at this year’s Consensus 2024 conference, including some promotional activities related to DemoDay, making it an important focus of vertical development in the DePIN track.
2. Combining the advantages of Web3 to break through the fiercely competitive red ocean of Web2
In addition, products in the fields of smart wearable devices, in-car devices, smartwatches, and green energy technologies are actively seeking opportunities to transition to the Web3 industry. “In the Web2 world, hardware competition has already faced fierce competition. How to combine the advantages of the Web3 industry to break through is the breakthrough direction for many traditional applications,” analyzed Angela.
She also mentioned a recent AI+DePIN project of interest, which created a decentralized GPU computing project that expanded the application scenarios of nodes. By leveraging the concept of AI computing power, many traditional applications can disrupt the technological logic and find new growth points in the industry. “At the Consensus 2024 conference, there were many interactions between senior figures and developers, and this in-depth communication atmosphere helps find innovative inspiration for the DePIN track,” said Angela.
Asa also reflected, “From my personal observation of the communication content at the Consensus 2024 conference, the industry is actively exploring various DePIN projects, and the upstream and downstream technology stacks of DePIN are gradually developing. How to connect and transmit some related and similar technological nodes? How should the cost and structure of network information be maintained? These are important focal points for the infrastructure construction that the DePIN track has been focusing on since this year. Therefore, further exploration of optimizing AI computing models and training mechanisms has become an important focus of expanding the industry chain and designing technological forms.”
3. Differences in the development environment of DePIN: How can the East and the West cooperate and progress together?
DePIN faces significant differences in development conditions and basic resources in different regions, especially in the North American Web3 community, which often has a strong foundation of community resources. When some DePIN projects start to collaborate, it is crucial to connect the upstream and downstream to closely monitor market trends and find points of demand connection. Felicia Deng pointed out that more and more projects are looking for everyday life application scenarios and innovating and integrating projects based on these scenarios to optimize the user experience and engage with more similar or complementary DePIN track projects.
“Patience is needed for overseas projects, while domestic projects seize the market first.”
“For this issue, we can even trace it back to the development gap between the East and the West in the Web2 industry. If we look at the Web3 field, this mindset difference still exists,” Angela analyzed in detail. Western countries may progress slower in building the basic technical foundation of projects and focus more on infrastructure and technical aspects, without immediately prioritizing market expansion. They gradually cover more application scenarios and market space within a period of about 1-2 years through stable technological improvements.
Of course, this approach also has some drawbacks, such as the delay in meeting market demand, and there will be more competitors in the industry when their projects mature. On the other hand, the Asian market emphasizes efficiency and speed when developing and launching projects, and all business development actions are very rapid, reflecting the spirit of “wolf culture.” However, this also brings issues of infrastructure vulnerabilities, insufficient technological advantages, and a lack of strategic planning for subsequent development. “Therefore, when facing the differences in the markets and technologies of the East and the West, we need to learn from each other’s strengths and work together towards the vision of creating potential projects through cooperation and communication,” summarized Angela.
4. The lack of consensus may become a crucial pain point for the long-term development of DePIN
Ting pointed out that at the current stage of development, one important issue that DePIN faces is the lack of consensus (there is no clear consensus in this bull market). As the overall market size of the industry continues to grow, collaborative projects and investors need to think together about the value of products and the direction of user experience to drive the development of the DePIN track.
“In this process, the East and the West can leverage their respective advantages, such as the lower hardware industry capabilities and delivery capabilities of Western projects compared to the basic supply chain in China. Some of China’s infrastructure construction foundations and technological narratives can learn from the early development advantages of Western countries. Only through more space for cooperation can the East and the West promote common development,” said Ting.
“The differences in DePIN demands mainly stem from the fact that even for the same product, the attitudes of the Eastern and Western communities may be completely different. This is influenced by values, historical culture, and social factors, such as the differences in WiFi communication needs based on population density, which may lead to different network node layout patterns. In addition, when introducing Web3 application products into North America, it is important to provide users with service scenario systems that have genuine value, allowing users to immerse themselves in the service environment of the product, rather than just trying it out. This is also why domestic users have not fully entered the world of Web3 applications in many cases,” added Bo.
5. Challenges and opportunities coexist, effective output is a key issue
When it comes to the challenges of the future development of the DePIN track, the guest speakers provided their insights from different perspectives. Felicia Deng believes that the sensitivity of network data itself and the control of national laws and regulations pose various practical obstacles to the promotion of the DePIN technology market. It is crucial to harmoniously coexist with the art of technology in such a vast environment.
1) Building a liquidity hub pool to attract new users
“In the entrepreneurial stage from 0 to 1, DePIN projects are often overlooked, but this process is not only crucial but also full of various difficulties. Common problems such as insufficient liquidity and supply-demand mismatch plague the planning and operation of project teams. For users, the benefits they can gain from the project experience are also a practical consideration,” reminded Angela in the livestream. Currently, many ecosystems are considering how to build liquidity hub pools around DePIN to maximize and increase the number of users, as this is a crucial card for sustainable development.
2) Creating valuable users and serving more application scenarios
Overcoming various challenges at the technical level is not enough; it is also necessary to address how to capture users in the DePIN field, a significant issue. Asa believes that the fundamental solution lies in how to create new and valuable users because sustainable development can only be achieved by meeting the real needs of users. Many projects now blindly pursue “efficiency improvement and cost reduction” and forget the original intention of serving users. If only the economic income part is focused on, there will be little room for sustainable development in the industry. It is crucial to meet more business scenarios and ensure user privacy and compliant operations for the new technological narrative.
Bo agrees and adds that an important challenge faced by many startup teams is how to create a concise and understandable project manual. For applications that are practical and have high entry barriers, it is vital to make the product introduction more practical and feasible. Teaching users how to use the product has risen to the level of community user education. We need to refine a set of product promotion statements and effectively communicate the pain points and development potential of the project.
The insights from the Consensus 2024 conference are not the end-all for the goal of creating a healthy and sustainable DePIN ecosystem. At the end of the livestream, the guests also analyzed and looked forward to the future development of DePIN, hoping to further reduce operational costs under the trend of data-driven development, shift towards high-quality projects that improve project operational performance, and attract more users to join the shared ecosystem of the upstream and downstream, creating a virtuous project community. The development of DePIN has not stopped and requires our wisdom and innovative power.
