Forwarding the original title “Industry Observation | A DePIN Empire is Quietly Emerging on Solana”

Abstract

This month, Solana’s DePIN ecosystem welcomes two new members. The shared WiFi-based ROAM was launched on major exchanges like Bybit and Kucoin on March 6, reaching the fourth position in the DePIN track in terms of node count, with hardware devices achieving the first place across the network; Austin Federa, former strategic director of the Solana Foundation, led Solana’s co-founders along with top VCs such as Dragonfly and Multicoin to raise 28 million USD to launch the distributed bandwidth project DoubleZero, aiming to create a communication highway for web3 based on web2 infrastructure, which is expected to fundamentally address the network latency issues currently faced by web3.

In addition, we have observed that as of March 14, 2025, the DePIN ecosystem based on Solana has significantly developed, with a market capitalization exceeding 25 billion US dollars, and approximately 78 DePIN projects covering various subfields such as wireless communication (e.g., Helium), computing resources (e.g., Render Network), geolocation (e.g., Hivemapper), and cloud storage (e.g., GenesysGo SHDWDrive).

Solana is becoming the preferred platform for DePIN projects due to its high throughput, low transaction costs, mature developer ecosystem, and a large number of user enthusiasts. We are witnessing a DePIN empire ecosystem being nurtured from Solana.

1. Analysis of Important Projects in the DePIN Track

1. DoubleZero — — A high-speed highway built on Solana for web3

On March 10, as the overall cryptocurrency market showed weakness, another DePIN dark horse project, DoubleZero Foundation, secured a massive investment of 28 million USD from top-tier VCs.

Who exactly is the DoubleZero Foundation, and how were they able to secure such a significant investment amidst a generally sluggish market?

I summarize the key points as follows:

(1) The founding team has extensive experience in blockchain projects and has achieved success. In addition, the founders have many resources in the industry and possess luxurious ecological resources.

Austin Federa, the founder of DoubleZero, was previously the Head of Strategy at the Solana Foundation and can be considered one of the key drivers behind the early rise of the Solana ecosystem. During his time at the Solana Foundation, he was responsible for global market strategy and directly participated in the implementation of several key projects, such as promoting the integration of USDC and USDT on Solana, and even played a deep role in ecosystem collaborations during the FTX era.

At the same time, Austin Federa has a close relationship with the Solana core team (including Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal), and it is this relationship that allowed Double Zero to gain support and market recognition from the Solana ecosystem early on.

(2) The investment team is luxurious, and the founders of Solana have joined forces to invest, openly supporting Solana’s DePIN strategic layout.

The image below shows the investor team of DoubleZero. If you are familiar with the investment landscape in the crypto space, you would know the significant influence of Dragonfly and Multicoin. They are not only long-term supporters of the Solana ecosystem but have also played important roles in several key projects (such as Multicoin’s early bet on Solana and Dragonfly’s participation in Serum).

In addition, apart from leading VCs, the funding strength within the Solana ecosystem also played a key role in this round of financing, with Solana Ventures and Solana Labs co-founders Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal participating as angel investors.

From a certain irrational perspective, this is almost equivalent to announcing to others that this is my own son.

It is important to know that DoubleZero’s investment is the first project of Mingpai Investment after the Solana Foundation just announced the DePIN ecological strategy.

Therefore, we believe that Solana is personally getting involved in support, and Austin is not fighting alone, but is entering the arena with the entire Solana resource pool, leading to a comprehensive tilt in funding, technology, and market resources. For the entire DePIN track, this is undoubtedly an important signal: the Solana ecosystem is actively laying out physical infrastructure networks, and Double Zero may very well be the “vanguard” leading the charge.

(3) The technological solution is leading, building a highway for the web3 track, allowing web3 projects to operate as smoothly as web2.

We know that the Web3 space is currently facing many issues, particularly at the infrastructure level. Due to limitations such as public internet bandwidth restrictions and non-deterministic routing, Web3 projects often cannot operate as smoothly as Web2. Even if the problems of public bandwidth limitations and non-deterministic routing are resolved, if the latency issues between validators cannot be addressed, then Web3 projects will still not be able to achieve the same level of smoothness as Web2.

DoubleZero was created to solve the problems of the current infrastructure layer of web3.

From the architecture in the above figure, we can see DoubleZero’s unique Two-Ring Architecture. The Outer Ring connects to the public internet and uses hardware (such as FPGA) for attack protection, signature verification, and transaction filtering, while the Inner Ring processes the filtered traffic through dedicated bandwidth lines and constructs consensus.

First, the outer ring connects to the public internet, using hardware (such as FPGA) for attack protection, signature verification, and transaction filtering;

The benefit of this is that it can alleviate the burden on validators by pre-filtering incoming spam and duplicate transactions through dedicated hardware, allowing the blockchain to share filtering resources without requiring each validator to provide them individually.

Secondly, the Inner Ring processes these filtered traffic through dedicated bandwidth lines and builds consensus. It can improve communication efficiency through explicit message routing, tracking, and priority management.

In terms of the specific technical processing flow, the official disclosed information states the following:

(1) The Outer Ring serves as the first line of defense, primarily responsible for filtering out invalid traffic such as junk transactions, DDoS attacks, and malicious contract calls. It analyzes transaction patterns in real-time using an adaptive traffic filtering mechanism that leverages machine learning and heuristic rules, accurately identifying and intercepting malicious traffic, ensuring that only valid transactions can enter the blockchain mainnet.

At the same time, Outer Ring also relies on decentralized, permissionless fiber contributions, with physical infrastructure provided by independent contributors in the network, further ensuring the authenticity and priority of data packets. All transactions must undergo basic validity screening by the Outer Ring before entering the Inner Ring, reducing the entry of invalid transactions into the core network and enhancing overall processing efficiency.

(2) Transactions entering the Inner Ring have undergone strict screening, allowing it to focus on efficient transaction processing. The Inner Ring adopts a high-performance architecture similar to Solana, supporting ultra-high TPS (transactions per second), ensuring extremely short transaction confirmation times to meet the demand for a large volume of transactions.

In order to further enhance network smoothness, Double Zero has also adopted a stateless validation model. This lightweight transaction processing method makes the entire network run more smoothly and efficiently compared to the traditional state storage model of blockchains.

2. Roam — — A Web3 version of Starlink built on Solana

On March 6, another decentralized wireless network project built on the Solana public chain, Roam, was launched on Kucoin and Bybit, with a circulating market value of over 60 million USD. In the DePIN track, Solana adds another strong player.

(1) What is the Roam project?

ROAM is a decentralized wireless network project based on the Solana blockchain, aimed at providing seamless and secure WiFi and eSIM connectivity worldwide, with the goal of building an open wireless network globally. It utilizes blockchain technology to achieve automatic network switching and secure connections, supporting individuals, smart devices, and AI agents.

Currently, there are over 2.3 million users and 2 million WiFi nodes, covering more than 190 countries, ranking among the top in the DePIN field.

The total supply of the token $ROAM is 1 billion, with 600 million allocated for mining and community activities. Users can earn tokens by providing WiFi or validating the network.

According to the Messari 2024 report, ROAM ranks fourth among DePIN projects with over 1 million active nodes and ranks first in the number of hardware nodes. Competitors include Helium and DIMO, but ROAM’s global reach and user base give it an advantage.

If Musk’s Starlink builds a communication system based on outer space, I would like to call Roam a web3 version of the Starlink system based on ground communication networks.

(2) Technical Advantages

ROAM utilizes OpenRoaming™ WiFi and eSIM technology, allowing users to provide WiFi access or share network performance data. At the same time, ROAM employs decentralized identity (DID) and verifiable credentials (VC) to ensure that users do not face the risk of data leakage while sharing and using WiFi, ensuring privacy and security.

The architecture and functions of specific technologies are as follows:

• OpenRoaming™ Wi-Fi: Complying with the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) standards, it supports users in seamlessly switching between different WiFi networks, ensuring continuous connectivity.
• eSIM Service: Provides smart eSIM services in over 160 countries, allowing users to access data networks without a traditional SIM card.
• Blockchain Incentive Mechanism: Using the Proof-of-Service mining algorithm, users earn ROAM tokens by providing WiFi services or verifying network performance.
• Decentralized Identity (DID) and Verifiable Credentials (VC): Using blockchain technology to protect user privacy, eliminate reliance on centralized validators, and enhance security and decentralization.

In this system design, OpenRoaming™ Wi-Fi solves the link protocol issues of communication systems in different countries and regions, eSIM addresses the lack of SIM services in many areas, and is better able to help some impoverished regions create communication conditions. Meanwhile, DID and VC technologies resolve data security and privacy issues during the communication process. Introducing a web3 economic system can quickly stimulate early network construction issues.

The reason ROAM was able to rapidly grow and become a leading player in the DePIN field after its 2024 revision is not only due to the siphon effect of the Solana ecosystem but also its own accumulation in technology and the sector.

(3) Operational Advantages

The project team has been deeply involved in the web3 track for many years and is well-versed in the strategies of web3 projects. Through models such as web3’s passive income and sharing incentives, they have quickly accumulated network effects and initial users.

ROAM encourages users to participate in network construction through the mobile app, such as adding WiFi nodes, daily check-ins, or inviting friends to earn Roam Points, which can be exchanged for ROAM tokens after the Token Generation Event (TGE).

From the deep dive into the project team’s information, it can be seen that the ROAM project, although it started on April 2, 2024, was previously named MetaBlox. We found that MetaBlox was originally established in 2018, and after years of silence, it did not really take off until 2024, when we saw MetaBlox rebrand to ROAM and migrate to the Solana mainnet. This shows that the success of any project is the result of years of deep cultivation in this field, so even though we are currently in a market downturn, it is believed that good projects can still transcend the cycles of time and bloom the roses of time.

In summary, ROAM provides a great project for wireless network sharing and has already formed a good network effect. The current circulating market value is only around 15 million USD, which is far from Grass’s 360 million USD. If we can see more users participate in the ROAM network in the future, we may witness the rise and emergence of this project in the next bull market.

2. Ecological Observation

As of March 14, 2025, we have observed that the DePIN ecosystem based on Solana has significantly developed, with a market capitalization of over 25 billion USD, far surpassing the scale of DePIN projects in other ecosystems. We are witnessing a DePIN empire ecosystem flourishing on Solana.

According to public data, there are approximately 78 DePIN projects on Solana (data referenced from platforms such as Messari and DePIN Scan as of 2024), covering multiple subfields including wireless communication (e.g., Helium), computing resources (e.g., Render Network), geolocation (e.g., Hivemapper), and cloud storage (e.g., GenesysGo SHDWDrive). Solana’s high throughput (theoretically up to 50,000 TPS), low transaction costs (around $0.00025 per transaction), and mature developer ecosystem make it the preferred platform for DePIN projects.

Currently, representative DePIN projects on Solana include:

• Helium: The world’s largest decentralized wireless network, after migrating to Solana, has deployed nearly 1 million hotspots, covering 192 countries, providing IoT and 5G services.
• Render Network: A decentralized GPU computing platform that has migrated from Ethereum to Solana, having processed tens of millions of frames of image data, supporting AI and media rendering.
• Hivemapper: A decentralized digital mapping network that challenges Google Maps through user-contributed dashcam data, covering multiple cities.
• GenesysGo SHDWDrive: A decentralized cloud storage solution that aims to fill the gap in storage within the Solana ecosystem.
• Dabba Network (Emerging Project): Focuses on the broadband market in India, enhancing network coverage through decentralized methods.

The total market value of the Solana DePIN project is expected to reach approximately $25.6 billion in June 2024 (according to DePIN Scan data), and may vary in 2025 due to market fluctuations and project growth. Leading projects such as Helium, Render, and Hivemapper have fully diluted valuations (FDV) exceeding $10 billion.

Summary of the comparison between Solana and other public chains’ DePIN ecosystems

From the above table, Solana has a very obvious advantage in the DePIN track compared to other public chains in the DePIN track:

• In terms of technical performance and cost advantages, Solana’s high performance and low cost make its low Gas fees particularly friendly for DePIN projects (such as micropayment incentives) that require frequent transactions, compared to public chains like Ethereum.
• Proof of History (PoH) and parallel processing capabilities enable it to handle large amounts of real-time data for DePIN projects (such as IoT device communication and map data uploads), allowing DePIN projects to operate smoothly and provide a comfortable experience like web2 projects.
• In the public chain ecosystem, the Solana Foundation actively promotes the development of DePIN projects through funding and hackathons (such as collaborations with Multicoin Capital). Recently, it also established a special fund for Solana DePIN, aimed at helping Solana nurture more high-quality projects, with the first project on it, DoubleZero, being the most well-known one currently.

Therefore, we optimistically believe that Solana is not merely a Memecoin public chain. Its journey to this point has certainly not been solely due to its MEME effect, but rather due to its strong ecological foundation, technical advocacy, and robust support for the community and projects. We optimistically feel that the next DePIN empire’s ecosystem may be born on Solana.

3. Recent important events in the DePIN track

On February 1, DePIN and AI fully chain-compatible modular infrastructure IoTeX released its development roadmap for 2025, focusing on the DePIN + AI ecosystem:

• DePIN empowered physical perception AI
  IoTeX has launched the open-source framework QuickSilver, which combines large language models (LLMs) with DePIN network data to create high-level AI applications, and plans to release the QuickSilver testnet in the first quarter. Developers will be able to use QuickSilver to connect the existing DePIN world with the emerging AI world, creating a new wave of “perceptible AI applications.”

• Establish DePIN + AI strategic reserves
  IoTeX will create an initial BTC-based DePIN + AI asset strategic reserve for IOTX holders. This reserve will serve as a “vault” for long-term high-quality tokens and assets, safeguarding the interests of IOTX holders.

• Community First
  A comprehensive community empowerment program, combined with a DAO-based governance model, allows the community to participate directly in the development of IoTeX.

On March 3rd, during the ETHDenver 2025 event, at the DePIN + AI R3al World Summit, Salah, the policy director of the Blockchain Association, engaged in a forward-looking dialogue with Larry, the head of the IoTeX ecosystem, regarding the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and DePIN + AI, sparking deep reflections within the industry on the integration of technology and policy trends.

Salah emphasized: “Current U.S. regulatory agencies are accelerating their exploration of how to incorporate innovative technologies like DePIN, which blend the physical and digital worlds, into the national strategic framework. Future regulatory frameworks must balance technological innovation with public interest, and the transparency of DePIN along with the explainability of AI may become the key to solving regulatory challenges.”

Larry shared his practical experience with IoTeX: “From compliance cooperation with Grayscale and Coinbase to serving as the co-chair of the Blockchain Association DePIN working group, we have always focused on ‘verifiable physical data’ to align DePIN + AI with the needs of the real economy.”

3. On March 6, the Solana Foundation and the Solana Chinese community Solar will hold a DePIN Day event in the hardware capital of Shenzhen on March 8.

New rising DePIN projects in the Solana ecosystem, including Cudis, Starpower, Geodnet, Roam, Aethir, Gradient, and DeGlass, attended and shared live demonstrations.

4. Recent Industry Financing Events

On February 27, Shaga, a DePIN project in the Solana ecosystem, completed a $4 million seed round of financing, led by IOSG Ventures, with participation from Everyrealm, Amber Group, and several angel investors.

Shaga hopes to reshape the gaming industry — — breaking hardware limitations to bring ultra-low latency, aiming to make high-performance gaming accessible.

BlockBeats previously reported that on June 25, 2024, Shaga completed a $1 million angel round of financing, led by Arca, with participation from angel investors including MARIN DIGITAL VENTURES, Skybridge20 Ventures, Aurory, Quotient Ventures, as well as Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko and Helium founder Amir Haleem.

On February 25th, the DePIN project Geodnet completed a $8 million token financing, led by Multicoin.

Geodnet provides financial incentives for startups, encouraging ordinary people to host physical infrastructure. Due to the strong demand for Geodnet services, the project’s token (which is part of its incentive mechanism) has more than doubled in the past 12 months.

In April of last year, the GEODNET Foundation announced the completion of over $2 million in strategic financing, with participation from CoinFund, Pantera Capital, VanEck, and Santiago R. Santos. The additional funds raised will support the foundation in achieving its short-term goals, including decentralization and developer usability.

On February 5th, Beamable, a DePIN game infrastructure platform, completed a $13.5 million Series A funding round, led by Bitkraft Ventures.

Beamable Network aims to change the way game backend infrastructure is built and operated.

4. DoubleZero Foundation announced that it has secured $28 million in investment led by Dragonfly and Multicoin Capital.

Double Zero is a project based on the DePIN track that allows anyone to contribute independent fiber links without permission, essentially paving the “information highway” for the Web3 world. The biggest highlight of the project is its hardware-driven nature, directly targeting the infrastructure layer. Double Zero’s goal is simple: to increase bandwidth and reduce latency for all high-performance blockchains.

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1. This article is reprinted from [Medium], with the original title “Industry Observation | A DePIN Empire is Quietly Emerging on Solana”, and the copyright belongs to the original author [DePINone Labs], if you have any objections to the reprint, please contactGate Learn TeamThe team will process it as quickly as possible according to the relevant procedures.
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