DePIN Pushes Crypto Into the Physical World

[johnblockbuster]

Decentralized physical infrastructure networks, or DePIN, emerged as one of the clearest signs that fundamentals now matter. Leonard Dorlöchter, co-founder of peaq, said 2025 was a turning point where protocol revenue became central to how projects were judged, replacing the memecoin-driven speculation of earlier cycles.

DePIN projects aim to build decentralized networks of real-world assets like IoT devices that generate measurable income. Early signs of genuine revenue have helped validate the model, showing that tokens can represent productive infrastructure rather than pure speculation—an important step toward mainstream credibility.

[madmax]

memecoins had their moment but fundamentals paying the bills now