Among the many innovations in the blockchain industry, decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) are rapidly emerging as bridges for on-chain real-world assets. Whether it’s shared GPUs, telecom networks, or street mapping, DePIN is reshaping the way infrastructure is built and operated through crypto incentive mechanisms. Solana is gradually becoming the core platform of this trend, with its high-performance network providing ideal scalability for DePIN projects.
This article is based on the latest research report jointly published by Dune and Slice Analytics, providing an in-depth analysis of the development status, market performance, and on-chain data of several core DePIN projects on Solana. The report data is as of April 22, 2025, providing a clear picture of this emerging ecosystem and revealing its actual verifiable growth trajectory.
DePIN concept and Solana advantages
What is DePIN?
Decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) are an innovative model that leverages cryptocurrency incentive mechanisms to activate and operate real-world infrastructure. These projects typically target markets with strong demand but inefficient supply, mobilizing idle resources (such as idle GPUs, wireless bandwidth, etc.). Unlike traditional infrastructure models dominated by large corporations, DePIN allocates ownership to individuals, thereby increasing efficiency, enhancing resilience, and expanding accessibility.
Why choose Solana?
Solana, with its high throughput, low transaction fees, and composable infrastructure, has become an ideal platform for the transparent scalability of DePIN applications. Its thriving ecosystem and strong developer community are making it a hub for this emerging industry. As Amira Valliani, DePIN lead at the Solana Foundation, said:
"DePIN is about to reach escape velocity. This innovative business model has proven its ability to scale physical infrastructure networks faster and cheaper in a community-driven way — all happening on Solana. The world's largest DePIN projects choose to build on Solana because of its high performance and active capital markets, and because of the thriving community ecosystem it leaves behind."
DePIN market overview
Source: Dune
Source: Dune
As of April 2025, the total on-chain market capitalization of global DePIN projects (excluding independent projects L1/blockchain) has reached $7.1 billion, with DePIN projects on Solana leading at a total market capitalization of $3.25 billion, ahead of EVM ($2.84 billion) and Cosmos ($652.5 million), Cardano ($195.2 million), and Sora ($160.1 million) among other blockchain platforms.
Measured by the average market value per project, Solana leads again at $191.3 million, followed closely by Cardano ($97.6 million), Cosmos ($93.2 million), Sora ($80.1 million), and EVM ($40.6 million).
Project category distribution
Source: Dune
Source: Dune
DePIN projects are primarily divided into five main categories:
Compute: Accounts for 71.2% market share, providing decentralized processing power, GPUs, and computing infrastructure, such as Render, io.net, Nosana, LooPIN Network, Hivello.
Wireless: Accounts for 22.2% market share, providing community-driven wireless and mobile access networks, such as Helium, ROAM Token, Helium Mobile.
Sensor: Collect real-world data through distributed sensing devices, such as Hivemapper, Geodnet, WeatherXM, NATIX Network.
Server: Provides decentralized cloud and storage servers for hosting or accessing data, such as Shadow Token, ScPrime.
AI: Decentralized networks supporting AI data generation, labeling, or robotics, such as UpRock, Homebrew Robotics Club.
The computing and wireless categories collectively occupy 93.4% of the market share and are also the highest average market value categories. Computing networks like Render and io.net provide high market value utility tokens for AI workloads, while wireless projects like Helium and ROAM represent the most mature and widely adopted infrastructure layers.
Node growth and network participation
Source: Dune
Source: Dune
As of April 22, 2025, the total number of registered on-chain nodes for DePIN projects on Solana reached 238,165. DePIN nodes are units of physical or digital infrastructure, such as GPUs, IoT hotspots, or dashcams, performing crucial network functions like computing, data collection, or wireless transmission.
The growth in node numbers reflects the scale, decentralization, and practicality of the network; more nodes usually mean stronger coverage, higher engagement, and reliability.
In terms of node growth, Solana DePIN projects show clear changes. Hivemapper initially led, but Helium quickly surpassed after launching Helium Mobile, now accounting for over 60% of new node market share. While Render contributed fewer new nodes, it leads in revenue per node. Nosana gained traction in early 2025, while UpRock leveled off after rapid growth at the end of 2024.
On-chain network revenue
Source: Dune
Source: Dune
As the cryptocurrency industry matures, on-chain revenue has become a key indicator for assessing project feasibility, product-market fit, and sustainable business models. As of April 22, 2025, the total on-chain revenue of DePIN projects on Solana has reached $5.98 million.
DePIN project revenues on Solana have steadily grown, from around $4,000 weekly in April 2023 to over $100,000 weekly in early 2025, peaking at $130,000 in mid-April. Helium is the highest weekly earner, reaching $60,000 (60% market share), while Render leads in total revenue ($2.65 million, compared to Helium's $2.3 million). Render also holds the record for the single-week revenue peak of $300,000 set at the end of 2024. These trends highlight the continuously rising adoption rates, with each project gaining traction at different points in the DePIN growth cycle.
Major project analysis
1. Helium: Leader of the decentralized wireless network
Helium is a decentralized wireless network that enables individuals to deploy hotspots and provide low-cost, secure connections for IoT and mobile devices. Users earn HNT token rewards by expanding coverage and routing data.
Important milestones:
2013: Helium founded
2019: Helium hotspot launched, users begin earning HNT for coverage
2023: Migration to Solana to enhance scalability and speed
2024: Public launch of Helium Mobile, a decentralized 5G service
2025: Launch of Zero Plan, the first free 5G mobile plan in the U.S.
2025: SEC dismisses lawsuit against Nova Labs, confirming Helium's token model does not violate securities laws
2025: Helium partners with AT&T to provide nationwide Wi-Fi coverage
Source: Dune
Key data:
Total subscribed users: 176,301
Total number of nodes: 69,449
Total on-chain revenue: $2.29 million
The growth of Helium's subscribed users has been influenced by clear product-driven inflection points. In the week following the official launch of Helium Mobile in January 2024, new subscribed users reached 10,300, facilitating the deployment of more hotspots and network scalability. Subsequently, the launch of the Zero Plan (the first free 5G mobile plan in the U.S.) in February 2025 triggered a second wave of growth, quickly filling the waiting list. After opening the free plan to everyone in April, user numbers peaked again at 10,000.
Source: @sliceanalytics
As of the reporting period, Helium's total subscribed user count has reached 176,301, with a total of 69,449 nodes. The composition of nodes shows a continually changing trend, with the mobile data-specific category growing particularly strong. The report notes that two major events drove the peak in node deployments. First, the partnership with Ameriband in October 2024 added over 100,000 solely data hotspots to retail and commercial sites in the U.S.; secondly, the acceleration of user growth after the waiting list for the Zero Plan was lifted in April 2025.
Source: Dune
Helium generates on-chain revenue through its unique burn-mint model, allowing users to convert HNT into non-transferable data credits (DCs) for access to services on its IoT and mobile networks. Specifically, mobile data is billed at $0.50 per gigabyte (i.e., 50,000 DCs), while IoT usage is charged incrementally per 24-byte message. Company revenue has steadily grown, setting a record of $66,000 per week in December 2024, and reaching another sustained peak of $63,000 per week in April 2025.
2. Hivemapper: Decentralized mapping network
Hivemapper is a decentralized, community-driven mapping network where users collect street-level images through dashcams to earn $HONEY token rewards. By transforming everyday driving into a data source, Hivemapper provides fresher and more dynamic maps for industries like transportation, logistics, and autonomous driving.
Important milestones:
2022: Launch of the Hivemapper network and $HONEY token
2023: Unique road mileage for network mapping exceeds 1 million
2024: Launch of Bee dashcam for high-quality image capture
2024: Release of Beekeeper, a fleet management tool without SaaS lock-in
2025: Bee Maps begins servicing major clients like TomTom, Mapbox, and Trimble
Source: @sliceanalytics
Source: @sliceanalytics
Key data:
Total number of nodes: 77,483
Weekly rewards: over $60,000 $HONEY
Source: @sliceanalytics
As of April 2025, the network has 77,483 nodes, most of which are active in AI training and bounty activities, while less than 10% of nodes earn rewards for mapping coverage. Although Hivemapper's weekly rewards have decreased from a peak of $1.4 million in December 2023, the network still distributes over $60,000 in $HONEY tokens weekly. Notably, while less than 10% of nodes actively contribute to mapping coverage, these nodes consistently earn about 80% of the total rewards.
Source: Dune
Hivemapper earns revenue by selling Map Credits (each worth $0.005), which are purchased by burning $HONEY tokens for access to map data. Revenue trends show a peak of $30,000 weekly at the end of 2023, surpassing $50,000 weekly between April and May 2024.
3. Render: Decentralized GPU rendering network
The Render Network is a high-performance decentralized GPU rendering network that facilitates a computing marketplace between GPU providers and requesters using industry-leading software from OTOY Inc. GPU owners can monetize idle GPUs by providing computational power to creators seeking rendering resources. It offers scalable and economical rendering services for 3D graphics, dynamic designs, and AI workloads.
Important milestones:
2021: Render decentralized rendering network launched
2023: Migration to Solana and token upgrade to $RENDER
2024: Integration of OctaneRender for Blender through RNP-017
Source: @sliceanalytics
Key data:
Active on-chain nodes: 3,784
Burned $RENDER tokens: over 121 million
Tokens distributed to node operators: over 2.4 million
Source: Dune
Render Network allows anyone with idle GPU capacity to become a node operator, contributing computational power for decentralized rendering and AI infrastructure. Node operators rent out their GPU capacity to artists, studios, and AI developers in need of scalable, on-demand computing, receiving $RENDER tokens in return.
Source: Dune
As of April 2025, the Render Network has 3,784 active on-chain nodes, providing decentralized computing power for the growing creative and AI application ecosystem. To date, users accessing GPU capacity have burned over 121 million $RENDER tokens, while minting over 2.4 million token rewards for node operators, indicating healthy demand and active participation in the ecosystem. Previous reports indicated revenue peaked at nearly $300,000 per week from November to December 2024, thanks to critical upgrades (RNP-016 to 018), artist incentives for scalability, and Advent Calendar campaigns with free GPU credits and prizes. Another significant peak appeared in mid-April 2025, with weekly revenue reaching $70,000, indicating a rebound in creator demand and network adoption rates.
4. Nosana: Decentralized AI computing network
Nosana is a decentralized computing network where users can run AI inference tasks through a global GPU host grid. Participants register idle GPUs as nodes and earn $NOS tokens by completing tasks in the network-specific job market. Nosana's solution provides a scalable, censorship-resistant alternative that utilizes globally underutilized GPU resources, offering a more cost-effective choice for AI computation.
Important milestones:
2024: Launch of global test grid
2024: Release of Node V2, significantly enhancing performance
2025: GPU market mainnet launch
Source: @sliceanalytics
Key data:
Global node count: over 4,200
Daily active nodes: increased from an average of 300 in 2024 to over 600 in 2025
Source: @sliceanalytics
In January 2025, Nosana officially launched its decentralized GPU marketplace to the public. This release, after a year of closed testing, triggered significant growth in node activity: daily active nodes increased from an average of 300 in 2024 to over 600, peaking above 800 in March 2025. This growth indicates a continuously increasing adoption rate among GPU hosts and AI developers.
Globally, over 4,200 nodes have joined, and Nosana demonstrates scalable performance and ongoing activity, becoming a strong decentralized alternative to traditional computing providers. Its on-chain activities are driven by the interactions of node operators with the job market, reflecting the actual usage of its decentralized GPU network. The network reached a historical peak of over 200,000 operations per week in May 2024 and stabilized at around 80,000 operations, indicating healthy and sustained demand for computing tasks.
Most activities come from three key command types: creating new job opportunities, node queuing for tasks, and completing tasks and paying rewards. These three commands represent the core work lifecycle on the network and maintain a relatively stable usage pattern. Less frequent commands such as stop, exit, and cleanup occur about 1,000 times per week, indicating a lower early-task termination or cleanup rate, further demonstrating system stability and the good alignment of incentive mechanisms.
5. UpRock: Mobile-first data intelligence network
UpRock is a decentralized data intelligence network driven by a mobile-first DePIN model. Users can share unused network bandwidth and computing power through the UpRock app, turning everyday devices into passive data contributors to earn $UPT tokens. These resources provide real-time, geographically diverse, and censorship-resistant data support for AI models.
Source: @sliceanalytics
UpRock monetizes through SaaS subscriptions and pay-per-use APIs, with part of the revenue used for on-chain $UPT token buybacks, funding rewards for contributors and strengthening the ecosystem. In February 2025, on-chain network revenue peaked at over $3,000 weekly, and has since stabilized at around $1,500 weekly.
Conclusion and key insights
Solana's leadership in the DePIN industry: If protocols choose not to launch their independent L1/blockchain, Solana has become the leading chain for DePIN, with a total market value of $3.25 billion and an average market value per project of $191.3 million.
On-chain activities demonstrate the real value of DePIN: DePIN is not just a narrative. Projects like Helium, Render, and Hivemapper collectively generated nearly $6 million in on-chain network revenue, which is a strong signal of real product-market fit.
The compute and wireless categories dominate the market: Compute (71.2%) and wireless (22.2%) categories lead the market share in the Solana DePIN industry (totaling 93.4%).
Node growth and service adoption accelerate: Helium surpasses 176,000 mobile users and 69,000 nodes, while Hivemapper and Render continue to expand their contributor base. Nosana's active node count doubles after the mainnet launch.
The challenge of transparency still exists:Despite practical applications, DePIN remains one of the most difficult sectors in the crypto industry to track on-chain activities because it relies on off-chain hardware and third-party integrations. While progress has been made, fully transparent and consistent on-chain measurements are still ongoing.
This article is reprinted with permission from: (Deep Tide TechFlow)
Original authors: Dune, Slice Analytics
‘From mining to mapping, how Solana became the leader in DePIN? An article to understand the industry landscape’ was first published in ‘Crypto City’
