The Cycle of Eyewash in the Web3 World: The Evolution from GameFi to DePIN

The Web3 space seems to be repeating a pattern: "economic incentives + scenario packaging". From Filecoin miners to GameFi, and now to the DePIN( decentralized physical infrastructure network), this pattern continues to emerge in new forms.

GameFi was once all the rage, attracting a large number of users with the banner of "earn tokens by playing games." However, this model ultimately could not be sustained, with significant fluctuations in token prices, user loss, and the collapse of the ecosystem.

Nowadays, the concept of DePIN has emerged, sparking heated discussions in the Web3 community once again. It is not just "mining through usage", but rather "everything can be DePIN": charging, making calls, installing sockets, driving, watching ads, and even drinking water can earn token rewards. This model seems to have more imaginative potential than GameFi, as it involves areas like electricity, communication, and transportation in real life.

However, upon closer observation of the actual operation and economic models of these projects, we have discovered a worrying phenomenon: most DePIN device suppliers come from Huaqiangbei in Shenzhen, and the prices of these devices are often 30-50 times the wholesale price. Almost all hardware investors have lost their entire investment, and the purchased DePIN tokens have almost no possibility of rebound. Investors can only watch helplessly as their assets shrink, waiting indefinitely for the "ecological landing" and "next round of airdrops." This is not true infrastructure innovation, but more like a "resurrection of the dead" hardware eyewash.

Project Review: The Blood and Tears Lessons of the Pitfall Victims

Helium: From Hard to Find to Nobody Cares

Helium was once a star project in the DePIN field, building a decentralized LoRaWAN network through Helium Hotspot devices. It also partnered with mobile communication companies to launch low-cost package services. However, the story of Helium devices became a typical case of "eyewash": once a hotspot miner worth dozens of dollars was driven up to 2500 dollars each, claiming that it could break even in three days. But the reality is: due to nodes being banned by the authorities, investors in China suffered total losses, miners became scrap metal, the currency price plummeted, and miners incurred heavy losses.

Hivemapper: The Road to Recouping Costs for High-Priced Dashcams

Hivemapper sells a $549 dashcam that allows users to upload geographic data while driving to earn token rewards. However, this "drive-to-earn" model has many issues:

• The hardware is expensive, but there is insufficient support for the tokens. The price of the HONEY token has been sluggish for a long time, resulting in a long payback period.
• The quality and update frequency of the map data are questionable, and it remains to be seen whether it can truly compete with mainstream map services.
• The network primarily covers developed countries, with almost no landing scenarios in emerging markets.

Jambo: The Web3 Mobile Myth in the African Market

Jambo has launched a combination product of "DePIN + Web3 wallet," which has become very popular in the African market. The Jambo phone, priced at $99, has sold over 400,000 units and activated more than 1.23 million wallet addresses. However, this success is not due to user trust in the project, but rather achieved through the soaring prices of certain tokens and the rapid development of the ecosystem. Users can earn JAMBO tokens through pre-installed dApps, but the liquidity and value of these tokens remain questionable. Without the support of large data buyers, the mobile ecosystem will struggle to meet the long-term needs of Web3 users.

Ordz Game: Retro Handheld Web3 Packaging

Ordz Game has launched the BitBoy handheld console priced at 0.01 BTC, focusing on the "play-to-earn" concept. However:

• The gaming experience is limited to retro ROM levels, lacking innovation.
• The token ORDg, renamed to GAMES, still lacks liquidity and actual value.
• Essentially a replica of the GameFi mining model, just with a "handheld" shell.

The possibility of achieving long-term retention and return on investment for players is extremely slim.

TON mobile: high price low configuration "senior phone"

Riding on the popularity of Telegram and TON, the TON phone was launched at nearly $500. However, users have rated it as having a "senior phone feel," with only 6GB of memory and 128GB of storage, running on Android 14. Despite coming with a phone case and claiming to have "airdrop expectations," it:

• The quality of the airdrop is far inferior to other similar products.
• The user interface and experience lack differentiation, and the hardware itself shows no innovation.
• The return period is long, and ecological construction is still in the theoretical stage.

Starpower: Incomprehensibly High-Priced Plug

Starpower claims to be a smart power DePIN project under a certain blockchain ecosystem, selling hardware such as smart sockets and car chargers. A plug is priced at 100 dollars, while the same product costs only 91 yuan on e-commerce platforms. The project company is newly established, the technology is opaque, the ecological incentive model is unclear, and it completely relies on "storytelling" to sell devices.

Energy DePIN projects: Idealized models that are distant from market logic

Some projects like Glow and PowerLedger focus on idealized models such as carbon credit trading and P2P distributed energy trading. However, these projects face many real-world challenges:

• The source of buyers for carbon credits is unclear.
• Difficult to verify the actual power generation of the power station.
• The recovery of the device relies on the uncertain appreciation of tokens.

PowerLedger attempts to establish a P2P trading platform for the electricity market, but its platform token has nearly gone to zero, and its core business model has yet to be validated.

The Essence and Future Outlook of DePIN

DePIN is essentially an extension attempt of the Web3 "economic incentive model" into the real physical world. Theoretically, it can decentralize real infrastructure, build large-scale user network effects, and achieve fair incentives and transparent governance through token design.

However, most DePIN projects at the current stage are relying on "selling hardware" to harvest retail investors:

• The token model is often a combination of "air + bubble".
• "Ecological empowerment" relies heavily on KOL packaging, concept hype, and airdrop expectations.
• Project parties mostly come from the hardware supply chain, relying on high pricing to earn equipment revenue, rather than truly building the network.

Truly successful DePIN projects require strong supply and demand model design, a transparent and continuous incentive mechanism, and an in-depth understanding of the hardware and infrastructure sectors. Currently, the biggest bubble in the DePIN market lies in the fact that most projects are not solving real problems but are packaging concepts to harvest users. When hardware becomes a tool for speculation, when tokens become worthless "digital coupons", and when all narratives revolve around airdrop expectations, DePIN has fallen into yet another Ponzi cycle of Web3.

We look forward to seeing some DePIN projects that do not rely on hardware sales and concept hype, but instead depend on real usage and actual income emerging in the near future. Only in this way can DePIN truly realize its vision of decentralized infrastructure and bring substantial value and innovation to the Web3 ecosystem.