Escape Velocity (EV³) On DePIN Empowering People To Put Back The Public In Public Infrastructure

Cryptocurrency is a volatile market; do your independent research and only invest what you can afford to lose. New token launches and small market capitalization coins are inherently more risky than large cap cryptocurrencies. These tokens are subject to larger liquidity and market risks.
 

Summary: Crypto and blockchain investment firm EV³ says Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) will solve many infrastructure-related headaches by empowering the average person to contribute. 

When thinking about public infrastructure, the first thing that comes to mind are government-led and -initiated projects to improve the lives of their citizens. However, the reality is that governments can be inefficient or bogged down by numerous geopolitical and economic issues, causing public infrastructure to deteriorate or remain unbuilt. This results in hardships and inconvenience for the ordinary people, and there’s no one who can step up to build or fix what needs to be done.

In recent years, the concept of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) has emerged, thanks to advancements in blockchain, cryptocurrency, and other decentralized technologies. This brings together several of the most promising fields in Web 3.0, including the Internet/Economy of Things, energy, telecoms, and mobility. Powered by blockchain technology and tokens, DePINs provide an incentive to deploy and maintain physical infrastructure in a decentralized and more efficient manner, providing disruption for stagnating traditional industries.

Escape Velocity (EV³), a venture capital and incubation firm that invests in pre-seed and seed stage startups primarily focused on blockchain technology, says that the DePIN field holds incredible potential, both in investment and in real-world potential. According to Salvador Gala, co-founder of EV³, there are several high-profile companies in the space indicating it could be the next bull market in crypto. 

A DePIN presents a more efficient and cost-effective approach to infrastructure deployment, without the need for intermediaries. It fosters competition and innovation by allowing globally distributed individuals to collectively build and operate various people-owned physical infrastructure networks.

“DePIN is where real-world use cases interact with crypto, where the reflexivity and speculative nature of crypto gets reinvested into real-world value, whether that's internet networks that connect people with each other, or energy networks that provide power to people,” Gala says. “As people everywhere know, the old infrastructure is very broken. In my home country of Venezuela, the power goes out every other day, because the power grid has long been neglected. Basically, these things don't work because they're centralized under a single, paralyzed, and fragile entity. We believe that decentralized physical infrastructure networks are the solution to that.”

In a centralized network, taking out a single critical facility can cause the entire network to fail. Decentralized infrastructure such as blockchains are harder to take down, as long as enough nodes remain operational, making them more resilient in today’s increasingly volatile world.

According to EV³‘s DePIN market tracker dashboard, there are close to 700 DePIN projects that have been launched, with a total market cap of US$30 billion. EV³ is a leading investor in this space, working with projects and companies of all sizes and stages. It partners with companies creating protocols at the very earliest stages, where they need the most help. These include architecting the various technical aspects, as well as participating in bootstrapping the original network.

Furthermore, EV³ hosts the leading podcast and annual conference for DePIN, bringing together the community and fostering open exchange of information. 

“In the next five to 10 years, I envision a world where permissionless, deep-end, open networks will allow anyone with the capability to fix the various problems they encounter, such as potholes on the road, broken stop lights, power interruptions, and loss of internet connectivity, then receive compensation,” Gala says. “If there's no cell signal in your area, you can put up an antenna or router in your house and get paid for exactly what that's worth. This gives everyone, including the common citizen, a sense of empowerment that we can make the world a better place.”

This post was authored by an external contributor and does not represent Benzinga's opinions and has not been edited for content. The information contained above is provided for informational and educational purposes only, and nothing contained herein should be construed as investment advice. Benzinga does not make any recommendation to buy or sell any security or any representation about the financial condition of any company. Cryptocurrency is a volatile market; do your independent research and only invest what you can afford to lose. New token launches and small market capitalization coins are inherently more risky than large cap cryptocurrencies. These tokens are subject to larger liquidity and market risks.