The Rise of Crypto + AI: A New Frontier in Web3 Investment

A recent report titled "The DePIN Token Economics Report" by Tom Trowbridge has shed light on the growing interest of traditional equity investors in Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN). The report highlights how DePIN is revolutionizing real-world services such as Wi-Fi, energy, and computing. With over 1,000 projects and 3 million providers, DePIN has shown significant revenue traction, with hardware costs plummeting by 95% in recent years. Notably, Helium reported $350,000 in revenue for Q4 2024, while Geodnet achieved an annualized revenue of $3 million, showcasing the financial viability of these decentralized networks. Traditional equity investors, who have historically been skeptical of token projects, are now recognizing DePIN as a promising investment avenue. The report indicates that this investor demographic is significantly larger than that of alt-coin investors, primarily due to DePIN's tangible services and impressive revenue metrics. The buy-and-burn mechanisms employed by various DePIN projects, such as Geodnet and Hivemapper, further enhance the appeal by linking revenue directly to token value. This financial model provides a clearer benchmark for investors, as evidenced by Geodnet's $500,000 revenue in Q4 2024, which supports price growth in its tokens. Moreover, Trowbridge emphasizes the importance of simplicity in DePIN's token economics, suggesting that models should be straightforward to avoid confusion among investors. The report also highlights the necessity for transparency in the sector, especially in light of Helium's recent SEC charge for misleading investors. As DePIN continues to shift the narrative of cryptocurrency from speculation to utility, Trowbridge asserts that projects offering real-world services are scaling more rapidly and providing superior services at lower prices compared to their centralized counterparts. This shift could redefine the landscape of crypto investments, making DePIN a focal point for future growth in the industry.

In the ever-evolving landscape of decentralized finance (DeFi), Total Value Locked (TVL) serves as a critical metric for assessing the growth of various protocols. Recent data from Phoenix Group has revealed significant TVL increases across several projects in the past month, attracting the attention of investors and crypto enthusiasts alike. Among the top 15 projects, BUIDL has emerged as the standout performer, showcasing a remarkable 219% growth in TVL, which now stands at $1.8 billion. This tokenized money market fund, powered by BlackRock and built on the Ethereum blockchain, has seen its value triple in just three weeks, reflecting a heightened demand for secure crypto assets. Following BUIDL, Sonic (S) has secured the second position with a 171% increase in TVL, demonstrating the platform's growing influence since its rebranding from Fantom. Level Finance (LVL) comes in third with a 123% growth, attributed to its unique offerings in the DEX perpetual trading marketplace on the BNB Chain. Euler (EUL) and Sky (SKY) round out the top five, with TVL growths of 105% and 55.6%, respectively. Sky's recent rebranding from Maker to Sky has successfully attracted more users to its platform, further enhancing its market presence. Other notable projects that have seen impressive TVL growth include DeepBook (DEEP) with a 53.8% increase, Idle Finance (IDLE) at 51.9%, and Beethoven X (BEETS) with a 47.9% rise. The data highlights a vibrant DeFi ecosystem, with projects like Orderly Network (ORDER) and Pell Network Token (PELL) also making significant strides. As the DeFi space continues to mature, these growth metrics underscore the increasing interest and investment in innovative financial solutions within the blockchain realm.

The total value locked (TVL) in various cryptocurrency projects has seen remarkable growth, as highlighted in a recent research document by Phoenix Group, which utilizes data from DeFiLlama. TrueFi (TRU) has emerged as the leading project, boasting a TVL increase of $260.2k, equating to an impressive 424% surge. This growth positions TrueFi ahead of its competitors in terms of locked value, showcasing the increasing investor confidence in decentralized finance (DeFi) markets. Following TrueFi, three DeFi projects—Mint ($MINT), Maple ($MPL), and Zircuit ($ZRC)—have also experienced notable TVL growth. Mint currently holds a TVL of $1.5 million, while Maple and Zircuit report $454.4 million and $890.8 million respectively. This upward trend in TVL indicates a growing trust among investors and heightened activity within the DeFi sector, reflecting a broader acceptance of decentralized financial applications. Additionally, other protocols such as Note ($NOTE), Euler ($EUL), and Velodrome ($VELO) have shown substantial TVL increases, with values rising to $13.5 million, $377.1 million, and $66.7 million respectively. The overall growth in TVL across multiple platforms signifies a diverse and expanding DeFi landscape, driven by enhanced liquidity and user engagement. As protocols like $IDLE, $PUFFER, $BLUE, and $CPOOL report successive growth, the ongoing trends are reshaping the DeFi ecosystem, attracting more capital inflows and reinforcing the foundation of decentralized finance networks.

Bangalore, India’s tech hub, recently hosted the first-ever Solana DePIN Summit on March 25, 2025, marking a pivotal moment for the country’s digital landscape. This event gathered both Indian and international startups focused on Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN), providing a unique platform for innovators to present their ideas to a global audience of investors. The summit highlights the growing trend of blockchain startups in India, particularly in the DePIN sector, which integrates IoT, energy networks, and wireless communications with blockchain technology to create more efficient and decentralized infrastructure solutions. One of the key players at the summit was Wifi Dabba, a Y Combinator-backed startup based in Bangalore, which served as the title sponsor. Wifi Dabba utilizes Solana's blockchain to enhance broadband access in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities through a DePIN model, collaborating with local operators under India's PM-WANI initiative. Co-founder Shubhendu Sharma emphasized that Solana's choice of India for its inaugural DePIN Summit underscores the country's growing presence in the Web3 space, as Indian startups leverage blockchain technology to tackle real-world challenges, particularly in bridging the digital divide. Despite having only 41 million fixed broadband connections compared to China's 600 million, India is poised to make significant strides in its digital infrastructure. The DePIN model proposed by Wifi Dabba aims to lower the barriers to entry for broadband access, aligning with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's goal of achieving 100 million broadband users by 2030. Events like the Solana DePIN Summit are crucial for amplifying India's role in the global DePIN landscape, showcasing local talent and fostering international collaboration, ultimately positioning India as a key player in Web3 innovations and decentralized infrastructure development.

Grayscale, the world’s largest crypto asset management company, has unveiled its updated list of the Top 20 potential crypto projects for Q2 2025. This latest list introduces three promising newcomers: Maple (SYRUP), Geodnet (GEOD), and Story Protocol (IP), while removing Akash, Arweave, and Jupiter. As the crypto market continues to experience volatility, Grayscale is strategically positioning itself to capitalize on emerging trends that could redefine the industry landscape. According to Grayscale's Market Insights report, the first quarter of 2025 witnessed a decline in the cryptocurrency market, mirroring the downturn seen in tech stocks and other high-risk assets. Although Bitcoin's network activity remained stable, interest in meme coins, particularly within the Solana ecosystem, has diminished. Nevertheless, Web3 applications across DeFi, AI, and infrastructure sectors have collectively generated over $2 billion in revenue. Notably, Sui (SUI) has emerged as a leading smart contract platform, boasting rapid transactions and low fees without the need for additional scaling layers, currently holding just 3% of Grayscale’s Smart Contract Platforms index. For Q2 2025, Grayscale is concentrating on three pivotal areas: Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DePIN), Real World Assets (RWA), and Intellectual Property Tokenization (IP). The addition of Maple, Geodnet, and Story Protocol to the Top 20 list reflects this focus. Maple is a lending platform for institutional clients with a total value locked (TVL) exceeding $600 million, while Geodnet provides real-time positioning data across 130+ countries, generating over $3 million in monthly revenue. Story Protocol aims to tokenize the $70 trillion intellectual property market, attracting high-profile artists like Justin Bieber and BTS. However, Grayscale cautions that these assets are highly volatile and risky, particularly highlighting GEOD's lack of major exchange listings as a significant concern.

The Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) sector is rapidly evolving, showcasing significant potential across various technological domains. According to a recent report by Messari, DePIN is currently in its nascent growth phase, holding less than 0.1% of the market share but boasting a market cap of $50 billion, supported by over 13 million devices contributing daily. By eliminating centralized intermediaries, DePIN facilitates a more efficient and inclusive sharing of physical assets, which is crucial for the development and operation of critical infrastructures in computing, AI, wireless technology, and energy services. Since its inception, DePIN has garnered attention from major tech companies, particularly in 2023, as global manufacturers began integrating blockchain into real-world infrastructures. The sector can be categorized into Physical Resource Networks, which focus on devices, and Digital Resource Networks, which emphasize computing resources like CDNs and AI. This duality allows individual device owners to share data and earn rewards while providing accessible computing resources. DePIN's applications extend to telecommunications, data management, and cloud storage, offering scalable alternatives to traditional centralized systems and enhancing AI functionalities. At the forefront of this innovation is Phoenix, a decentralized AI compute network that leverages DePIN infrastructure to deliver scalable solutions for AI applications. Phoenix's SkyNet platform utilizes a globally distributed network of high-performance GPUs, including both NVIDIA and alternative models, to optimize AI operations. Their collaborations with firms like TandemAI and Origin Quantum aim to democratize access to advanced computing resources, enabling research organizations to conduct complex analyses at minimal costs. As the DePIN-AI sector is projected to reach a market size of $3.5 trillion by 2028, Phoenix is poised to lead this transformative wave by merging decentralized infrastructure with cutting-edge AI technologies.