AO November Milestones: Hardware Sale and Protocol Enhancements

The DePIN Report 2025 offers a comprehensive analysis of the Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) ecosystem, showcasing its evolution, key players, and emerging trends. Commissioned by io.net, this report emphasizes the transformative potential of DePIN in reshaping traditional infrastructure models. By leveraging token incentives and enabling permissionless participation, DePIN fosters distributed networks for computing, storage, and connectivity, thereby reducing dependence on centralized entities and promoting new ownership and governance structures. DePIN's origins can be traced back to innovative projects like Helium and Filecoin, which demonstrated the feasibility of community-driven infrastructure. These pioneering efforts validated the concept of decentralized networks, leading to the broader DePIN movement that we see today. As the landscape has matured, DePIN has expanded across various sectors, signaling a significant shift towards open, incentivized networks. This evolution is redefining the deployment, ownership, and governance of physical infrastructure, marking a departure from centralized provisioning. The insights provided in The DePIN Report are invaluable for stakeholders aiming to navigate this rapidly evolving sector. By consolidating data from leading DePIN projects, funding trends, and technological advancements, the report offers a detailed overview of the industry's trajectory. As DePIN continues to influence global infrastructure through decentralized coordination, understanding these dynamics will be crucial for those looking to engage with and contribute to its future development.

IoTeX, the decentralized network bridging the physical and digital worlds, announced a significant expansion into artificial intelligence. This move introduces a unified ecosystem for Physical AI, a new category of intelligence powered by real-world data from machines, devices, and decentralized infrastructure. The transition of AI systems from digital environments to real-world applications emphasizes the importance of access to live, trustworthy data from the physical surroundings. IoTeX aims to enable a new class of AI grounded in reality by creating a shared infrastructure where machines and AI agents can coordinate via verified, real-time data, transforming decentralized networks into a foundation for responsive, real-world AI systems. Since its establishment in 2017, IoTeX has been at the forefront of technologies bridging physical devices with blockchain networks. The company's latest AI expansion aligns with its vision of linking the demand for real-time, verifiable data from AI developers with the supply of connected devices and DePIN participants on IoTeX. The AI infrastructure is powered by IoTeX Layer 1 Blockchain for secure coordination, the ioID Protocol for decentralized machine authentication, Quicksilver AI framework for transforming raw machine signals, and the IOTX Token for governance and incentives. Central to IoTeX's AI architecture are Realms, evolving knowledge bases of real-time, real-world data that synthesize insights from machines, people, and sensors to generate actionable intelligence in various sectors like mobility, health, energy, and robotics. Realms serve the dual purpose of providing real-time situational awareness for AI agents and offering dynamic environments for training the next generation of Physical AI models. As data flows into a Realm from connected devices and DePIN nodes, its intelligence becomes more precise, adaptive, and valuable, evolving into living knowledge bases that scale with participation. IoTeX's vision is to build dynamic economies of intelligence where machines, people, and AI collaborate to generate continuously evolving knowledge, forming a global constellation of verified environments where physical intelligence becomes a scalable and monetizable resource for real-world AI applications.

Theta EdgeCloud has unveiled an innovative feature: a large language model (LLM) inference service that provides distributed verifiability. This groundbreaking service allows AI agents and chatbots to perform LLM inference that is both trustworthy and independently verifiable, a first in the industry. By leveraging blockchain-backed public randomness beacons, Theta EdgeCloud combines advanced AI technology with the decentralized and trustless nature of blockchain, making it the only platform to offer such capabilities among both crypto-native and traditional cloud services. This development is particularly significant for sectors like enterprise and academia, where the integrity of computational outputs is crucial. The need for trust in AI outputs has become increasingly important as modern AI agents depend heavily on LLMs for generating responses and executing complex tasks. Traditionally, many frameworks have relied on centralized LLM APIs or hardware-enforced security, which can compromise the reliability of results. The introduction of DeepSeek-V3/R1, an open-source alternative to proprietary LLMs, paves the way for full-stack verification. Theta EdgeCloud has taken this a step further by implementing a Distributed Verifiable Inference system, ensuring that LLM outputs are reproducible and tamper-proof, even from the service provider itself. The newly released industry-grade verifiable LLM inference engine is integrated into Theta EdgeCloud, achieving public availability through deterministic token probability and verifiable sampling. By utilizing open-source models, users can independently verify the next-token probability distribution. The incorporation of a publicly verifiable random seed ensures that the sampling process is reproducible and transparent. This two-part design guarantees that no party can tamper with the model output, thereby enhancing the integrity of AI outputs. As AI continues to permeate various aspects of life and commerce, the ability to verify and trust these outputs will be essential for safety and security, marking a significant advancement in the field of AI.

The Hivemapper Network is proposing a significant update through Map Improvement Proposal 24 (MIP-24) aimed at enhancing its rewards system to better align with customer demand for high-value map layers. The proposal emphasizes the need for dynamic map features such as road construction updates and temporary traffic changes, which are deemed more valuable than traditional street-level imagery. With the introduction of the Bee, a new mapping platform equipped with advanced technology, the network aims to shift its focus from merely collecting imagery to delivering real-time, accurate map data. This change is crucial as it allows contributors to be rewarded based on the quality and timeliness of the data they provide rather than the quantity of images uploaded. The proposal outlines three key changes to the current rewards structure. Firstly, it introduces a hex-based contribution model that rewards contributors for coverage in hexagonal areas rather than the number of images uploaded. Secondly, it supports 24x7 mapping capabilities, enabling contributors to capture data at all hours, thus increasing the potential for dynamic event capture. Lastly, an upload speed score will be implemented, incentivizing contributors to upload data as quickly as possible, reflecting the increasing customer demand for real-time information. This new scoring system will calculate the time taken between data collection and upload, rewarding faster uploads with higher scores. The implications of MIP-24 are significant for both contributors and customers. By focusing on hex coverage, real-time data collection, and faster uploads, the Hivemapper Network aims to enhance the overall quality and freshness of its maps. This shift not only aligns the rewards system with the evolving needs of customers but also encourages contributors to optimize their mapping efforts. As the proposal enters a comment period, active community members are invited to engage and provide feedback, ensuring that the final implementation reflects the collective insights of the Hivemapper community.

Nubila is launching a new Validation Layer aimed at expanding participation in its climate data ecosystem. This initiative allows anyone to contribute to the decentralized data consensus layer through on-chain verification without the need to own a Marco weather station or a Validator Node. The campaign, which lasts for 90 days and incurs no upfront costs, is designed to broaden participation and reward early contributors while maintaining the value of existing holders. By making the Nubila Network more accessible, the project aims to enhance awareness and understanding of decentralized climate infrastructure. The Validation Layer is a limited-time opportunity for users with a VeChain wallet to validate real weather data and earn token rewards. Participants can engage in manual validation, where they review data from Marco weather stations and earn rewards for accurate entries, or opt for auto-validation for passive participation. The campaign emphasizes transparency, with all validation data being auditable, including timestamps, weather station IDs, and sensor readings. This initiative complements the existing Marco and Node holders, who remain crucial to the infrastructure by generating the data that is verified. To incentivize participation, Nubila has introduced a new weekly allocation model for B3TR rewards, reserving 10% of the total mining pool for validators. This structure ensures that participants can earn rewards based on their validation efforts while maintaining a fixed supply of data entries. The campaign not only aims to improve data quality for various applications, including AI and climate modeling, but also seeks to engage a broader audience in contributing to climate insights. With this launch, Nubila is redefining participation in its network, making it easier for anyone to join and make an impact in the climate data space.

DePIN, or Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks, is emerging as a revolutionary concept within the cryptocurrency landscape. By utilizing blockchain technology and token incentives, DePIN projects aim to decentralize essential real-world infrastructure, including data storage, wireless networks, and computing power. This innovative approach contrasts sharply with traditional centralized systems, envisioning a future where infrastructure is collectively owned and managed by a decentralized network of individuals and businesses. This shift not only enhances security and transparency but also mitigates the risks associated with centralized control, paving the way for a more resilient infrastructure ecosystem. Among the leading DePIN projects to watch in 2025 are Bittensor (TAO) and Filecoin (FIL). Bittensor is particularly notable for its decentralized, blockchain-based machine learning network, where models collaborate and earn TAO tokens as rewards. This global access and equitable reward distribution position it as a frontrunner in the DePIN sector. Meanwhile, Filecoin aims to revolutionize data storage by creating a decentralized system that preserves humanity's critical information. Its open-source framework and opportunities for developers make it an attractive investment. Other significant projects include the Internet Computer (ICP), which offers a scalable cloud compute layer, and Theta Network (THETA), which focuses on decentralized video streaming infrastructure. The potential of DePIN projects extends beyond mere infrastructure; they facilitate seamless integration of AI and localized data processing. Projects like IOTA, Walrus, Helium Mobile, and Auki Labs are also making strides in their respective fields, from IoT transactions to decentralized wireless networks. As these projects continue to evolve, they unlock new utilities and values through the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs), fostering decentralized innovation. However, investors should remain cautious and conduct thorough research, as the crypto market carries inherent risks. The future of decentralized infrastructure is bright, with these projects leading the charge towards a more interconnected and efficient world.