In Web3, DePIN is rapidly becoming one of the most focused tracks. What is it exactly? How does it relate to ordinary people? What is its future potential? The following content is compiled from The Defiant Podcast's interview with Amira Valliani, the DePIN head of the Solana Foundation. If you want to know whether DePIN is an opportunity you should pay attention to and how to implement it, this content is not to be missed.
Q: Can you briefly introduce yourself and how you entered crypto and joined the Solana Foundation?
Amira Valliani (hereinafter referred to as A): I first started paying attention to crypto in 2017. At that time, I was mainly interested in community-built news platforms, especially local news. I was always thinking: Can blockchain be used to build community infrastructure, such as soft services like news writing, which can be shared and generate revenue?
Later, I started a business and developed a podcast payment platform, which had nothing to do with crypto, but made me deeply understand how difficult it is for content creators to collect small subscription fees. And I never forgot the concept of "community building". After selling the company in 2021, I began to seriously consider returning to the crypto world.
I previously worked in politics in Washington and had been in the White House and State Department, feeling this was an opportunity to integrate multiple interests of mine. After joining the Solana Foundation, I initially was responsible for policy affairs, then gradually involved in strategic projects, joined the Helium Foundation board of directors, and naturally became responsible for the foundation's DePIN-related work.
Q: You just mentioned policy affairs. The Solana Foundation is quite active in policy-making. Can you tell us more about what you've done in Washington?
A: Our primary task is actually "education". After all, policymakers generally do not understand blockchain, and we need to help them understand the impact of this technology on the real world, especially how it can help their constituents.
For example, we invited Helium developers to Congress early on to introduce how to build a community-shared wireless network through blockchain. Many lawmakers originally misunderstood crypto, but when they saw the project landing and heard that "people in their constituency are using the Helium network", they truly began to take this technology seriously.
[The translation continues in the same manner for the rest of the text, maintaining the specified translations for technical terms and proper nouns.]At this point, the special feature of DEPIN is that it does not rely on investment from a single large institution, but instead breaks the project into small pieces, allowing countless individual users to participate in construction, such as deploying a hotspot or installing a sensor. As long as you spend a few hundred dollars, the system will reward you with tokens, making you a network builder.
Therefore, DEPIN essentially breaks down high-threshold tasks into activities that everyone can participate in. In the current high-interest and high-cost macroeconomic environment, this is actually a very good solution.
Q: You said that DEPIN's future is a "trillion-dollar" industry. How can it achieve such explosive growth?
A: Currently, DEPIN may only be worth a few billion dollars, but its development speed is very fast. I believe that future breakthroughs will come from three directions:
Mature Tools: In the past, to launch a DEPIN project, you had to build the system from scratch and deploy the chain yourself. Now, service providers like Solana, chart platforms, and data query tools are readily available, significantly lowering the development threshold.
AI Driving Data Demand: The rapid development of AI has made real-world data extremely important, and DEPIN is the best data collection network. The more AI develops, the more DEPIN will thrive.
More "Knowledgeable" Entrepreneurs Entering the Field: Many current DEPIN founders have experience in hardware, infrastructure, and truly understand the industry. They are not those who "raise money first and figure out solutions later," but those who genuinely use crypto to solve old problems. They first identify pain points and then choose to solve them using Web3 methods. So I say, the key to DEPIN's explosion is a large number of "practical" founders entering Web3. They know how to get things done, and that's the core.
Q: Can an ordinary person like me earn a living by participating in DEPIN projects?
A: Of course. In Mexico, I met someone whose full-time job is running a HiveMapper fleet. He bought a bunch of dashcams and recruited a group of taxi and truck drivers, installing equipment for them to map daily. He manages the backend, handles profit sharing, and repairs equipment, essentially creating his "personal mapping company". Some people specialize in maintaining Helium hotspots, deploying networks, maintaining nodes, and acting as regional agents.
These are entirely new job opportunities that don't require coding skills. As long as you can use equipment and manage resources, you can participate in a Web3 network and start earning money.
Conclusion: DEPIN sounds very "technical", but it's actually a simple logic: breaking down resources we encounter daily in the real world into pieces and using incentive mechanisms to encourage active participation. It shows us that everyone has the opportunity to contribute to AI's development. If you missed the early stages of Bitcoin and Ethereum, this might be your entry opportunity.
Coinspire is a research community that has long focused on Web3 and AI sectors, providing project reports, primary investment research, and secondary market analysis opportunities.
*All content on the Coinspire platform is for reference only and does not constitute any investment strategy offer or recommendation. Any personal decisions based on this content are the sole responsibility of the investor, and Coinspire is not responsible for any resulting gains or losses. Investing involves risks, and decisions must be made cautiously!
