Fred The Fox

This year we have seen decentralized compute and infrastructure networks increasingly shape the future of Web3, empowering distributed workloads and community-driven resource sharing on a global scale. It's just a few days left in the year and time to reflect. As major players redefine how computing, storage, and data services are provisioned, new entrants are capturing attention with innovative approaches to decentralized physical infrastructure.

Fluence – $FLT
Fluence continues to stand out by offering peer-to-peer compute and GPU infrastructure that supports scalable, distributed applications — a foundational layer for next-generation Web3 services.
Bittensor – $TAO
Bittensor is gaining traction as a decentralized AI and machine learning protocol, where participants collaboratively train models and are rewarded based on the value they contribute to the network. Its peer-to-peer approach to AI compute is turning heads in the DePIN landscape.
Aethir – $ATH
Aethir is emerging as a compelling decentralized cloud infrastructure project that provides on-demand access to enterprise-grade GPUs for AI workloads, gaming, and high-performance computing. It is designed as a Web3 alternative to centralized cloud services, with a growing global resource footprint.
IoTeX – $IOTX
IoTeX is building a modular DePIN ecosystem focused on secure data and IoT infrastructure. The project’s native token supports a network aiming to connect millions of devices for trusted data exchange and processing, making it a notable player in decentralized physical infrastructure.
The shift toward resilient, distributed infrastructure reflects a broader move away from centralized providers toward networks that are open, community-owned, and inherently scalable. These innovations are redefining how compute and data services are delivered in the Web3 era.

DePIN has hit a awkward, but exciting stage. Cool isn't enough anymore. Regulators are catching up. Now there are more live networks than anyone can really do diligence on by themselves.

Thanks to DePIN Hub, there is now a benchmark for trust. A shared language for competence. Four of the newly verified gold badge earners in DePIN are featured below 👇
$FLT - Fluence Network is perhaps the most active DePIN brand this year, with a presence that distributed itself like nodes across several locations in the world. From Denver to Buenos Aires. Partnerships and features that improve exposure. Judges' choice, BeinCrypto 100 Awards. Meanwhile, the decentralized infrastructure it is built on continues to grow.

$SESH - Session runs on a decentralized network of 1,500+ Session Nodes staking on Arbitrum Network. Session empowered its community with the ability to stake and contribute to open, secure, and private messaging.

$ACU - 250k deployments ⚡ a quarter million real decentralized compute deployments on Acurast! This project has proven reliability at scale and immense ecosystem growth as developers and dApps offload complex, sensitive, and verifiable computation every day.

$ONO - Onocoy is building trust into positioning, using AI to detect fraud in decentralized GNSS networks. Onocoy antennas recently picked up vibrations from earthquakes near Bangladesh, meaning that Onocoy’s 7k+ station network could enable unexpected use cases like early earthquake detection ⚠️

A bigger recognition from DePIN Hub for these projects and many more reflects their progress of building the future of decentralized compute, and highlights their growing value within the DePIN space.

The @BeInCrypto Global 100 awards will be announced on December 10, a great way to spotlight great builders in 2025. As a DePIN fanatic I have considered the nominations for the DePIN category award. Together we'll look at four of them before the announcement on Binance Square 👀

Internet Computer - $ICP is recognized for enabling full-stack dApps, decentralized AI hosting, and on-chain web experiences with no traditional servers. Its fully on-chain compute model gives developers end-to-end decentralization that most chains can’t match.
UpLink - $UPLINK has been pushing decentralized connectivity forward, especially in remote regions. Its hybrid model of ground nodes + satellite relays makes it valuable for IoT networks, emergency communication, and DePIN-native data transmission.
XYO - $XYO gains recognition for expanding use cases in geospatial accuracy, device-level data proofs, and real-world analytics, with deeper integrations into DePIN tooling and location-dependent AI systems.
Fluence Network - $FLT gets recognition from solving a real bottleneck: scaling compute at lower cost, while giving builders censorship-resistant, distributed execution for AI, data, and gaming workloads.
Won't be surprised if Fluence comes out on top, but voting has ended already. Notwithstanding, all these projects have made their mark this year, not forgetting one other nomination, @Render Network 👏

The year wobbles to an end. Everyone talks about a bear market. Does this affect DePIN? Maybe. Not really. DePIN is a sector that can stand on its own entirely, even though Web3 creates a thriving economy for it.

In these times, it's better to reflect on the year and applaud the impressive builders that have given credibility to this crazy technology. In 2025, some names have been engraved in gold, but most people aren't paying attention.
Let's start with the newest DePIN that might close the year with its token launch - Tashi Network. $TASHI is set to be the currency for the coordination layer for intelligent systems, rewarding a network of real contributors. It is coming in December, but has pulled so much traction already 😌
A key part of the activities that brought this traction was the appearance of a Tashi campaign on @Fluence Network's Pointless Program. Never get tired of it, because you can't. Fluence stands out in DePIN with peer-to-peer compute and GPU infrastructure that supports scalable, distributed applications. That nomination for a BeinCrypto award is really deserved. $FLT is opening a new chapter for the decentralized compute world, and the success of DePIN Day events prove this. Most recent one was few days ago in Buenos Aires 🇦🇷
Still on underrated DePINs, (with focus on the tech) Auki decentralizes machine perception, enabling devices to understand and map the physical world collaboratively and securely. It's mind-blowing, so it's advisable to keep your hands on $AUKI before 2026.
Pocket Network, with its RPC infrastructure already serving countless applications, and a strong presence in movements like the DePIN Pledge, signals that it’s not only a high-utility project but also a principled one. It's a personal favourite that I can't force on you, but do some study on $POKT today.
Want to tell me your personal DePIN favourite?