DePIN without the complexity: Unlocking passive earnings for all

TL; DR:

• DePIN networks offer real infrastructure-based yield but remain inaccessible to non-technical users due to complex node setups, wallet management, and hardware requirements.

• Hivello abstracts away the operational friction, automating node deployment, resource allocation, firmware updates, and payouts, making it as simple as installing a desktop app.

• Unlike DeFi’s reliance on token emissions, DePIN rewards are driven by actual usage of bandwidth, compute, and storage. This usage-based yield model is gaining traction amid declining DeFi returns.

• With DePIN fundraising hitting $578M in 2024 and projected market value reaching $3.5T by 2028, demand for decentralized infrastructure will likely outpace token-based financial engineering.

• Hivello’s multi-network architecture and pooled infrastructure management make it a scalable backend solution for institutions, DAOs, and advanced operators seeking non-speculative, real-world yield exposure.

While the tech keeps scaling and capital keeps pouring in, everyday users are still stuck at the door, dealing with wallet setups, gas fees, and clunky interfaces. The decentralized internet exists, but most people still can’t access it.

This is especially clear in DePIN, or Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks, where users can earn rewards by contributing storage, compute, or bandwidth. The potential is real, but so are the hurdles; most projects still expect users to manage wallets, tokens, and constant upkeep.

Built on the momentum of the DePIN movement, Hivello makes participation as easy as installing Spotify. There are no wallets to configure, no tokens to manage upfront, and no steep learning curve. Just download the app, contribute idle resources from your device, and start earning. Unlike DeFi, which often leans on speculative yields, Hivello is driven by real demand for infrastructure. And because it works on any regular computer, it invites broader participation, not just the crypto-fluent.

Hivello sees unused compute as wasted value. Not running it is like skipping loyalty rewards or paying extra for electricity. This article explores how Hivello works, how it pays users in familiar currencies, and why its frictionless design could be the key to bringing DePIN to the mainstream.

The Emergence of DePIN: Real Yield Over Speculation

While the broader DeFi market has matured, much of its yield still depends on inflationary incentives. Protocols like Aave, Compound, and Lido remain reliant on token emissions that shift with market sentiment. By contrast, DePIN protocols are seeing faster growth, driven by real-world utility rather than speculative mechanics.

According to Messari’s State of DePIN Q4 2024 report, networks like Helium, Filecoin, Render, and Akash saw demand grow by an average of 26 percent quarter over quarter, largely fueled by enterprise use of decentralized infrastructure. Over the same period, top DeFi protocols posted around 10 percent growth in total value locked, signaling a clear divergence in momentum.

DePIN networks reward users for supplying resources that others actively consume, bandwidth, storage, and compute, not for simply locking up tokens. This usage-based model means revenue is tied to actual demand, not market speculation. Unlike DeFi yield farming, which can collapse when token rewards are cut, DePIN offers more durable incentives. That makes it a compelling alternative for users seeking stable, infrastructure-backed returns instead of temporary emissions.

Yield Dynamics: Contrasting DePIN's Real World Returns with Traditional DeFi Incentives

Why the Yield Gap Exists

The reason DePIN networks often deliver higher and more consistent returns than traditional DeFi comes down to two factors. First, contributors are supplying real resources, compute, storage, and bandwidth, which come with tangible costs. That means the networks must offer incentives that meaningfully offset expenses like electricity and hardware. Second, the yield is tied directly to usage. Payments flow based on real demand metrics such as the number of bytes transmitted or compute cycles used, rather than token emissions or synthetic APY boosts.

This demand-driven model becomes even more powerful as decentralized infrastructure finds adoption in high-growth sectors. According to Delphi Digital’s Q4 2024 Infrastructure Report, decentralized cloud and storage networks have seen rising adoption from AI companies and enterprise clients, leading to a surge in usage-based fees and corresponding returns for node operators.

Lessons from Helium’s Evolution

Helium provides a strong example of how this dynamic plays out at scale. Since moving to the Solana blockchain in late 2023, Helium has introduced more transparent and granular tracking for both supply and demand. Between November 2024 and January 2025, Helium Hotspot operators saw average returns of around 8 percent. While this is lower than the early days of the network, when yields touched 15 to 20 percent, it reflects a shift toward sustainability.

What makes Helium’s model notable is that part of its rewards come from users who pay for data transmission across the network. This includes both IoT and mobile applications. Token Terminal data from December 2024 to May 2025 shows that Helium’s daily active device count grew 45 percent, highlighting real demand that helps stabilize returns.

For a platform like Hivello, which routes idle resources into networks like Helium, this kind of consistent usage matters. It makes DePIN participation less about timing token cycles and more about providing value to the systems people use.

The Role of Hivello: Unlocking DePIN Yield Opportunities

Hivello is a platform that removes the technical barriers to participating in DePIN networks. While many crypto users are eager to earn from real infrastructure, like decentralized bandwidth, compute, or storage, the reality is often too complex. Running a node requires specialized hardware, network configuration, and ongoing maintenance. Hivello handles all of that. It offers a fully managed interface for deploying and operating DePIN nodes, allowing users to earn yield without needing to be experts in networking, wireless protocols, or GPU optimization.

How Hivello Keeps Returns Sustainable

A common challenge in DePIN is geographic saturation, too many nodes deployed in low-demand areas. Hivello solves this by dynamically routing deployments based on live usage data. Its system analyzes where services like decentralized cloud or mobile coverage are needed, and adjusts node activity to match. This improves capital efficiency and helps operators avoid running hardware where yields are weak.

The platform also automates firmware updates, manages resource allocation across multiple networks, and supports payout in fiat, helping participants maximize earnings while reducing operational overhead.

Sustainable Yield Without the Token Trap

Unlike many DeFi protocols that rely heavily on token emissions, DePIN rewards increasingly come from real usage. While some networks still offer early-stage token incentives, most are designed to reduce emissions over time. According to Messari’s Q1 2025 DePIN sector report, around 60% of active DePIN tokens have scheduled halving events or emission reductions within the next 18 months, marking a clear shift toward user-driven, sustainable revenue models.

Hivello mitigates reliance on any single network’s token schedule by supporting a range of DePIN protocols, some in growth mode, others already mature. This allows users to earn from a more stable, blended stream of returns.

Where DeFi yields often collapse once emissions dry up, DePIN’s usage-based model offers more resilience. With Hivello, earnings are driven by ongoing infrastructure demand—whether that’s data usage, storage, or compute, rather than token inflation. Delphi Digital's The Year Ahead for AI + DePIN 2025 report reinforces this, noting that usage-backed revenue significantly lowers the risk of yield drop-offs. For operators using Hivello, that means less volatility and more predictable income over time.

Revenue-Backed vs. Emission-Backed Rewards: The Real Proof of Value

Comparisons with Traditional DeFi

In traditional DeFi, the majority of rewards come from token issuance. When that issuance slows, yields drop sharply. In DePIN, rewards can also include direct service fees from network usage. For instance, Filecoin node operators earn from individuals or enterprises that pay for data storage. Render node operators receive fees from projects seeking distributed GPU rendering. Helium operators collect fees from IoT or 5G device communications.

Hivello, by managing nodes on multiple networks, effectively pools these different revenue streams. This approach insulates participants from the volatility associated with relying on one type of service or token. It's estimated that the ratio of revenue-backed rewards to total rewards in some DePIN networks is nearing 40%, up from around 25% six months ago. That trend is expected to continue as network usage grows.

Market Demand and User Participation

DePIN’s growth reflects a broader global shift in how people earn income. In regions like Southeast Asia, Latin America, and parts of Africa, individuals are increasingly turning to decentralized networks to supplement earnings amid inflation, limited employment opportunities, and underbanked economies. Unlike traditional crypto mining, DePIN participation doesn’t require technical expertise or major capital outlays; users contribute existing hardware like bandwidth, CPUs, or GPUs through simple interfaces.

Investor confidence in this model is accelerating. As illustrated in the chart above, DePIN fundraising hit a record $578M in 2024, pushing cumulative annual funding to $1.91B. This growth follows the $547M spike in 2022 and highlights renewed momentum after a quieter 2023. The capital inflow reflects a shift toward decentralized infrastructure as a global utility, not just a crypto niche.

With more projects targeting geographically distributed contributors, DePIN is becoming the digital equivalent of community power grids, built by users, for users. The outcome isn’t just income generation; it’s a more participatory model for the future of the internet.

Risks and Reward Structures for Advanced Users

Despite the promising yields, DePIN participation is not without risk. Advanced users need to carefully weigh hardware, energy, and maintenance costs against projected returns. Additionally, market dynamics for each network’s token or usage-based fees can shift quickly.

1. Cost-Benefit Analysis

For users exploring DePIN through Hivello, the core consideration is the payback period. While upfront costs and operational complexity vary depending on the network and setup, the fundamental trade-off is between capital outlay and return timeline. Casual users running a single node may see quicker breakeven periods but with limited earnings potential.

In contrast, professional operators deploying larger infrastructure can access higher returns, though with longer recovery times and greater risk. Hivello streamlines deployment across both ends of this spectrum, but prospective users should assess their cost tolerance and timeline expectations before scaling participation.

2. Volatility and Market Risks

Dependence on Macro Conditions

While usage-based demand is more stable than token emissions, it can still be influenced by broader economic trends. For instance, if we see a slowdown in AI funding, the demand for GPU rendering might temporarily decline, which would lower yields on Render nodes. Conversely, increased data privacy concerns could drive more users to decentralized storage solutions, boosting Filecoin yields. Hivello’s multi-network approach mitigates these risks by distributing exposure across different use cases.

Network Congestion and Oversaturation

One of the most significant risks to yield is oversaturation. In Helium’s early days, an influx of new hotspots caused diminishing returns for each operator in well-populated areas. Hivello’s strategic deployment model aims to prevent localized congestion by distributing hardware more widely based on real-time usage data. Still, if a large number of participants enter the space simultaneously, yields could be negatively impacted across certain geographies or networks.

Hivello’s Approach to Scalable DePIN Participation

Integrated Infrastructure Management

What differentiates Hivello from the crowd is its holistic approach. By providing a unified interface, Hivello simplifies node management across diverse networks like Helium, Filecoin, Render, and emerging DePIN projects. This is particularly appealing for advanced crypto users who don’t want to juggle multiple dashboards and hardware setups.

Data-Driven Deployment

Hivello’s proprietary algorithms analyze real-time demand signals, such as bandwidth usage, storage requests, and GPU job orders, to direct users where to deploy nodes. This dynamic model helps maximize yield and manage risk.

Economies of Scale

By pooling purchasing power and negotiating directly with hardware suppliers, Hivello can often secure better pricing and support for node equipment. This advantage cascades to users, effectively lowering the capital expenditure and accelerating the breakeven timeline.

The Future Outlook: Balancing Yield, Sustainability, and Innovation

As regulatory pressures increase and DeFi continues to mature, yield-seeking capital will increasingly look for opportunities grounded in tangible economic activity. Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks fit this mold perfectly: they tap into real-world demand and can weather market downturns more effectively than purely speculative models. Even traditional finance players are beginning to see the appeal; the next wave of institutional capital may look more favorably on revenue-backed protocols.

There are challenges ahead, including the possibility of regulatory scrutiny around node operation, the hardware supply chain, and the capital needed to scale. However, widespread adoption of decentralized cloud services, IoT, AI-driven applications, and 5G expansions suggests that demand for DePIN resources will grow. Companies like Hivello, by continuously innovating on deployment algorithms and user-friendly infrastructure management, stand to benefit in both bull and bear markets.

The Team Behind Hivello

Dom Carosa, Co-Founder and Chairman, brings over 25 years of experience in technology and business. He is the Founder of TSX-listed Banxa Holdings and Co-Founder of Apollo Crypto.

Andrew Smith, Co-Founder and CEO, leads the company’s product and technology vision. He previously co-founded Banxa and served as Director of European Operations, with over 15 years of experience in fintech and online platforms.

Justin Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CFO, has two decades of experience advising and raising capital for startups. He played a key leadership role at Blockmate Ventures, a venture studio backing startups in blockchain, climate, and energy.

Conclusion: Hivello’s Key to the Future of Yield

There’s a growing appetite for crypto yield that doesn’t rely on hype or emissions. As living costs climb and traditional employment models shift, the case for accessible, real-world income streams has never been stronger.

If you’re already active in DeFi and looking to diversify your yield strategy, exploring DePIN might be the logical next step. Hivello provides an on-ramp to a sector that, while more operationally complex than staking or LP farming, promises a potential for more stable and sustainable returns. Visit their website to learn more about earning with real-world resources.

For fund managers, the question is whether to directly acquire and manage physical infrastructure or partner with platforms that offer scale and expertise. Given Hivello’s traction and track record, it may be an attractive option for those who want exposure to DePIN without the hassle of building everything in-house.