Decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) took off bigtime this year, and EV3 Ventures’ Ramakrishnan was at the center of it all.

Dec 10, 2024, 2:34 p.m. UTC

DePIN was one of the biggest stories in crypto in 2024. From telecoms and energy to mapping and weather data, DePINs sprang up to offer useful services to end-users powered by blockchains, tokens and smart contracts.

The “useful” bit here was key. DePIN offered products that consumers could use and understand, contrasting (critics said) with many crypto products that were difficult to use and understand. DePIN became the crypto version of the old “sharing economy,” except the sharing was arguably more real than it is with Uber or Airbnb, where profits tend to only flow to shareholders.

The concept of a shared network orchestrated by tokens has been around since Helium set up a decentralized broadband network in 2016. But DePIN as an actual industry didn’t exist until Messari coined it after a public naming contest in 2022. DePIN’s collective market cap now stands in excess of $20 billion, and estimates from Messari for its economic impact run into the several trillions of dollars.

This profile is part of CoinDesk's Most Influential 2024 package. For all of this year's nominees, click here [UPDATE BEFORE PUBLISHING].

There are many in the world of DePIN who see these networks eventually replacing traditional centralized infrastructure, including the hub-and-spoke electric grid, and telecoms organized around single companies like Verizon or T-Mobile.

Ramakrishnan’s Influence

Among DePIN’s big thinkers, Mahesh Ramakrishnan stands out. Tall, angular and Indian-American, Ramakrishnan led investments in DePIN through the VC firm he co-founded, EV3 Ventures, and also organized the lively DePIN Summit in New York last August. The young and passionate Ramakrishnan sees DePIN as one of the main ways crypto can make an on-the-ground difference in the world.

According to Ramakrishnan, there’s a confluence of factors working in DePIN’s favor. One is the huge need for new infrastructure that governments, traditional finance and traditional companies can’t keep up with. And two, DePIN networks have started to show they have superior economics and functionality compared to centralized systems, telecoms being one notable example. Graduating from Harvard in 2018, Ramakrishnan spent two years at Goldman Sachs before joining private equity giant Apollo where he says he got to do “all sorts of cowboy stuff.” He quit that job in 2022 and helped administer Helium’s early grant program where he saw “scrappy” people come into the program and began to see DePIN as something “worth taking a bet on.” “We were so sure from day one that it was always going to be DePIN,” he says now. Ramakrishnan views DePIN as part of a larger transformation of society away from traditional government structures following the 2008 financial crisis. DePINs have a fundamentally different design in which users share a service and are directly rewarded for their participation in the form of tokens. It is the sharing economy where incentives and rewards are shared widely.

What’s Next

Looking ahead to 2025, Ramakrishnan has three predictions for DePIN. One, governments at a state or local level will begin to deploy DePINs to manage and incentivize renewable energy production. Two, DePIN will begin to offer tiered rewards for participation, with the greater prizes going to those with better ratings and reputations.Three, he expects the developing world will lead decentralized infrastructure development, owing to both need and the “leapfrog” trend seen in other tech movements. Certainly, with hundreds of millions now being invested in DePIN across dozens of different industries, the future of the sector looks bright. As it does for Ramakrishnan.