Decentralized Physical Infra Cryptoeconomic Network

Decentralized physical infrastructure networks are a new design space that utilizes blockchain technology to map the world and democratize the mapping process. Google Maps has become a fundamental tool for navigation and daily commuting, but it is capital intensive, centralized, and monopolistic, with Google owning 80% of the market and having absolute pricing power over its API.

Two major players in this sector are Hivemapper and DIMO Network. Hivemapper is a decentralized map built by participants using dashcams. The protocol rewards map miners with the HONEY token for driving or walking around with a 4K dashcam and contributing to the network's map. Quality assurance reviewers, who also contribute to the map's accuracy, are also rewarded with HONEY. By combining the contributions of drivers and network participants around the world, a higher quality and more up-to-date map of the globe can be produced. HONEY, which has a supply of 10 billion, is used to access Hivemapper's Map Image API through a pay-as-you-go plan. To utilize the API, users purchase map credits, fixed in USD, by burning HONEY. This mint-and-burn equilibrium mechanism stabilizes the supply emissions and keeps the system in equilibrium.

DIMO Network allows users to own and monetize data from their own vehicles. Users are rewarded with the DIMO token for simply driving and sharing their vehicle's data with the network. Developers and data consumers can then access this data to build apps and services. Initially, DIMO will reward drivers contributing data with inflationary token rewards to bootstrap the network. In the future, third parties will be able to purchase aggregate data sets, and drivers will be rewarded based on what third parties are paying for their data. For example, an enterprise interested in locating EV charging stations could buy data sets related to EV driving and charging patterns, and drivers who contribute to these data sets would be rewarded.

Both Hivemapper and DIMO Network offer decentralized and democratized alternatives to the current centralized and monopolistic mapping and data-sharing systems. By utilizing blockchain technology and token incentives, they are able to reduce capital intensiveness and give users the ability to own and monetize their own data.

Helium

Helium is a decentralized wireless network that uses blockchain to serve Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The network is present in over 65,000 cities and 160 countries, and is powered by more than one million hotspots globally. These hotspots are small hardware devices that can be purchased from authorized sellers online. Customers can then connect their IoT devices to the nearest hotspot to transmit data.

The Helium network uses the HNT token as its cryptocurrency. Customers burn HNT in exchange for data credits, which are used to access the network. Validators, or miners, who run hotspots are then rewarded with a share of HNT tokens. This creates a growth flywheel: as HNT is burnt to use the network, the deflationary pressure on HNT increases, leading to an increase in the price and mining return on investment. This, in turn, leads to more hotspots coming online, greater coverage, and higher demand for HNT, leading to even more HNT being burnt.

One of the key advantages of using a decentralized, blockchain-based network like Helium is that it allows for the distribution of physical infrastructure without the initial large CapEx or adherence to legal constraints. This enables the network to compete with larger telecom providers. In fact, Helium is proof that blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies can create real-world applications that would be otherwise impossible to build.

In addition to its current focus on serving IoT devices, Helium has unveiled Chapter 2 of its roadmap, which includes plans to launch a 5G network, as well as WiFi, VPN, and CDN services. This expansion into the telecom space is made possible by Helium's bottom-up model, which allows for the creation of networks that are governed by their own sub-DAOs with authority over pricing and rewards. This structure keeps Helium's core mechanism in place, while also allowing for the creation of specific tokens for each network, such as the IOT token for the IoT network and the MOBILE token for the 5G network.

Overall, Helium is fighting to win the 5G war and disrupt the traditional telecom market, which was valued at $1.6 trillion in 2020. If successful, Helium could become one of the most valuable entities in the world.

Sources:

https://thegeneralist.substack.com/p/helium-the-network-of-networks

https://multicoin.capital/2021/03/17/the-helium-flywheel/

https://messari.io/report/drive-to-earn-with-hivemapper-and-dimo?referrer=all-research

https://messari.io/report/using-crypto-to-build-real-world-infrastructure?referrer=author:sami-kassab

https://dimo.zone/

https://docs.hivemapper.com/welcome/introduction