How Rollups are Powering the Biggest DePIN Use Cases of This Cycle?

DePINs are the hottest Web3 trend and major interest of crypto venture capitalists, contributing to a market capital of $20 billion and 650+ projects in 2024.

DePIN projects spanning computing, AI, storage, wireless networks, sensor networks, and energy distribution— all share a common demand for limitless scalability and unparalleled security. These crucial features are already provided by blockchain rollups, offering a reassuring foundation for the future of DePIN networks. Moreover, rollups enable DePIN networks to achieve advanced modularity and interoperability, further enhancing their potential. 

Realizing this, popular DePIn projects like IoTex and Filecoin have launched their use case-specific DePIN rollups. Now, many other projects are joining this DePIN + rollup trend. Let’s dive deeper into such top-grade  Rollups DePIN Use Cases to understand how their innovative concepts drive the radical transformation to the DePIN industry and what awaits. These DePIN rollups are picked on main parameters like users, TVL, funding raised, transactions, and more. Plus, the data we have authenticated from trusted platforms like L2 Beat, Coindesk, Crunchbase, Traxn, Dune Analytics, Statistica, and CoinMarketCap.  

Top Rollups DePIN Use Cases building across diverse industries 

Let’s learn about leading DePIN projects building their DePIN rollups to power their network. As discussed, these projects are sorted based on their traction, adoption, funding raised, and other important parameters.

Physical Resource networks

1. Sensor: 

Location sensor–

• Foam protocol

Foam Protocol, a permissionless and autonomous proof of location-based DePIN network, has been running its Physical Testnet with OP Stack and the Superchain ecosystem. Within less time, Foam successfully raised $16.3 Million in funding, and it now has a TVL of $12,490.98 as of October 2024. 

FOAM creates a bridge between location service providers and the applications requiring secure location services (end users), allowing them to utilize fault-tolerant sources from a secure & open network. 

Building with OP Stack enables FOAM protocol to customize their chain based on their specialized need for Proof of Location protocol while maintaining full compatibility with the Superchain ecosystem. 

Mobility – 

Supply Chain

• HEALE

Heale is a decentralized logistic network that offers an open and fully decentralized logistic ecosystem to improve supply chain operations, predictability, profitability, and sustainability around the shipment lifecycle. Heale is building its custom ZK Rollup chain using Polygon CDK. Further, Heale’s logistic network will benefit from privacy & permissioning features while retaining the decentralization and verifiability of Ethereum. All these allow Heale to build a DePIN rollup that will offer a more scalable and secure logistic infrastructure to drive changes through DePIN logistics. 

RTC (real-time communication)

• Huddle01’s dRTC

 Huddle01 dRTC is a well-famed decentralized real-time communications (dRTC) network that has onboarding 100+ projects and is set to bring 1.5M active users to its ecosystem. 

Huddle01 dRTC has brought a paradigm shift in its real-time communication paradigm as it is launching Layer 3 on Arbitrum Orbit. This rollup DePIN chain will allow Huddle01’s dRTC network to operate and carry out transparent & fair operations across an isolated network, which is also interoperable with other Arbitrum Orbit chains.  

Having a customized Orbit Layer3 allows Huddle01 dRTC to leverage the combined benefits of Arbitrum Orbit as well as Arbitrum Nitro stacks, such as dedicated throughput, predictable gas fee, isolated chain operations, EVM compatibility, and more features that align well with the network’s requirements. 

2. Wireless/consumer device: 

Mobile– 

• Nodle 

Nodle; the widely used digital trust network with over 203,877 monthly active nodes and 490,143 monthly user transactions, has deployed its DePIN rollup on the zkSync Era, opening up its fast-growing network to Ethereum.  Nodle is utilizing this  ZK-powered rollup ecosystem to power up its ‘Click’ camera app, which claims to be the world’s 1st digital trust network. ZKsync will allow Click to process off-chain transactions while retaining Ethereum-level security, reducing the cost and increasing overall throughput significantly. Additionally, zkSync ERa offers Nodel with end-to-end interoperability with zkSync dApps and users across DePIN, Ethereum, and beyond. 

Wifi-

•  Wifi Map

Wifi Map, the trusted provider of internet- hotspot and wifi connectivity worldwide, plans to bring enhanced unification to its ecosystem with a DePIN rollup layer. 

Wifi Map offers one of the largest DePIN networks for decentralized internet connectivity, aiming to bridge the gap between physical infrastructure and online services. Wifi Map basically provides Travel eSIM, Wifi Finder, and $WiFi Wallet to 180M+ users active across 200+ countries. 

 In its action plan,  Wifi Map mentioned its integration with Polygon CDK to tap into its near-instant scalability feature, aggregated liquidity, and inter-chain interoperability. Note that Wifi Map is a highly feasible project, and it has raised $1.6M in its latest funding round. More information is awaited on the Wifi Map and Polygon CDK partnership.  

• GM Network

GM Network, the integrator of DePIN and AI technology, has announced its launch of a gasless, modular Layer2 DePIN rollup with OP Stack. GM Network (GM Labs) has successfully raised $6M in funding in the latest round, and it’s now pioneering a gasless DePIN chain that is also rich in security, decentralization, interoperability, and scalability. 

Digital resource networks: 

1. Compute

• Aethir

Aethir, the leading provider of tailored and fully distributed GPU compute infrastructure, has launched its cloud testnet on Arbitrum. Aethir offers Aethir Edge, an essential piece of Aethir’s solution that allows diverse projects, especially gaming, and AI, to use underutilized computing power with great ease. Aethir focuses on transforming the DePIN landscape by offering enterprise-grade GPU chips through its global network, allowing projects with high computational needs to fulfill requirements. Aethir has raised over $9M in total funding, and it has a current TVL of $6.28M. 

Building with Arbitrum allows Aethir to benefit from a highly scalable and secure Ethereum-based chain. Hence, Aethir’s testnet is optimized for ultra-low latency, scalable GPU computation, and performance amid growing DePIN demand. 

• W3bStream (IoTex)

IoTex– the popular Layer1 blockchain offering modular infrastructure for DePIN projects with a backing of $50.00M funding (in 2024), is now building a Layer2 DePIN rollup chain. This Layer2 will allow W3Stream to tackle the challenges of scalability and security with a ZK Rollup-centric architecture while leveraging the following main benefits:

• Pre-processing and efficient management of data via decentralized sequencer.
• Support for aggregated ZK proof generation.
• Boosted throughput, performance, and overall scalability. 

2. DePIn Specific

• Destra L2 (DSYNC)

Destra Network, the pioneer in offering GPU Networks, Cloud, and AI Computing Solutions, is building its DePIN-focused rollup using Arbitrum Orbit stack, called Destra Layer2.  Destra provides developers with the cloud computing resources they require for their applications through its DePIN network. 

Destra stands out with thousands of active users and a TVL of $3.99M. Destra built their Layer2 from scratch, implementing all the essential mechanisms like consensus, ZK proofs, and a novel node architecture. By leveraging Arbitrum Orbit, Destra seeks the following main benefits: 

• Enhanced scalability & performance of its GPU Network and decentralized cloud infrastructure. 
• Removing security issues like a single point of failure and data breaches.
• Optimization of infra for more efficient resource utilization.
• Flexibility for endless innovation and customization as needed. 

2. Bandwidth & Storage 

CDN/File storage solutions:

• Filecoin’s ZKAmoeba:

Filecoin, the leading force in the decentralized network for file storage boasting $600M TVL and over 2,000 clients, has tapped into rollups to launch its ZK-powered Layer2 called ZKAmoeba. Filecoin serves as a robust DePIN solution due to its global network, FIL token incentives, open & accessible ecosystem, and constant innovations. 

A standalone zero-knowledge Layer2 will allow Filecoin’s computing capabilities to combat major challenges like slow confirmation times, time-consuming validation, low data structure, and lack of scalability while enhancing the security and capabilities of the Filecoin ecosystem as a whole. 

• Arweave

Arweave is another popular name in the list of DePIN networks in the data storage category, with 1.5M + users, 2.96K protocols, and 3.25B transactions. Arweave is designed to offer low-cost plus reliable data storage solutions to a range of blockchains and dApps. Users need to pay a one-time fee, and they can securely store their data in a permanent and decentralized open ledger. 

Arweave has built ‘Bundlr,’ which is a rollup-based solution that scales Arweave and reduces the technical difficulties that developers might face on the network. Integrated with horizontal + linear scaling tech, Bundlr aims to reduce Arwearve TPS from just 9 to 50K TPS. Meanwhile, Bundlr’s off-chain scaling approach unlocks the following main benefits for Arweave:

• Instant data upload–takes around 8ms.
• Quick integration with 3-4 lines of coding.
• Flexibility to pay in any token supported on Bundlr.

3. Data Network

• Witness chain

Witness chain, the EigenLayer AVS for unifying DePIN coordination, has announced integration with Polygon CDK (validium) to further boost their DePIN coordination layer. 

Witness chain’s Layer2 will also connect to Polygon’s Aggregation layer to seamlessly connect with various DePIn communities and share values for bootstrapping infrastructure and accessing comprehensive tooling.

 The addition of a ZK Layer2 will allow the Witness chain to leverage a powerful consensus and verification protocol for physical DePINS’ state. This Layer2 will open up vast potential for DePIN collaboration, allowing for the creation of next-gen dApps with heightened security and composability. 

4. AI/Machine Learning

• Swan Chain 

Swan Chain, the key innovator in AI computing and the intersection of blockchain and AI, has confirmed the development of their unique AI DePIN rollup using OP Stack. Swan chain’s innovative concept has encouraged investors, resulting in $3.85M in the latest round. 

Their decision to build an OP Stack chain comes from its need for high-performance computation capabilities & resources, large-scale storage, and privacy-enabled computing. With the brand-new rollup DePIn L2, Swan Chain has seen around a 70% reduction in the GPU computing cost, and meanwhile, it lowers the threshold for developers with advanced tooling in the AI+Web3 category. Additionally, Swan Chain gets the following benefits from OP Stack:

• Reduction in total gas fee by 90%.
• High throughput of up to 1024 blocks.
• Fast blocktime of 2 seconds.
• Full EVM compatibility. 

• Rivalz Network 

Rivalz Network, the AI intel layer for decentralized data storage, processing, and connectivity, is transitioning to an AI-powered DePIN rollup built with Arbitrum Orbit. Rivalz will leverage this rollup chain to offer verifiable real-time data for AI agents with a unique service called ADCS, the Agentic Data Coordination Service. 

ADCS is optimized for instant validation and low latency to serve the agentic future. Arbitrum provides Rivalz ADCS with low latency, quick validation, unparalleled scaling, and exposure to millions of active daily users while acting as a home for Ethereum’s EVM-based operations. 

With its unique concept of ADCS, Rivalz has raised $9 million in its latest funding while gathering around 180,000 participants, 5,000 storage clients, and over 14 million transactions. 

5. RWA

 

• Lisk 

Lisk is designed as a highly efficient, lightning-fast, and massively scalable Layer2 blockchain using OP (Optimism) Superchain. Lisk Layer2 focuses on making blockchain accessible for leading use cases, particularly for DePIn, Real World Assets (RWA), and on-chain finance. 

Transitioning from Layer1 to Layer2 OP chain has allowed Lisk to offer ultra-low-cost transactions, full EVM compatibility, and support for all the leading developer frameworks. 

Further, Superchain allows Link to benefit from decentralized governance and an interoperable ecosystem to position it as a pioneer in Layer2 to onboard 10B+ users and keep raising its TVL, which $131.15 M at the moment.

• Avive World

Avive World is a decentralized social world that empowers geo-networking protocols with the goal of onboarding 10 billion users and developers worldwide. Avive has launched a testnet for DePIN rollup with Arbitrum Orbit, aiming to become the world’s largest DePIN and UBI project with over  8M users from 130+ countries and 20K cities. Such achievements have led Avive to raise a whopping $111M in funding in its latest round. 

Let’s look at the main benefits Avive World is getting from Arbitrum-based DePIN rollup: 

• Extremely low transaction cost, within a cent. 
• Great inclusivity to allow smart contracts in Rust, C++, C while retaining EVM compatibility.
• 10x-100x boost in computation and memory. 

Also, there are DePIN projects that have yet to come up with concrete information about their rollup launch. WeatherXM, ChainML’s Theoriq, BonzAI, Livepeer, Health-blocks, Urbit, and Donatuz are some of the names in this category. 

Planning your DePIN Rollup? Do it on Zeeve RaaS!

DePIN’s rapid expansion and its untapped potential to revamp physical infrastructure is inspiring for many other web3 projects. Hence, we can expect to see doubled growth in the existing number of Rollups DePIN use cases. If you are planning to launch a DePIN rollup for your network or you want to create a rollup chain from scratch, explore Zeeve RaaS offerings.

With Zeeve RaaS, you can launch modular DePIN Rollups with 40+ integrations and a number of pluggable in-house tools. You can choose a preferred stack from OP Stack, Arbitrum Orbit, Polygon CDK, ZK Stack, and Tezos Smart rollups. Additionally, Zeeve Raas allows you to set a mainnet-ready testnet with its low-code platform– Try it yourself!

For more information about Zeeve RaaS and our comprehensive blockchain offerings, connect with our experts. We accept queries via mail while also allowing you to setup one-to-one call.