NuNet and the Rise of DePIN: Pioneering the Decentralized Computing Revolution
Greetings NuNetopians,
Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks, or DePIN for short, is an emerging narrative in the cryptocurrency and decentralized technology ecosystem. As a decentralized cloud computing platform, NuNet is a part of this niche. In this article, we will define and examine the DePIN concept, including the advantages it has over centralized infrastructure and how NuNet fits into it.
What Is DePIN?
When the internet first began, it was actually quite decentralized. Each website existed on a person’s personal computer, or a computer at an academic institution. However, as more and more people desired to host their own website, but did not want to leave their computer running 24 hours a day, companies began offering to host the web pages on their own servers, in what became known as cloud computing.
Fast forward to today, and the business of hosting websites and applications has become an incredibly lucrative industry, but only for a small handful of large corporations that control the bulk of computing power and storage in their centralized servers.
DePIN has emerged as a way to make internet services decentralized again. Most people don’t want to host services on their personal computer because it costs money for the energy and wear-and-tear on their device. However, with the onset of cryptocurrency as a means to automatically compensate providers for their device’s work, it is now possible to recapture a market previously monopolized by big tech.
Many different DePIN projects have begun, with aims to decentralize digital storage, cell phone networks, virtual private networks (VPNs) and, like NuNet, computing power, among many others. For these projects to be successful, however, they must have some advantage over their centralized counterparts, otherwise the large corporations will simply remain the go-to solution for users. So let’s examine the many advantages DePIN has over centralized competitors.
Advantages Of DePIN
Centralization certainly has its advantages, which is why systems often tend toward centralization. Information is easier to access when it is all stored in the same place. Decisions can be made faster when a central authority has all the control. Scaling up the size of an operation can also happen more quickly when one entity has all the money to spend on new servers.
Each of these advantages actually create their own disadvantages. Centrally stored information can be accessed and stolen more easily by bad actors. Centralized authority takes the power away from users and allows the centralized entity to act only its best interests. That single entity making all the money from an industry is not only bad from a wealth inequality standpoint, but can cause resources to be wasted more and more over time as well. This is why we will examine the advantages DePIN has in the areas of privacy, governance and resource distribution.
Privacy
There have been many instances where a centralized company’s servers have been hacked and large amounts of users’ personal data was stolen, including email addresses, phone numbers and even bank credentials. Had all this information not been concentrated in a single location, it would not have been targeted so easily and such a large amount of personal data stolen.
While computer viruses on personal computers used to be a big problem, instances of personal devices being hacked or infected are much more rare. This is due in part to easily accessible anti-virus software, but also the fact that it is simply not profitable for a hacker to invade personal devices. When a person’s computer is invaded by a virus, they take it to a shop and get it fixed, and the hacker gains nothing. It is the large institutions which hold all the data and power that hackers now target with ransomware.
If storage of data could be distributed among the many personal devices across the world, not only would this prevent hackers from having a single large target to concentrate on, but if they did manage to gain access to one of the storage devices in the network, very little personal data would be compromised. Compare that to the breaches that happen today in which millions of people’s personal data can be stolen in a single event. There are several decentralized data storage projects working to enhance privacy and security with new distributed systems.
Governance
Big tech corporations have become like the royal aristocracy of medieval times. Through the manipulation of user agreements, they have users sign their rights away in exchange for using their platforms. With arbitrary and capricious whims, they change the rules each year with new agreements. Rules of revenue sharing, content users can and cannot post, or the type and frequency of advertising the platform allows, can be changed at any time. Users could choose to stop using the services if they want, but at the cost of all the content they have created on the platform to that point. What’s more, governments can subpoena these companies and force them to enforce the rules they want, often infringing on free speech rights in an indirect manner, hiding behind the guise that it is a private company taking the action, and not the government.
If social media, and the servers they run on, could be kept decentralized, this censorship and corporate control would no longer be possible. DePIN projects are providing nodes for internet and cell phone service that individuals can run from their homes. As artificial intelligence advances and grows, it is ever more important that we keep technology decentralized, to prevent big tech from tightening its grip on our daily lives.
Resource Distribution
The control of the tech oligarchy often comes down to money. By running all digital infrastructure needed to run the virtual economy, they ensure that they gain the most from each transaction. By controlling the internet, they absorb the most value from it. Not only that, but as they buy more servers with this money it becomes increasingly wasteful. Chip shortages will only get worse, while unused resources held by individuals go to waste.
Instead, we should put the control of internet services back into the hands of the people, by allowing them to monetize their computing resources. This will ensure that all available computing power is being utilized, and there won’t be as much need to spend billions of dollars on centralized servers. This is the area where NuNet can help the most, and we will examine it in greater detail.
NuNet’s Role
As a decentralized computing network, NuNet has already developed the ability to run machine learning on GPUs provided by individuals. We will also be completing the use case that will allow Cardano stake pools to run on NuNet provided hardware; support for other blockchain infrastructure could also follow. In the future, anything that can be run on a computer will be possible through NuNet, and it will be a platform for any online application.
Through the use of cryptocurrency, value can be captured at the protocol level by users, not just at the application level as big tech has done to build their monopoly. NuNet’s NTX token allows for trade between service providers and those providing the computing power.
This year, NuNet’s development and strategic partnerships are poised to make it a major player in the decentralized economy of digital infrastructure. NuNet’s future in the burgeoning DePIN industry is bright.
NuNet Is Hiring!
NuNet currently has a number of open positions for various roles within the team. If you have the skills and desire to join us in our journey, you can find more information and contact us through our career page.
About NuNet
NuNet lets anyone share and monetize their computing resources, turning cloud computing power from a centralized service into an open protocol powered by blockchain. Find out more via:
