Solana has become the backbone of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) in 2024, hosting more active projects and real-world deployments than any other blockchain. With its high throughput, low fees, and fast finality, Solana enables DePIN protocols to coordinate millions of hardware devices and data contributors efficiently, making it the go-to platform for decentralized wireless, mapping, computing, and data infrastructure.
Why Solana? The Technical Edge Powering DePIN
The migration of major DePIN projects to Solana is not a coincidence, it’s a calculated move driven by technical necessity. Projects like Helium Network, Hivemapper, and Render Network require a blockchain that can handle thousands of microtransactions per second without bottlenecks or prohibitive costs. Solana’s parallel transaction processing (via Sealevel), sub-second block times, and average fees well under $0.01 make it uniquely suited for machine-to-machine economies at scale.
This technical foundation has fostered a thriving ecosystem: as of November 2024, there are over 78 active DePIN projects on Solana, up from fewer than 5 just two years prior. The current price of SOL stands at $166.74, reflecting continued demand from both users and developers as these networks gain traction in real-world markets.
Top Five Solana-Powered DePIN Projects Shaping Infrastructure in 2024
The following five projects exemplify how Solana’s infrastructure is transforming physical systems into programmable assets with real economic incentives:
- Helium Network: Decentralized Wireless Connectivity on Solana
Helium’s migration to Solana marked a pivotal moment for decentralized telecoms. By leveraging Solana’s scalability, Helium now supports over 100,000 mobile subscribers and more than 400,000 wireless hotspots globally. The network allows anyone to deploy coverage and earn rewards for providing wireless service, disrupting traditional mobile carriers with transparent pricing and borderless access.
Explore Helium’s impact on decentralized connectivity - Hivemapper: Global Decentralized Mapping Using Dashcam Data
Hivemapper turns everyday drivers into mapmakers by rewarding them for collecting street-level imagery using dashcams. In 2024 alone, Hivemapper mapped roughly 25% of the world’s roads thanks to over 6,000 weekly contributors, all coordinated through low-cost transactions on Solana. - Render Network: Distributed GPU Computing Marketplace
Render Network migrated from Ethereum to Solana to unlock high-speed microtransactions required for decentralized GPU rendering tasks. This marketplace allows creators to tap into global idle GPU power for animation, AI inference, or scientific computing, paying only when resources are used. - Nosana: Decentralized DevOps and CI/CD Infrastructure
Nosana leverages Solana’s fast settlement for distributed DevOps pipelines. Developers can run continuous integration (CI) jobs across a decentralized pool of compute providers, reducing costs while boosting resilience against outages or censorship. - Grass: Decentralized Web Scraping and Data Marketplace
Grass transforms unused internet bandwidth into structured datasets for AI training or analytics by incentivizing users to contribute their idle resources. With over two million participants worldwide in 2024, Grass demonstrates how tokenized incentives can bootstrap large-scale data collection networks natively on-chain.
Diverse Use Cases: From Wireless Access to Developer Automation
The diversity among these top five Solana DePIN projects highlights the breadth of real-world problems being tackled:
- Telecommunications: Helium delivers affordable mobile plans using community-run hotspots instead of centralized towers.
- Mapping and Geospatial Intelligence: Hivemapper builds up-to-date maps faster than legacy providers by crowdsourcing imagery at scale.
- Distributed Computing: Render Network democratizes access to high-performance GPUs; Nosana decentralizes DevOps workflows so developers aren’t reliant on single cloud vendors.
- Data Marketplaces: Grass enables privacy-preserving web scraping while rewarding contributors fairly via transparent tokenomics.
This approach isn’t theoretical, it’s operational at global scale today thanks to the underlying strengths of the Solana blockchain infrastructure.
Each of these projects demonstrates how Solana’s technical design directly enables new business models and operational efficiencies in decentralized infrastructure. The ability to process thousands of microtransactions per second is not just a performance metric, it’s the backbone for real-time rewards, usage-based billing, and machine-to-machine payments that underpin DePIN’s value proposition.
Top 5 Solana DePIN Projects in 2024
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Helium Network: Decentralized Wireless Connectivity on Solana. Helium migrated its IoT and 5G wireless infrastructure to Solana, enabling over 100,000 Helium Mobile subscriptions by July 2024. The network leverages Solana’s speed and low fees to power a global, user-operated wireless service, disrupting traditional telecom models.
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Hivemapper: Global Decentralized Mapping Using Dashcam Data. Hivemapper incentivizes drivers to collect real-time street-level imagery, mapping 25% of the world’s roads by mid-2024. The project uses Solana to efficiently reward contributors and update its decentralized map, challenging centralized mapping giants.
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Render Network: Distributed GPU Computing Marketplace. Render Network migrated to Solana to provide decentralized GPU rendering for artists and developers, offering features like native Cinema 4D file support and reducing rendering costs through a global, token-incentivized network.
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Nosana: Decentralized DevOps and CI/CD Infrastructure. Nosana delivers decentralized continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, allowing developers to run jobs on a distributed network of compute nodes powered by Solana, increasing transparency and reducing operational costs.
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Grass: Decentralized Web Scraping and Data Marketplace. Grass transforms unused internet bandwidth into web scraping power for AI datasets, with over 2 million users globally. Built on Solana, Grass enables users to earn tokens by contributing to a decentralized data marketplace.
Let’s break down what makes each project actionable for users, builders, and investors in 2024:
- Helium Network provides an open marketplace for wireless coverage. Users can deploy a hotspot and immediately participate in the network economy, no gatekeepers or licensing required. The protocol’s move to Solana enabled instant settlement of rewards at scale.
- Hivemapper allows drivers to monetize their daily commutes while contributing to a global mapping dataset. The project’s tokenomics are transparent and permissionless; anyone with a dashcam can contribute data and earn tokens.
- Render Network gives creators access to distributed GPU power without the friction of legacy cloud providers. By running on Solana, Render achieves high-frequency payment flows between job submitters and node operators, critical for real-time rendering pipelines.
- Nosana decentralizes DevOps by letting developers run CI/CD jobs across a trustless compute mesh. This not only reduces costs but also increases resilience against outages or censorship events common in centralized CI platforms.
- Grass converts surplus bandwidth into valuable datasets for AI/ML applications. Its decentralized architecture ensures privacy while enabling fair compensation for contributors, a model that simply isn’t possible on slower or more expensive chains.
Economic Impact: Token Incentives and Real-World Adoption
The economic flywheel powering these networks is built on transparent token incentives natively managed by Solana smart contracts. For example, Helium’s HNT token rewards are distributed in real time as users provide wireless coverage; Hivemapper mints tokens based on mapped road segments; Render pays out per completed GPU job; Nosana settles CI tasks instantly; Grass distributes earnings as soon as data is validated.
This seamless flow of value drives rapid adoption: Helium surpassed 100,000 mobile subscribers by Q3 2024; Hivemapper mapped one-quarter of global roads; Grass attracted over two million participants worldwide. These numbers aren’t just vanity metrics, they prove that decentralized infrastructure can outcompete legacy systems when powered by a performant blockchain like Solana.
What’s Next? Scaling DePIN on Solana Into 2025
The trajectory is clear: as more physical infrastructure becomes programmable via blockchains, networks like Helium, Hivemapper, Render Network, Nosana, and Grass will continue to scale globally, onboarding millions more users and hardware devices with every cycle. With SOL currently priced at $166.74, investor interest remains high as these protocols generate real-world revenue streams and utility beyond speculation.
If you’re looking to dive deeper into technical architectures or explore investment opportunities within this ecosystem, check out our advanced guides on Solana-powered DePIN networks for developers. For more real-world examples transforming infrastructure today, and actionable insights on where this sector is headed, visit our comprehensive resource on Solana-powered DePIN projects.
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