For some time now, the blockchain and web3 space have been focusing on use cases that are not theoretical but provide real-time and real-life applicability. This has led to the rise of the real-world asset (RWA) solutions, and one of the most promising future uses of such utility is, no doubt, the decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) space. The very fact that it is a tangible solution and not digital-only makes it unique and offers an unparalleled opportunity to connect the on-chain ecosystem with the physical world.
Before delving into how Oasis offers a privacy solution that has so far been missing from the DePIN landscape, let's first understand what it encompasses.
Computation, telecommunication, energy, storage, mobility, robotics, and more can all come under the broad umbrella of DePIN. There have been some exciting examples where user-fuelled networks of sensors, devices, and infrastructure are getting incentivized by the crypto economy and thriving in mobilizing and providing essential services like wireless (Helium), mapping (Hivemapper), and data (Weatherflow). Applications like Helium collaborating with T-Mobile, or Hivemapper catering to enterprise customers over data mapping, or even AWS getting competition in terms of cloud-based computation by decentralized AI solution providers, bode well for the future.
It has been projected that the DePIN space turnover could well exceed $# billion in the next 2-3 years, but the biggest challenge is to secure the infrastructure with privacy safeguards to ensure the economic value creation is not left vulnerable. This is where Oasis has a pivotal role to play.
The Privacy Problem
Data privacy is a real problem, in the traditional sense, with traditional setups as well as in the blockchain space, where the transparency tenet can lead to unavoidable exposure and potential risks. So, it stands to reason that this poses a major pain point for DePIN. Collecting and parsing real-world data while operating with full transparency in a web3 ecosystem has implications of vulnerability.
This need for privacy, but lacking the necessary rails to implement it, is felt most in payment-related scenarios but applies to every aspect of data storage and processing. Centralized databases and access by third-party explorers raise potential security concerns that necessitate heavy-duty trust assumptions.
Exposures can range from compromise of identity, location, and usage patterns. Moreover, there is a distinct possibility that all contextual data is fed and processed through AI models, leading to zero privacy guarantees and possible loss of compensation from data usage or data loss. And then there is the risk of data hacks or data leaks that occur with occasional regularity wherever the privacy setup is more theoretical than practical.
DePIN Privacy Solutions
DePIN projects mostly focus on performance and physical security, while the security associated with privacy is often underestimated and undercooked. Some solutions are getting recognized as the need for DePIN privacy becomes more understood. At the simplest level, this can be done by anonymizing provider data and implementing device diversity weighting, which prioritizes contributions from diverse sources to minimize location inference risks.
As promised, let's now see what Oasis has been offering in terms of privacy preservation. Its Sapphire runtime is well-known as the only production-ready confidential EVM. So, anyone wishing to pursue the DePIN road can integrate directly with this network. Others who have already deployed on different EVM chains can also benefit from Oasis smart privacy via OPL or the Oasis privacy layer without needing to change protocol. Lately, Oasis has emerged as a critical solution provider for DeAI with the ROFL or the runtime off-chain logic framework.
But this is not all. Oasis has been exploring blockchain security through a wide range of solutions like zkTLS for validation without exposure and decentralized confidential computing. Combined with client-side encryption, differential privacy, zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), etc, hardware-based trusted execution environments (TEEs) can be a real solution for the DePIN privacy needs.
In fact, there can be a case made where DePIN can include TEEs as a core service, enabling providers to offer confidential compute resources and earn rewards. Oasis ROFL app with a marketplace solution is a great example, while projects like Cudos, io.net, Fluence, etc, also deserve mention.
In addition, DePIN apps can be integrated with TEEs. This means data provenance and integrity remain verifiable, sensitive operations happen in encrypted memory, and only privacy-preserving outputs get published. In such examples, the raw sensor data serves as confidential input while the TEE guarantees that it’s never exposed to the cloud provider, node operator, or even the DePIN's own infrastructure.
Real World Examples
This segment is slowly, steadily, surely growing, tackling infrastructure problems and providing solutions that encompass a wide range of domains, from video processing to GPS accuracy to fractional ownership of physical assets. The scope and impact are undeniable.
Take the compute infrastructure as an example. Livepeer is working on utilizing idle GPUs into a video transcoding network, which addresses the massive costs related to streaming/on-demand video. PinLink is working on fractal ownership and has allied with Oasis by tokenizing privacy nodes in a first-ever hybrid RWA-DePIN model. The NFTs created in this way enable GPU owners to rent capacity while selling fractional stakes.
Location and mapping use cases of DePIN are also gaining popularity. I mentioned Hivemapper earlier, and they are mobilizing dashcam owners to create fresh street-level maps as a decentralized alternative to Google. Another example that comes to mind here is GEODNET crowdsourcing GPS base stations for micro-level accuracy. This can address the precision gap, leading to widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles and precision agriculture.
Another excellent example of DePIN being the face of future infra is Diode, a project running a Zero Trust Network Architecture (ZTNA) that secures remote collaboration through a distributed network of nodes. Integration with Oasis here enables the use of confidential smart contracts to further protect access controls and routing data.
DePIN Takeaways
In the recently concluded DevConnect 2025 in Buenos Aires, Nov 18 was celebrated as the DePIN Day (recap the full event).
It reinforces the future of DePIN as a potential game-changer in not only the web3 space but the fast-evolving AI landscape, too. Speaking in a panel, Oasis BD head, Matej Janez, had an interesting take: “Current AI solutions are black boxes that benefit mostly the big players; DePIN will bring verifiability and incentives to the users.”
Indeed, DePIN is the poster-child use case of RWA, and, with the novel use of crypto incentives, it has the potential to scale infrastructure and enhance resource utilization, efficiency, and spread the ownership of critical infrastructure to a bigger group of participants. And when we integrate this power player with the arsenal of smart privacy tech and tools, it has the chance to change the face of the web2-web3 bridge and its adoption, while users can derive benefits through the right blend of transparency and confidentiality.
Top comments (3)
Awesome breakdown. DePIN projects are growing fast, but most of them still treat privacy as an afterthought, even though the data they handle like location, sensor output, device patterns are all incredibly sensitive. That’s why the Oasis angle makes sense here. Being able to plug in Sapphire or OPL without rewriting your whole stack is a big deal, and TEEs give you a practical way to protect raw data while still proving the work happened. If DePIN is going to scale beyond early adopters, stuff like this is going to matter way more than people realize.
great overview!! DePIN’s growth is obvious, but privacy has always been the missing pillar. This post nails why: real-world data needs real protection. And Oasis stepping in with Sapphire + OPL + ROFL finally gives DePIN builders a practical privacy stack instead of theory.
Great read I totally agree that the rise of real-world infrastructure networks (DePIN) demands privacy-first designs. The integration of confidential computing, zero-knowledge proofs and TEEs at the protocol level is exactly what’s been missing. Kudos to the author for tying these dots together.