What hardware can you buy today that earns while it works?
DePINscan | DePIN Hub | Innovators
Wireless
| Device | Protocol | What It Does | Price (USD) | Industry |
|---|
| Helium Indoor Hotspot | Helium (HNT) | 5G/LTE coverage via CBRS spectrum | ~$249 | Telecom, mobile |
| Helium Outdoor Hotspot | Helium (HNT) | Weather-resistant outdoor 5G coverage | ~$499 | Telecom, mobile |
| XNET WiFi Access Point | XNET | Carrier-grade WiFi 6/7 in public spaces, AT&T roaming partner | $149–$249 | Public WiFi, carrier offload |
| Dabba Lite | Dabba (DBT) | Last-mile broadband hotspot, local operators | ~$199 | Emerging-market broadband |
| Wicrypt Spider | Wicrypt (WNT) | Portable WiFi sharing, up to 70 clients | $200–$300 | Public WiFi, Africa/emerging markets |
Mobility and Vehicle Data
| Device | Protocol | What It Does | Price (USD) | Industry |
|---|
| DIMO LTE R1 | DIMO | OBD2 dongle with LTE + GPS, streams vehicle diagnostics | ~$169 + $7.50/mo | Fleet management, insurance |
| DIMO AutoPi Hub | DIMO | Advanced OBD2 hub, real-time health monitoring | $300–$400 | Fleet management, maintenance |
| Soarchain Mini | Soarchain (SOAR) | OBD2 dongle collecting driving/mobility data for V2X network | ~$83 | Logistics, autonomous vehicles |
Mapping and Geospatial
| Device | Protocol | What It Does | Price (USD) | Industry |
|---|
| Hivemapper Bee | Hivemapper (HONEY) | AI dashcam that maps streets while you drive | $19/mo subscription | Mapping, autonomous driving |
| GEODNET GNSS Station | GEODNET (GEOD) | Triple-band GNSS providing centimetre-level RTK corrections | $500–$700 | Precision agriculture, surveying, robotics |
| Wingbits WB200 | Wingbits (WINGS) | ADS-B flight tracking station, 250-mile range | $495–$999 | Aviation, flight tracking |
Weather and Environment
| Device | Protocol | What It Does | Price (USD) | Industry |
|---|
| WeatherXM D1 (WiFi) | WeatherXM (WXM) | Personal weather station, hyper-local data | ~$400 | Agriculture, insurance, climate |
| WeatherXM WS2000 (LoRaWAN) | WeatherXM (WXM) | Weather station via Helium LoRaWAN, no WiFi dependency | ~$500 | Agriculture, insurance, climate |
Compute and AI
| Device | Protocol | What It Does | Price (USD) | Industry |
|---|
| Aethir Edge | Aethir (ATH) | Qualcomm edge compute device for AI and gaming workloads | $999–$1,399 | AI inference, cloud gaming |
| HyperAiBox | HyperCycle (HYPC) | Plug-and-play AI compute appliance, stackable | $1,199–$1,259 | AI compute, decentralised AI |
| io.net | io.net (IO) | BYOD — connect your existing NVIDIA GPU | Free (use existing GPU) | AI/ML training, inference |
| Akash Network | Akash (AKT) | BYOD — lease your existing GPU on open marketplace | Free (use existing GPU) | AI/ML, cloud compute |
| Render Network | Render (RENDER) | BYOD — contribute GPU for 3D rendering and AI | Free (use existing GPU) | 3D rendering, visual effects |
Energy
| Device | Protocol | What It Does | Price (USD) | Industry |
|---|
| Srcful Energy Gateway | Srcful (SRC) | Connects solar inverters/batteries, earns for green energy data | ~$90–$150 | Solar, grid stabilisation |
| Daylight Energy | Daylight | Links existing thermostats, EVs, batteries to virtual power plant | Free–subsidised | Demand response, virtual power plants |
Storage
| Device | Protocol | What It Does | Price (USD) | Industry |
|---|
| Filecoin Storage | Filecoin (FIL) | Enterprise server for storing data deals | $5,000–$25,000+ | Cloud storage, archival, enterprise |
Robotics and Emerging
| Device | Protocol | What It Does | Price (USD) | Industry |
|---|
| FrodoBots Earth Rover | FrodoBots (Solana) | Sidewalk robot generating embodied AI training data | ~$249 | Robotics, AI training data |
| Nodle App | Nodle (NODL) | Smartphone app turns Bluetooth into IoT relay node | Free (use existing phone) | IoT, asset tracking, supply chain |
Node Sales
A node sale is a fundraising method where users purchase the right (often as an NFT) to operate a node within a blockchain network. Operators earn rewards in native tokens and transaction fees.
| Signal | What to Check |
|---|
| Structure | Tiered pricing (prices rise as more sell) |
| Rewards | Native tokens, transaction fees, or staking yield |
| Lock-up | Non-transferability periods for network stability |
| Technical | Hardware/software requirements, delegation options |
| Risk | Market volatility, regulatory, centralisation if few entities buy many nodes |
Notable raises: Aethir ($126M), Sophon ($60M+).
How to Evaluate a Device
Before buying, run through:
- Operator ROI — Does token reward cover hardware + electricity in 12–24 months?
- Network health — Are there >1,000 active nodes with geographic spread?
- Token sustainability — Do emissions decrease over time? Does usage drive demand?
- Demand side — Who actually pays for the service the device provides?
- Exit — Can you resell the hardware if the network fails?
See DePIN Investment Appraisal for the full evaluation framework.
Context