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A few years ago, it was clear crypto had gone macro.

Now, crypto is politics. Further muddying the waters is Biden’s warning of a tech-industrial complex in the US. 

Not to worry, one man’s complex is simply another’s hypercycle. We work with what we’ve got.

• BTC broke up to $100,000 twice overnight and is now hovering around $99,000.

• XRP is buzzing — up 20% in the past day to $3.32. All-time high from Jan. 2018: $3.40.

• Memecoins again make up more than 20% of Base DEX volume, per Blockworks Research data, up from under 15% at the start of December.

🦸 Our powers combined

Crypto is a creature of extremes. Look no further than the major narratives right now.

AI agents and memecoins are almost completely virtual. DePIN, meanwhile, derives practically its entire value proposition from very physical networks of hardware. In the real world. 

So, you can’t fault Helium — the decentralized wireless carrier powered by Solana — for teaming up with DAWN to expand both their networks, together.

The pair have struck a partnership to allow Helium hotspot operators to serve DAWN broadband internet, and vice versa, to create “the world’s first fully decentralized last-mile internet solution.”

Like how Helium is shooting to disrupt centralized telecoms, DAWN is pushing to change our relationship with traditional ISPs, allowing regular users to both own the infrastructure and be rewarded in crypto for providing wireless broadband to anyone in range.

“The conversation started with a strong alignment on the mission of decentralizing internet access,” a Helium spokesperson told me. “We're moving toward making connectivity owned by the many and accessible to everyone.”

It means that the Helium Network will automatically grow by 8,000 nodes that already serve the DAWN ecosystem, according to a press release.

A Helium Foundation dashboard meanwhile points to more than 25,000 mobile hotspots onboarded since April 2023, which hypothetically could serve DAWN broadband once the functionality is rolled out, although it’s not immediately clear how many are currently active.

The spokesperson said that there’s no equity or investment deal as part of the partnership. Still, it all suggests a certain coalescence in the DePIN space. 

Like how GPUs and ASIC mining rigs can be used to mine a number of different cryptocurrencies — switching between them based on profitability — we could be headed for a world where DePIN devices in our homes can be pointed to all sorts of different use cases depending on demand. 

It might mean additional income for the household without the often extreme overheads related to proof-of-work mining, although how much would be largely dependent on token prices and whatnot.

What’s interesting is that had this partnership not been made, eventually Helium and DAWN would’ve been considered competitors. But not really anymore.

Wouldn’t that make Elon Musk’s Starlink the biggest rival to the Helium-DAWN partnership, outside of the traditional carriers?

“Starlink is disrupting the connectivity industry in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago,” the Helium spokesperson said. “Several Helium deployments use Starlink as an internet backhaul in the US and Mexico.” 

The team has also developed a connectivity kit that combines Starlink with Helium Hotspots, to better serve phones in areas without cell coverage.

In any case, the Helium-DAWN partnership makes total sense, especially considering the latter is expected to airdrop a token to early adopters at some point.

After all, when it comes to incentivizing people to set up physical devices in their homes, two token flywheels must be better than one.

— David

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Unichain is launching soon!

Designed to be the home for DeFi and liquidity across chains, Unichain is an L2 that will launch with up to 95% lower transaction fees than Ethereum L1. Shortly after mainnet launch, the chain will introduce 250 millisecond block times for near instant transactions. Plus, as part of the Superchain, Unichain is optimized for seamless cross-chain transactions.

Stay in the loop — visit Unichain.org and follow @Unichain on X for updates!

• Is IPO szn starting? eToro confidentially filed to go public in US markets, and they’re eyeing a whopping $5 billion valuation. Now we just need to see some crypto native IPOs.

• A potential strategic reserve could include crypto founded in the US like SOL, XRP and USDC, per a report from the New York Post. 

• Crypto custodian Komainu raised $75 million in bitcoin from Blockstream Capital to fund global expansion plans. We’re so back.

🏇 Spot the winners

If I were to boil it down, I’d say there are three key reasons why Tribe Capital’s Evan Park is bullish on DePIN. The use cases, sustainability, and — of course — the revenue potential.

Tribe’s backed a few DePINs including Wynd Networks (the company behind Grass), flight tracking project Wingbits and Akash. 

When looking at DePIN projects, Park’s biggest question is whether or not the project is “solving a problem where real demand can be generated.”

Specifically, when Park is being pitched, he’s skeptical when a project shows him revenue figures that aren’t necessarily coming from the underlying network. 

I asked him what makes him call bullshit on a DePIN pitch and he told me: It’s “important to distinguish revenue in crypto, but also in DePIN.” He wants to know where the revenue is coming from, essentially. Are the users also validators? Are individuals “contributing to the network and their data, is that the thing that’s making revenue?”

He also keeps a close eye on organic growth and gets validation on potential demand.

But a good team, and a founder “deep in the space” are huge green flags for Park. If this sounds familiar to you, it’s probably because Wyatt Lonergan of VanEck Ventures told us that he also pays close attention to project teams last month.

“It's a consideration that's more important in DePIN than any other sector. But also having domain expertise, or having advisors and team members that have that domain expertise in your given industry, while bridging that with crypto native experience. It's not enough to have one without the other,” he noted. 

And there’s your insider scoop for the day.

— Katherine

This March, hear from Michael Saylor, Brad Garlinghouse and other top leaders driving the evolution of global finance. From navigating macroeconomic dynamics to exploring the rise of onchain economies, DAS NYC brings together institutional investors, allocators, and fund managers for meaningful insights and actionable ideas.

📅 March 18-20, 2025
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On our minds: Where DePIN is headed