Decentralized Infrastructure and the Power of Community
A New Era of Infrastructure Development
Decentralized infrastructure is a broad category of projects that aim to build real physical infrastructure networks using token incentives in the blockchain to facilitate their development.
Kuleen Nikmar, an ecosystem development lead at the Solana Foundation, explains, “If you’re trying to do something like build a new map, and you’re starting from zero, that’s going to take a huge amount of money and time and effort across the globe. A project like Hivemapper can say hey, set up some hardware and help us do this, and we’ll reward you. It’s proven to be pretty effective, and it’s a really compelling way to get over that cold start problem.”
The Rise of Decentralized Infrastructure Projects (DePINs)
One of the most well-known DePIN projects is Helium, which uses a decentralized global network of Hotspots to connect Internet of Things (IoT) devices. However, other startups are working on decentralizing everything from the cloud to the power grid.
Nikmar notes, “DePIN projects have the potential to reward everyday people for helping to build the infrastructure they rely upon. If you think about maps as a concept, we’re literally talking about the world we all live in. It seems really fitting to me that we should all contribute to our understanding of the world we live in collectively—and that if I contribute, then I should also get rewarded.”
Hivemapper: A Pioneer in Decentralized Infrastructure
Hivemapper is a DePIN project that has made significant progress in creating a decentralized map infrastructure. In the four months since its launch, the network has performed over 11 million transactions to reward users for map improvement and to burn tokens spent by companies that use the map data.
The company has seen exponential growth in the scale of transactions due to its innovative approach, which allows QA testers to sign up from anywhere without participating in the dash cam data collection.
The Technology Behind Hivemapper
Hivemapper uses state compression, which employs Merkle trees to “compress” the verification of a data tree into a hash or fingerprint of its current state. This technology has been a huge enabler for the company in terms of the cost and speed of maintaining the reward cycle.
Nikmar explains, “The ability to compress those transactions with Merkle trees has been a huge enabler for us in terms of the cost and speed of maintaining that reward cycle.”
A Sustainable Business Model
Companies wishing to use Hivemapper’s maps will have to burn HONEY tokens, which will drive up their value and further incentivize dash cam users and QA testers to improve the map’s freshness.
Nikmar notes, “If we together can build an incredibly powerful map product for those end users, then those tokens are in high demand. It’s super early days. We’ve made amazing progress with more than three million miles of mapping, but we’ve got something like 40 million to go. We’ve got a long road ahead of us, but we’re focused on doing maps better than anyone has done them before.”
Conclusion
Hivemapper is an exemplary DePIN project that has made significant strides in creating a decentralized map infrastructure. By leveraging the power of community and token incentives, the company has been able to achieve remarkable results and pave the way for a new era of infrastructure development.
FAQs
Q: What is decentralized infrastructure?
A: Decentralized infrastructure refers to a broad category of projects that aim to build real physical infrastructure networks using token incentives in the blockchain to facilitate their development.
Q: What is Hivemapper?
A: Hivemapper is a DePIN project that creates a decentralized map infrastructure by leveraging the power of community and token incentives.
Q: How does Hivemapper’s technology work?
A: Hivemapper uses state compression, which employs Merkle trees to “compress” the verification of a data tree into a hash or fingerprint of its current state.
Q: What is the business model of Hivemapper?
A: Companies wishing to use Hivemapper’s maps will have to burn HONEY tokens, which will drive up their value and further incentivize dash cam users and QA testers to improve the map’s freshness.
Q: What are the benefits of decentralized infrastructure projects like Hivemapper?
A: DePIN projects like Hivemapper have the potential to reward everyday people for helping to build the infrastructure they rely upon, and to create a sustainable business model that benefits all stakeholders involved.
