Author: Yanal M. Hammouda, Head of Market Expansion at Wingbits
The decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) industry received $150 million in funding in the first quarter of 2025, with the market expected to reach $35 trillion by 2028. However, the most significant development is not the scale of the funds raised, but the locations where these networks operate.
Emerging markets such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and South America—rather than Silicon Valley—are driving the future of DePIN adoption.
The dynamics of the DePIN and blockchain markets favor regions with infrastructure gaps and progressive Web3 regulations. DePIN clusters thrive in places where traditional infrastructure has failed, as populations are forced to seek community-driven solutions. Investors and builders in DePIN must look for these market conditions outside the United States.
Silicon Valley's historic success during the Web2 era was supported by landmark regulations such as Section 230 and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. However, in the Web3 space, the U.S. only introduced the GENIUS Act this year, and the digital asset report released by the White House in July marked the federal government's first acknowledgment of the value generated by DePIN. While the U.S. has just begun its DePIN journey, thriving Web3 ecosystems elsewhere indicate that their success depends on regulatory clarity.
The Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) was established in 2022 to create a dedicated sandbox for Web3 infrastructure projects. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) actively supports the tokenization of real-world assets through initiatives like the Guardian project and the Singapore Blockchain Innovation Program.
Meanwhile, the country's fintech regulatory sandbox clearly defines the parameters for blockchain experiments.
In South Korea, telecom giant LG U+ has been experimenting with a blockchain-based cross-border payment system since 2018, which required years of approval under U.S. Federal Communications Commission rules. The number of blockchain service providers in the country grew by 15% year-on-year in 2023.
Vietnam's national blockchain strategy is set to launch by the end of 2024, providing legal clarity for blockchain applications in finance, logistics, agriculture, and data management. The government is currently piloting its NDAChain platform, a national blockchain aimed at facilitating e-government and the digital economy through decentralized citizen identification.
While the Bay Area still captured 24% of the global $368 billion venture capital funding in 2024, the real capital for blockchain is flowing elsewhere.
The UAE ranks third in the Henley Cryptocurrency Adoption Index, which assesses the integration of cryptocurrencies and blockchain across countries (the U.S. ranks fourth). Up to 7,100 new millionaires are expected to flock to Dubai by 2025, as the expatriate community in the Gulf region—armed with high disposable incomes and optimism towards emerging technologies like DePIN—continues to grow.
Abu Dhabi's $500 million digital energy infrastructure fund specifically targets "blockchain, DePIN, AI, cloud computing, and other computing cluster applications" in its investment philosophy. The UAE is becoming a leader in the Web3 space by providing support for DePIN applications in industries where traditional infrastructure cannot keep pace with demand.
Singapore's national fund Temasek and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) have shifted their focus to blockchain infrastructure outside traditional tech hubs. In recent years, GIC invested $70 million in BC Group, headquartered in Hong Kong, which is the parent company of the cryptocurrency exchange OSL.
In contrast, Temasek led a $110 million funding round for Animoca Brands, also based in Hong Kong, which is one of Asia's most prominent blockchain investment firms. Sovereign wealth funds are strategizing for a future built on digital infrastructure.
New York and Silicon Valley were once hailed as the only places to meaningfully scale Web3 products. That is no longer the case.
Although Helium's 380,000 decentralized wireless hotspots mostly still exist within the U.S., new deployments are rapidly expanding user coverage in Southeast Asia and South America.
During Helium's pilot in Mexico, users of the telecom company Movistar averaged 390 megabytes of data usage per day on the Helium network, equivalent to 7 hours of web browsing, demonstrating how DePIN addresses real connectivity challenges.
The message to DePIN builders and entrepreneurs is clear: design for users who need your infrastructure, not for those who might find it interesting in a Palo Alto café. For investors, the opportunity lies in identifying projects that solve real problems in markets with regulatory clarity and growing adoption rates. Policymakers can facilitate this by creating frameworks that adapt to new blockchain-based projects rather than trying to force them into existing rigid categories.
Asian companies led the mobile revolution in the 2010s to address the loss of leadership on the desktop front, creating giants like WeChat, Gojeck, and Kakao, which now make these markets nearly impermeable to Silicon Valley. Countries like the UAE, Vietnam, and Singapore are now establishing similar long-term leadership positions in this market, and Web3 companies should consider what this means in the next 5 to 10 years.
Author: Yanal M. Hammouda, Head of Market Expansion at Wingbits.
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This article is for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
Original: “The Future of DePIN Beyond Silicon Valley: Smart Money is Betting on Emerging Markets”
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