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Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) has become one of the crypto industry’s darlings, among the fastest-growing sectors in web3. According to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Technology Convergence Report, DePIN is set to snowball from its current ~$30 billion valuation to a seismic $3.5 trillion by 2028.

That’s an increase of approximately 11,576% (just ask ChatGPT).

On paper, DePIN is certainly a heavyweight. But is it ready to go round-to-round and actually power the world?

Understanding the DePIN landscape today

The magic of DePIN lies in making physical infrastructure (think bandwidth, cloud storage, smart cars, and microgrids) community-owned and open for anyone to contribute. Regular people can plug in their idle devices, whether it’s a sensor, a car, or a phone, and get rewarded for their part in keeping the network alive.

The DePIN world is buzzing with blockchain-based, community-owned networks that support real-world infrastructure in all kinds of ways, and the use cases keep growing.

The WEF estimates more than 1,500 active DePIN projects out there, opening physical infrastructure to the masses and letting individuals and communities join ecosystems that were once reserved for big corporations and centralized players.

By harnessing blockchain, DePIN boosts transparency, security, and efficiency in how resources get used, and contributors receive tokenized rewards for getting involved.

Why the hype is real

One of the primary drivers for DePIN’s rise is its convergence with AI, especially the emergence of decentralized physical AI (DePAI), enabling machine learning models to harness data and compute from a diverse, distributed, and global network.

Unlike some other areas of web3, like memecoins or perpetuals, DePIN is not just about financial speculation; it’s about blockchain mass adoption and making users active participants in digital economies.

And in a world that’s powered by data, DePIN really shines; not just knowing what the data is, but where it comes from, who validated it, and whether it’s been faked or phished.

As the need for AI training data explodes, the value of high-quality, trustless proof-of-origin data rises in step, making DePIN essential not just for crypto, but for global digital infrastructure as well.

From home internet to IoT

XYO is a company that verifies and moves real-world information on-chain for DePIN, AI, and RWA apps. Launched in 2018, XYO has over 10 million nodes and ranks as the fourth-highest-earning DePIN project to date. Cofounder Marcus Levin explains:

“We act as a trustless oracle, verifying and validating the real-world data that powers AI, web3, and enterprise use cases. 80% of the people in our network are non-crypto users. They can be truckers and Uber drivers, joggers, and people who move a lot. They’re able to earn more. People want to earn money on this side and get crypto for free.”

Althea Network brings blockchain-enabled internet to thousands of homes with dynamic, pay-as-you-go pricing. The team reports four petabytes of traffic routed across 12 states and multiple countries, directly addressing the issue that $100 billion in U.S. government spending has made less than a 1% dent in connectivity. As cofounder and CEO Debora Simpier put it:

“About one in four people in the U.S. don’t have adequate internet.”

Another example of a DePIN network is Sentinel, which offers a decentralized VPN infrastructure, boasting 359,000 users and 7,500 volunteer-operated nodes worldwide. Sentinel also builds custom SDKs to enable VPN features for popular applications, even in highly censored regimes like Turkmenistan.

The DePIN sector isn’t just about location data or supply chain oracles, either. Its reach is far broader, stretching deeper into the physical fabric of the connected world.

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Helium, for example, started in 2019 as a grassroots mesh network for IoT sensors, and has exploded into a community-powered wireless movement, with tens of thousands of hotspots deployed globally.

Instead of relying on telcos and corporate towers, Helium lets everyday people become the network, earning tokens by providing wireless coverage for smart sensors, scooters, and asset trackers, and turning idle hardware into crypto-powered utility.

And when it comes to data storage, Filecoin’s DePIN network enables decentralized storage, which not only circumvents centralized actors but translates to better privacy, lower costs, and a radically reduced risk of censorship or downtime.

These projects span home internet, censorship-resistant communications, mobility, and storage infrastructure, highlighting the diversity and scalability of the DePIN model.

Is DePIN ready for prime time?

Despite the hype and growing adoption, scaling decentralized physical infrastructure remains DePIN’s biggest hurdle. One of the hardest challenges of integrating real-world hardware is economies of scale.

Traditional blockchains struggle to process vast numbers of transactions and data uploads in real time, especially as DePIN networks connect thousands, or even millions, of physical devices across the globe.

Unlike purely financial networks, every new sensor, router, or contributor adds not just another wallet, but a new stream of bandwidth, compute, or storage that must be securely tracked and rewarded.

As network scale grows, congestion and latency can spike, with longer transaction confirmation times, unpredictable fees, and the risk of outages in high-throughput environments.

This challenge is amplified as DePIN seeks to power real-world infrastructure that demands seamless response, reliability, and ultra-low delays. Current infrastructure, while promising, often falls short of these demands.

Mass participation also brings regulatory scrutiny around consumer protections, KYC/AML, and data privacy. DePIN’s physical touchpoints, such as routers, vehicles, and storage, are inherently more exposed to security breaches than purely digital systems, necessitating strong defenses against hacking, Sybil attacks, or hardware vulnerabilities.

And despite 1,500+ live projects and valuations in the tens of billions, only a handful have proven themselves over years of operation.

The path to an open digital economy

DePIN’s projected 70-fold market expansion in three years seems like a tall order. But powered by AI growth and global demand for resilient, community-owned infrastructure, the tailwinds are blowing in DePIN’s favor.

As the WEF points out, DePIN’s convergence with decentralized AI could fundamentally change the global computing landscape and lead to a more open, secure, and accessible digital economy.

And as the number and diversity of DePIN projects continue to rise, so will those that move beyond hype and deliver real infrastructure and inclusion at a truly global scale. So perhaps one day soon, everyone on the planet, from Tennessee to Timbuktu, will be able to plug in, contribute, and own a slice of the new digital infrastructure.

We have long recognized that in order for cryptocurrency to reach mass adoption, a form of cryptocurrency that has higher price stability than existing cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH would be needed so that people can use the currency to store funds and engage in commerce without worrying about their monthly salary dropping by 57% between the time they receive it and the time they can use the money to buy products. Unfortunately, we’ve found that the existing stablecoins all have various flaws; Tether is unauditable, Nubits has already once collapsed in price, Seignorage Shares is after three years still just a whitepaper and MakerDAO is an inadequate joke because…. reasons. As a result, we’ve decided to take matters into our own hands, and issue our own officially branded stablecoin, and use this as an opportunity to make another ICO.

Introducing World Trade Francs.

World Trade Francs is a decentralized 4.0 stablecoin based on next-generation blockchain technology. World Trade Francs strives to construct a free trade and economic interaction system, utilizing next-generation blockchain and hypercube tangle technology. The protocol allows each user to freely buy, sell and hold stable tokens. The issuance, circulation, and trading of WTF, though decentralized self-governance, lay the foundation for the distribution and subscription of economic value, thereby empowering content creators as well as forming a decentralized free trade and economic interaction ecosystem. The app partners of WTF protocol include Peiwo, Obike, Gifto, Uplive, with a total of 4 millions users, making WTF a blockchain protocol with the most DAPP users in the world.

World Trade Francs will allow humanity to escape political oppression and achieve true individual self-sovereignty and global free trade, using permissionless global network, and a World Decentral Bank, which will be able to implement Perfect Monetary Policy that can allow the world to live together in harmony, all without any central points of censorship or control. By being decentralized, WTF will combine all benefits of capitalism and socialism with none of the downsides of either, creating a forward-thinking economic model for humanity in the twenty first century. Users will be able to hodl and trade WTF, the stablecoin, and FTW, the corresponding volatile coin that represents something economically equivalent to shares of future revenue from the WTF system, but technically a utility token because governments seem to really care about us falling on that side of the distinction for some reason.

We have already started talking to sketchy Pacific island nations national governments about integrating use of World Trade Francs as a reserve currency for international agreements, and plan to soon become the first currency to be explicitly endorsed for use in an international treaty. The World Decentral Bank also includes a basic income mechanism where member nations can apply to join and receive a share of WTF issuance on condition that they distribute it to their citizens. The condition for qualifying as a nation is approval from 100,000 internet libertarians, and so we are proud to welcome Sealand, Catalonia, Texas, six provinces of India and China, Nationy McNationFace and Harambe among our initial batch of 1576 member nations. Price stability of the WTF will be ensured via Oracles.

We strive to create a decentralized economy that allows everyone to freely buy, sell and hold stable tokens, without relying on centralized services. The legislative power will be transferred from an opaque centralized authority to transparent codes. Rules and platforms will be entirely transparent and based on faithfully executed smart contracts. By empowering the users, we will transform the economy on a global scale.

Expected price trajectory

Vitallk Vuterin	Barack Obama	Moose
Twitter scamming veteran. Raised over 4500 ETH from running a scam far more direct and honest than this one.	44th president of the United States. Not an advisor, we just think his face would be cool to have visible on here.	A literal moose.

Crypto Reporter

Shalini Nagarajan

Crypto Reporter

Shalini Nagarajan

About Author

Shalini is a crypto reporter who provides in-depth reports on daily developments and regulatory shifts in the cryptocurrency sector.

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Last updated: 

September 2, 2025

The Trump family’s cryptocurrency token, World Liberty Financial, stumbled on its first day of trading, erasing early gains and showing the immediate losses faced by investors.

WLFI, the governance token of the decentralized finance platform launched last year, began trading above $0.30 on Monday before sliding to $0.24, according to CoinGecko. That represented a more than 15% drop from intraday peaks.

The decline left WLFI with a market capitalization just below $7b, ranking it as the 31st largest cryptocurrency in circulation. Several of the world’s biggest exchanges, including Binance, OKX and Bybit, listed the token at launch, drawing immediate attention from traders.

Early Investors Allowed To Sell Up To 20% Of Holdings

The launch followed a July vote by investors to make WLFI tradable. Until then, the tokens functioned only as governance instruments, giving holders the right to weigh in on code changes and business adjustments. Early investors are permitted to sell up to 20% of their holdings, the company said.

That first 20% unlock, estimated at 3b to 5b tokens sold at presale prices of $0.015 and $0.05, triggered a wave of selling. The pressure tempered excitement from the debut and weighed on prices despite strong speculative demand.

According to the project’s official blog, 24.6b tokens were made available at the time of launch.

The Trump Factor: Driving Investor Interest

Trading activity was robust. Spot volumes hit $2.25b while derivatives turnover surged to between $3b and $8b, reflecting heavy positioning across futures platforms. Pre-market trading on venues such as Hyperliquid and Binance Futures had already signalled turbulence, with WLFI changing hands between $0.30 and $0.56.

Since its inception last year, World Liberty Financial has reportedly generated around $500m for the Trump family. The platform also issues a stablecoin and has been marketed as a gateway for retail investors into decentralized finance.

For early backers, the main attraction was the Trump name. Many said they believed the token’s value would rise on the strength of that connection rather than its technical design. The tradable launch gave them the first real chance to test that assumption in open markets.

World Liberty’s debut drew political scrutiny as well. Democratic lawmakers and ethics experts have warned that the Trump family’s crypto ventures raise conflicts of interest, given the president’s influence over digital asset regulation.

Influencer Trades Add To Speculative Frenzy Around WLFI

Traders also followed the token’s celebrity exposure. Blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain reported
that influencer Andrew Tate’s WLFI long was liquidated for a $67,500 loss Tuesday. Soon after, he re-entered the market with a new long. This move shows the highly speculative mood surrounding the token.

WLFI’s circulating supply at launch was limited to about 4% to 6.8% of the total, intensifying volatility. The combination of a constrained float, political ties and future unlocks has left market sentiment cautious despite heavy trading volumes.

The launch marked one of the most closely watched token debuts of the year. Its rocky first session showed the Trump brand’s drawing power and the risks of tying political capital to a speculative market.

Wilder World is leveling up. The metaverse gaming project has officially launched its first-person shooter (FPS) mode in Super Early Access at Gamescom 2025. Backed by Samsung, the launch includes a global $100,000 tournament and introduces a new way to explore its growing digital world.

Key Takeaways

• Wilder World’s FPS mode is now live in Super Early Access at Gamescom 2025

• A $100K tournament is running through September, with a live final on September 24

• Samsung-branded NFTs are available to Gamescom attendees via NFC tap-ins

• The FPS adds a new dimension to Wilder World’s evolving metaverse

• The WILD token ecosystem continues to grow through new initiatives

Gamescom Launch and Samsung Integration

On August 20, Gamescom attendees got a first look—and hands-on play—with Wilder World’s new FPS mode, set in Wiami, a massive digital city built in Unreal Engine 5. The sharp visuals and fast action introduce a fresh style of gameplay for the Wilder community. It’s the first time players can experience Wiami through the lens of a tactical shooter.

The tournament is open to all players, with qualifiers running from August 25 to September 9, followed by playoffs from September 10 to 15. The top five finalists will be flown in, all expenses paid, for the grand finale on September 24 at a still-undisclosed location, where they’ll compete for the $100K prize pool.

Samsung is a major partner for the launch, offering on-site rewards to Gamescom attendees. By tapping NFC towers, players can claim a Samsung-branded POAP NFT—short for “Proof of Attendance Protocol.” It’s a digital badge that also works as a playable in-game item that can be used across the Wilder World metaverse.

Source: Wilder World

Expanding Wilder World’s Universe

Wilder World got on the map with its 2024 racing game, Wilder Wheels. Now, the team is stepping into one of gaming’s most competitive genres. The addition of FPS gameplay is designed to broaden the platform’s appeal while sticking with core Web3 ideas—like asset ownership, user-made content, and a community-driven economy.

This latest launch builds on recent momentum for the WILD token. Highlights include the Lamborghini Temerario NFT collection selling out in just four minutes, the launch of Wiami.fun for user-generated assets, and Operation Titan, a multi-million-dollar WILD buyback program.

Other updates, like Metropolis and CYPHER, show the team’s ongoing push to grow the ecosystem and keep players and investors engaged.

Wilder World has also been featured in the Epic Games Store’s Top 10 Most Anticipated Games, alongside several big-name Web2 titles. With strong visuals, Web3 functionality, and active community support, it’s working to stand out in a crowded market.

Final Thoughts

Speaking about the launch, Wilder World co-founder and executive producer n3o put it this way:

“The $100K tournament isn’t just about esports—it’s a global stage to show the world that Wilder World is building at the frontier of gaming and the metaverse.”

Wilder World’s FPS debut brings together competitive gameplay, digital rewards, and support from a global tech brand. Whether it signals a shift in mainstream Web3 adoption or not, it’s a clear example of how blockchain and gaming continue to intersect in new and creative ways.

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World Liberty Financial, the Trump family-linked crypto project, is reportedly engaging major investors to form a public company to hold its WLFI tokens. The proposal aims to place WLFI on a corporate balance sheet and contribute to the rising trend of digital-asset treasury companies in the US.

World Liberty Pitch: From Token Sales To Public WLFI Treasury

World Liberty Financial was unveiled in 2024 as a DeFi protocol and cryptocurrency company by US President Donald Trump to be managed by his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. The crypto initiative recorded the successful launch of the WLFI token in October 2024, which raised $2.7 million in primary sales within that month alone. In 2025, World Liberty Financial also introduced a dollar-pegged stablecoin known as USD1. 

However, anonymous sources have informed Bloomberg that World Liberty Financial is now exploring the idea of a more traditional capital-markets vehicle that would consolidate WLFI on a public firm’s balance sheet.

The crypto company is reportedly approaching large tech and crypto investors about a fundraising round expected to target about $1.5 billion. Although talks remain private, discussions are said to be progressing as all parties work out the structure of a potential deal.

Crypto Treasury Companies On The Rise

Notably, World Liberty Financial’s reported recent move points to a bullish trend in the emergence of digital asset treasury companies (DATCOs). 

According to data by analytics firm Galaxy, these DATCOs now hold a combined $100 billion in crypto assets. Unsurprisingly, Bitcoin treasury companies, e.g, Strategy led by Michael Saylor, account for 93% of these holdings, with the remainder consisting of alt-focused DATCOs such as SharpLink Gaming. Based on Bloomberg’s report, these crypto treasury companies still intend to raise an additional $79 billion targeted solely at Bitcoin purchases, to increase their current BTC holdings of 3.98% of the market cap. 

Interestingly, this optimism by DATCOs has been inspired by pro-crypto policies implemented by President Donald Trump. The Republican remains committed to making America the central stage in the crypto industry, as indicated by initiatives such as the National Bitcoin Reserve, approval of the GENIUS Act, and legal deescalations by regulators.

At press time, the total crypto market is valued at $3.87 trillion, with Bitcoin maintaining 59.2% dominance. The premier cryptocurrency presently trades around $116,421 following a 2.3% gain in the past week. During this period, major altcoins such as Ethereum, XRP, and Solana have also experienced similar bullish action as indicated by gains of 18.30%, 10.78% and 10.20%.

Featured image from Protos, chart from Tradingview

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As the asset drops back into the $2 range, XRP is back in the neutral $2 price range. This represents a dramatic reversal from the robust bullish momentum, which was seen days earlier. As seen on the daily chart, XRP has not been able to maintain its push above the $3 mark. The most recent rejection took place at the 26-day EMA, a significant short-term resistance level that has now turned into a price action ceiling.

XRP entered a corrective phase after reaching a peak of about $3.70 in mid-July. As soon as the asset broke out of the $3.10-$3.00 support zone, selling pressure increased. Recent declines into the $2.94-$2.95 range have left XRP in a precarious technical position. The more important structural support is near $2.35, which is in line with the 200-day moving average, could be revealed by a sustained close below this level followed by deeper supports at $2.69 and $2.60. 

The bearish undertone is further enhanced by volume trends. The significant drop in trading activity during the pullback indicates that buyers are not entering the market with the same vigor as during the early July rally. Momentum is waning, as evidenced by the Relative Strength Index (RSI), which has cooled from overbought levels above 75 to the current neutral zone at 54. 

The short-term battle line for XRP is obvious: to regain the 26 EMA, or about $3.05, in order to revive bullish sentiment, the line has to be broken. Without that, XRP might be pulled further into the $2 district because the path of least resistance seems to be lower. XRP’s mid-year surge still maintains an overall uptrend on longer time frames, but things are changing rapidly.

Bitcoin: This is what is blocking it

Bitcoin is consolidating at a narrow technical zone, with the 50-day EMA (near $112,600) acting as short-term support and the 26-day EMA, which is an immediate resistance. Following its decline from the $122,000 peak in mid-July, Bitcoin remained in sideways consolidation due to this EMA crossfire. It appears from the recent price action that bulls and bears are at a standstill. 

In order to avoid further losses, buyers have intervened at the 50 EMA, while sellers have stopped the upward momentum at the 26 EMA. Depending on which side takes control, this condensed trading range may soon break out. In addition, the Relative Strength Index (RSI), which is currently at 52, has been trending downward. From overbought conditions above 75 during the July surge, this is certainly a relief for investors.

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A healthier base before a move higher may be in store, as the RSI cooldown suggests that Bitcoin has shed some of its overly bullish froth. BTC’s withdrawal from the overbought area may be viewed as a positive reset from a sentiment standpoint, particularly if it remains above the 50 EMA.

The path toward $118,000-$120,000 would reopen with a strong push above the 26 EMA, and if inflows resume, the $122,000 resistance zone would once again be in focus. But a break below the 50 EMA might lead to a retest at $108,200, where the 100-day EMA and the area of prior price consolidation meet.

Shiba Inu bulls lose control

The most recent price movement has shown that bulls no longer control the market, and Shiba Inu has once again let bullish traders down. Before it could even test the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), SHIB’s momentum cooled off after a modest recovery attempt, indicating a lack of market conviction and weak buying pressure.

Historically, the 50 EMA has been a reliable midterm resistance level, and it is currently trading close to $0.00001296. Before facing opposition, SHIB at least attempted to test this level in previous rallies. However, the token’s price this time came close to the zone before abruptly reversing, demonstrating that sellers are still in complete control. This hasty retreat is indicative of a general change in attitude.

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Retail traders participated heavily in SHIB earlier in the year, helped by brief speculative rallies. The price structure now displays lower highs and volume has decreased, highlighting the decline in bullish momentum. The failure to even challenge the 50 EMA indicates that in the absence of a strong catalyst, market participants are hesitant to commit to long positions.

If SHIB continues to hold above $0.0000120, a short-term support zone will be formed. But losses could accelerate toward the $0.0000115-$0.0000110 range, which has stronger historical support if this level is broken. Any attempt at recovery will encounter layered resistance in the interim, which begins at the 50 EMA and extends toward the $0.00001324-$0.00001450 zone.

With no indications of an impending reversal, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is still muted at about 44. SHIB runs the risk of declining in a slow grind in the absence of new buying inflows or a buzz from the general mood of the market, leaving opportunistic traders to wait for larger discounts before intervening. The most recent unsuccessful rally attempt, in summary, serves as further evidence that the bears currently control the Shiba Inu market.