Question 1

What is DePIN?

Accepted Answer

DePIN stands for Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network, a blockchain network that coordinates and rewards real-world hardware run by independent operators. Instead of a single company owning the servers, sensors, radios, or storage, contributors run the physical devices themselves and earn tokens for verifiable work: storing data, providing compute, delivering wireless coverage, or reporting sensor readings. The blockchain handles the parts a central operator otherwise would, device enrollment, proof of contribution, reward distribution, and governance, so the network can scale without a single owner. Filecoin (decentralized storage) and Helium (wireless) are the best-known examples, and the category also spans compute, energy, and sensor networks. What makes DePIN hard isn't the idea but the on-chain machinery: registering devices, verifying that operators did the work they claim, paying them fairly, and penalizing bad actors, all while the network stays reachable under real load.

Question 2

What infrastructure does a DePIN network need?

Accepted Answer

Before a single device can join, a DePIN needs a foundational on-chain stack. That's a device registry for enrollment, identity, and status; a contribution-verification module that proves operators actually did the work, using proof-of-coverage, proof-of-work, or proof-of-storage with challenge-response and dispute resolution; a reward distribution engine for epoch-based token emissions, vesting, and contributor tiers; a staking and slashing module to bond operator collateral and penalize bad behavior; oracle integration for prices and external data; and an upgradeable admin and governance layer, usually with a multisig holding the keys behind a timelock and emergency pause. Off-chain, it needs reliable node and RPC infrastructure plus monitoring, so devices and apps can actually reach the chain under load. Most of this is undifferentiated, audit-sensitive engineering that every network rebuilds, which is why we ship it as a customizable stack rather than starting from a blank page.

Question 3

Can you build the smart contracts and run the infrastructure?

Accepted Answer

Yes, that combination is the point. Most teams have to stitch together a smart-contract shop and a separate DevOps provider, then own the seams between them. We build the full DePIN contract stack, device registry, contribution verification, rewards, staking and slashing, oracle integration, and governance, and operate the node, RPC, and monitoring infrastructure underneath it, with the same team accountable for both. That matters because a DePIN's contracts and its infrastructure are coupled: rewards depend on data the nodes serve, and proofs depend on the chain being reachable. We've run production blockchain infrastructure since 2016 and built reward and staking systems for live networks, so the architecture we deploy is the architecture we operate, not a design handed off to someone else. When we recommend a registry, reward, or staking pattern, it's one we already run in production, which is also why our timelines are grounded rather than aspirational.

Question 4

How long does it take to launch a DePIN?

Accepted Answer

A DePIN launch built from scratch typically takes months of contract engineering before it's ready for audit. Because we deploy proven module patterns and customize them to your device type rather than starting from a blank page, we reach a tested, audit-ready contract stack on testnet, with admin keys in a Safe multisig and monitoring live, in roughly eight weeks. The work runs in phases: discovery and architecture mapping your device type and economic model to the modules that need customization; the core Device Registry and Contribution Verification contracts; the economic layer of reward distribution and staking and slashing, tested under simulated device load; and oracle integration, RPC and Prometheus monitoring, the Safe-governed admin shell, and an audit-ready documentation package. Mainnet migration follows your external audit. We confirm the exact timeline against your device and economic model on the first call, since multi-proof networks take longer than single-proof ones.

Question 5

We're a pre-mainnet DePIN founder with no Solidity team, is that who you help?

Accepted Answer

That's the primary use case. Most of the founders we work with are a CTO or technical co-founder building a compute, storage, energy, connectivity, or sensor network on an EVM chain, who have completed a token raise and have a working device prototype, but no senior Solidity engineer on payroll, and a mainnet date already promised to investors. Every week your team spends rediscovering contract patterns that already exist is a week not spent on the device layer or go-to-market, and a slipping mainnet date is the thing that erodes investor confidence. We supply the senior smart-contract and infrastructure capacity to ship the on-chain stack fast, registry, rewards, staking, oracles, governance, and the node and RPC layer, so your team stays focused on hardware, operators, and traction. The reward and staking patterns a DePIN needs are ones we've already built and run, so you inherit them rather than reinvent them.

Question 6

Which chains do you support for DePIN?

Accepted Answer

EVM chains and L2s, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Linea, Berachain, and equivalent networks. Your token model should be EVM-compatible, typically an ERC-20, and the contract stack we deploy targets EVM environments. Before committing to the oracle module, we confirm oracle coverage on your target chain: Chainlink is the default, since we're a core contributor and wire it into the contribution-verification and reward path, with DIA available as a fallback on emerging EVM chains that Chainlink doesn't yet cover. Chain choice usually comes down to where your operators, users, and ecosystem support already are, plus the oracle and infrastructure maturity of the network, both of which we assess up front. Because we already operate node, RPC, and indexing infrastructure across dozens of networks, we can also advise on the operational trade-offs of a given chain rather than just deploying to whatever you've picked. We confirm all of this during discovery.

	Building your own DePIN stack	Protofire productized DePIN platform
Time to audit-ready contracts	Multiple months of custom engineering	Roughly 8 weeks to tested, audit-ready testnet stack
Contract completeness	You research and build each module separately	Device registry, contribution verification, rewards, staking, oracle integration as integrated stack
Infrastructure responsibility	You build and operate node, RPC, monitoring	Node, RPC, and Prometheus monitoring included and operated by same team
Pre-audit documentation	Fresh contracts, full external-audit surface	Pre-audited with NatSpec, threat model, and pre-audit checklist
Post-mainnet operations	Your team maintains and updates the stack	Protofire continues to operate, monitor, and update in production

DePIN Development & Infrastructure

The DePIN stack Protofire builds and operates

Device Registry

Contribution Verification

Oracle Layer

Reward & Staking Engine

Node & RPC Infrastructure

Subgraph & Monitoring

What a DePIN network needs to launch

How a DePIN engagement works

Discovery & Architecture

Core Contracts

Economic Layer

Infrastructure & Docs

What DePIN teams come to us for

A DePIN team that already runs a DePIN

In production: the Filecoin RPC layer

Productized Stack vs In-House DePIN Development

FAQ

Book a call with Alejandro Losa