Lufthansa, Deutsche Telekom launch DePIN blockchain nodes

Decentralized physical infrastructure networks ( DePINs ) are taking the Web3 world by storm, bridging the physical world with decentralized emerging technologies. 

Over the last year, some of the world’s leading enterprises across various industries have adopted the technology to broaden access to services, facilitate ownership and enhance the security of large networks of infrastructure systems. 

DePINs (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) use native tokens or cryptocurrencies within their ecosystems to incentivize participation. This, in turn, supports the development and operation of both physical and digital infrastructure networks, such as telecommunications systems.

A DePIN future 

Industry insiders have even speculated that the next trillion-dollar company will be a DePIN giant similar to Amazon’s AWS cloud service due to a major uptick in demand for decentralized connectivity solutions. 

On Sept. 9, two more global giants in their respective sectors — Lufthansa and Deutsche Telekom — revealed the launch of their DePIN blockchain nodes to help power the Peaq network, a layer-1 network built for DePIN and machine real-world assets (RWAs). 

Lufthansa’s Innovation Hub, Deutsche Telekom, Bertelsmann Investments, and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) launched their Peaq nodes, which have a combined valuation of over $170 billion across their respective holding companies. 

Peaq’s network launch is anticipated to go live during the week of Sept. 23, and the accumulation of major network node operators is crucial - and this goes for any blockchain.

Individuals, or in this case, major enterprises, operating nodes are essentially responsible for helping maintain a complete copy of the blockchain ledger. Through those nodes, they also contribute to verifying transactions and helping uphold the security of the network. The more node operators, the more decentralized the blockchain.

Related: The road to mainstream for DePIN goes through this decentralized VPN

In the case of the Peaq network, these companies are not only operating nodes, but they’re also piloting the network’s Enterprise Adoption program, which will work as the bridge between the DePIN sector and enterprises around the world.  

Decentralization for businesses

Enterprise adoption of DePINs is crucial to the overall growth of the sector. Prominent companies onboard the technology into their operations, integrating Web2 companies as clients for the real-world services DePIN offers and establishing partnerships with hardware manufacturers and operators. 

A Sept. 5 report from the Web3 investing firm MV Global said that DePINs will be the industry’s “next big use case” with the potential to onboard, “a significant number of new users to the crypto space.”

As an example, Steffen Boller, Tech Lead at Lufthansa Innovation Hub, said the DePIN model has “interesting potential” in supporting infrastructure for the airline industry, such as sourcing community-gathered flight tracking data.

He pointed to pre-existing Peaq-based, avionics-focused DePIN projects, such as Hyperway and Wingbits .

Leonard Dorlöchter, the co-founder of Peaq, told Cointelegraph that the significance of such major enterprises running Peaq nodes is “hard to overstate.” 

He said as some of Europe’s — and the world’s — most innovative and forward-looking enterprises are running nodes to power the day-to-day operations of a DePIN-focused layer-1 blockchain, this “sends a very clear signal to the wider DePIN segment and the entire Web3 space.”

“DePINs have a lot to offer to enterprises, and the business world sees their promise. With this initial step, begins the intricate exploration process where the enterprise world will dive deeper into the DePIN space and zoom in on the opportunities that it offers.”

Dorlöchter predicted that this would begin to unlock new collaborations, integrations, and opportunities, both for DePINs on the Peaq network and the wider Web3 world. 

“It's a very significant moment, by all accounts, and a major step towards DePIN adoption in enterprise."

Already, other blockchain networks, such as Solana, have seen a surge in DePIN activity this year. In May, the Solana Foundations’s DePIN lead Kuleen Nimkar said the network is seeing a “ton of up-and-coming DePIN projects that are doing everything.” 

The network is anticipating the release of a full version of the Firedancer upgrade in 2025, which will help increase its overall reliability and scalability to handle such activity. 

New DePIN use cases have been popping up, such as Helium Mobile, a decentralized mobile and wireless network, recently announcing expanded coverage and increased compatibility with third-party hardware manufacturers. 

Magazine: ‘Everything feels like it’s going to shit’ — Peter McCormack reveals new podcast