Is AI and Web3 ready for the metaverse storm, is DePIN prepared?

Author: Jerry, Dyson

Introduction

In 2024, the crypto market is strategizing on how to integrate DePIN devices into the blockchain on a large scale. Of course, there are established projects that predate the DePIN concept, such as the well-known Filecoin, and DeepBrain Chain (DBC), which, due to its early focus on the AI ecosystem, is not as recognized in the blockchain industry. Launched on November 22, 2021, the DBC GPU computing mainnet has already realized a high-performance distributed GPU computing network that can be infinitely scaled based on blockchain technology.

Today, the DePIN sector has been embraced by the market and given high expectations. However, we believe that DePIN is still severely undervalued. Without the narrative of "AI and Web3 converging in the Metaverse," the ultimate fate of humanity and AI would be a confrontation between carbon-based and silicon-based life forms. This is why Hawking and Musk warned the world about the "AI threat" long before GPT. The best way to coexist with AI is through the narrative of "AI and Web3 converging in the Metaverse." AI provides computing power and forms intelligent network application scenarios, while blockchain/Web3 establishes order for AI (intelligent networks). But, is DePIN ready?

01. Urgency

DePIN consists of three components: decentralized computing power, storage, and networks (CDN). The decentralized storage sector is widely recognized through Filecoin, along with Arweave and Storj; the decentralized streaming distribution network Theta has also made significant strides in the CDN field; in terms of decentralized computing power, DFINITY has occupied the CPU territory for complex logical computations, while DBC focuses on GPU adaptations for 3A cloud gaming rendering and AI deep learning algorithms in the Metaverse application scenarios.

Under the industrial logic, the current valuation of the DePIN sector is in the tens of billions, and according to Messari's predictions, this sector is expected to grow to $3.5 trillion by 2028. With the rise of AI, the urgency for decentralized solutions in the GPU computing sector is even greater: giants like OpenAI are backed by Microsoft, and every new product release reshapes the AI industry, with the development of AI being controlled by a few companies.

Before the rise of DePIN, there was a lack of a unified, open computing power market trading platform for decentralized AI computing power outside of oligopolistic monopolies. The computing power ecosystem was not rich enough, and the penetration rate of application implementation was low, with security issues such as data privacy, intellectual property protection, and prevention of malicious attacks in computing power infrastructure…

DBC's solution is to leverage blockchain technology as the underlying layer, using incentive mechanisms to bring idle global GPU computing power on-chain. DBC has technically realized a global decentralized GPU high-performance computing scheduling network based on blockchain technology, where high-performance computing nodes can consist of various forms, including large GPU server clusters, idle GPU servers from small and medium-sized enterprises, and personal idle GPUs.

Since 2023, DBC and DePIN have entered the spotlight of the crypto world. Early practitioners of DePIN like DBC can indeed serve as a mirror for the industry. DePIN is a direction for resolving the dilemma of AI computing power: GPU computing power providers range from personal PCs to data centers; by utilizing decentralized idle GPU resources, decentralized GPUs can lower computing power prices; this can provide more flexible and scalable computing solutions for early AI entrepreneurs and Metaverse cloud gaming applications…

With the development of decentralized technologies like blockchain and Web 3.0, explorations combining high-performance GPU computing with decentralization are underway, such as building volunteer computing platforms using idle computing power. Decentralization is becoming an important direction for the development of high-performance computing power, but for decentralized high-performance computing to be widely applied, breakthroughs in performance, programming models, and incentive mechanisms are still needed.

02. Importance

From a technical architecture perspective, DBC consists of two core components: a high-performance GPU computing network and a blockchain mainnet. The relationship between the two is similar to the underlying technical architecture and incentive layer logic of IPFS and Filecoin; another similar project is DFINITY, driven by CPU computing power. However, the difference lies in that CPUs are primarily used for complex logical computations, while DFINITY focuses on blockchainization to meet the needs of mass network applications. DBC, on the other hand, focuses on GPUs more suitable for the narrative of "AI and Web3 converging in the Metaverse," such as cloud gaming rendering and deep learning algorithms…

To better understand the connection between DBC's GPU computing network and this narrative, we can introduce an epic story: The 3D movie "Avatar," released in 2009, brought unparalleled realistic visuals that left audiences in awe. But do you know how the visual effects rendering for "Avatar" was accomplished? In New Zealand, there was a 10,000-square-foot server farm that processed up to 1.4 million tasks daily, handling 8GB of data per second, running continuously for over a month.

At that time, DBC's founder, He Yong, was attempting to "use AI technology for gene data analysis," and he probably did not foresee that his future career would be related to "Avatar." Because back then, "Avatar" was just a movie, and Satoshi Nakamoto had just mined the genesis BTC, with the imagination of blockchain regarding the narrative of "AI and Web3 converging in the Metaverse" still a decade away.

Today, the visual experience brought by "Avatar" can become a reality. With the continuous iteration of high-immersion, low-latency hardware devices from Meta, Apple, and others, AI elements like Sora and DeepLink are also driving the construction of the Metaverse. The activation of ERC-404 for NFTs will also activate the currently most compatible Metaverse applications like GameFi/blockchain games… We hope to achieve an AI and Web3 jointly driven Metaverse application-level experience in this cycle.

In our article "Reviewing the Main Narrative Logic of 2024: Written at the Moment of the Metaverse Singularity," we expressed that Sora is making significant progress in the construction of the Metaverse. However, the foundational support behind this is still computing power. For instance, the training of the GPT-3 model consumed approximately 3640 PF-days of computing power, equivalent to performing ten quadrillion calculations per second; according to SemiAnalysis, the estimated cost of training the GPT-4 model can reach up to $63 million.

This brings us back to the urgent topic we discussed in the first part regarding the need to address AI computing power. It is necessary to introduce how He Yong, who was still a graduate student "using AI technology for gene data analysis," entered the GPU computing sector.

The accurate answer is that as one of the early adopters of AI technology application research and development, he felt the high costs imposed by computing power on entrepreneurship in the AI field. It was under this motivation that DBC was established, attempting to combine AI with blockchain to form a high-performance distributed computing network that can be infinitely scaled to reduce AI costs. Today, DBC's high-performance GPU computing nodes can provide computing power support for multiple industries, including AI training and inference, cloud gaming, cloud internet cafes, ZK computing, and more.

However, compared to the crypto market still strategizing on how to integrate DePIN devices into the blockchain on a large scale, DBC has undergone many practices of negation of negation, forming an ecological synergy development effect. As a lower-layer GPU computing network, DBC does not directly face various terminal GPU users but is served by cloud vendors in the ecosystem, such as Hycons.cloud and deeplink.cloud. Hycons.cloud is dedicated to providing users with convenient access to GPU computing power cloud services, allowing users to easily conduct AI training and inference within the DBC network; DeepLink provides ultra-low latency cloud gaming rendering services, catering to various application scenarios related to cloud gaming, cloud internet cafes, cloud esports, cloud hotels, and more…

According to an IDC report, the share of high-performance GPU computing in decentralized computing power demand is expected to double in the coming years, primarily due to the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), the rise of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, data analysis and modeling, large 3A games, and Metaverse application scenarios like Vision Pro…

03. Necessity

The foundation of our expectation for reconstructing economic relationships and even social order based on blockchain/Web3 comes from the contribution of decentralized computing power to the crypto economy. Analogous to the laws of sovereign states in the physical world, the "2022-2023 Global Computing Power Index Assessment Report" shows that for every point increase in the computing power index, a country's digital economy and GDP will grow by 3.6‰ and 1.7‰, respectively.

In contrast to the new players mentioned at the beginning who are troubled by technical barriers to the large-scale integration of DePIN devices into the blockchain, the DBC blockchain mainnet was launched on May 20, 2021, and the DBC GPU computing mainnet went live on November 22, 2021. As of March 19, 2024, there are 580 GPUs in the DBC decentralized network, with a rental rate exceeding 98%. There are many practical applications in the fields of AI, cloud gaming, and cloud esports, with ecological service partners including Huawei, Polygon, and the cloud gaming all-in-one machine TIKEREN…

Under DBC's burning mechanism, the more GPUs are rented in the DBC network, the more DBC is destroyed, increasing the value of DBC. To expand the DBC network's GPU computing power and better leverage computing power for the infrastructure of the crypto ecosystem, the new version of the DBC mainnet will be launched in 2024, supporting GPU short-term rental models, smart contract functionality, converting GameFi games into cloud GameFi, supporting decentralized AIGC projects to develop smart contracts based on DBC, and allowing decentralized AIGC projects to mine based on DBC GPUs… Since DBC supports a virtual machine architecture, as long as GPU machines join DBC, it can achieve 4-mining functionality, allowing simultaneous mining of aleo and ionet, as well as DBC and DLC tokens.

Due to its first-mover advantage and the effects of ecological layout, DBC has already positioned itself in an important place in the "AI + DePIN" sector. However, the current market expectations for DePIN mainly stem from the industrial value of the sector, and the value logic of DePIN in the narrative of "AI and Web3 converging in the Metaverse" has yet to be explored. Imagine if the underlying architecture of Metaverse applications is based on centralized networks, storage, and computing power—would this still be the digital evolution we expect from the Metaverse?

Imagine how a user of a Metaverse application would dare to entrust their life and important asset transactions or digital currency payment behaviors in the Metaverse to an untrustworthy mobile network service; the significance of decentralized computing power in constructing the Metaverse world is even more profound—reforms in computing power/productivity will inevitably lead to corresponding changes in production relations and social structures.

This theme has been elaborated in our articles such as "Discussing the Value Logic of 'Civilization Stops' and 'Bear Market Bottom'." If the Metaverse space is merely a digital space for gaming, entertainment, and office work, we would need to utilize advanced chip technology, potentially breaking through the Moore effect in integrated circuit systems, more efficient network communication technologies (5G/6G), as well as VR/AR/MR/XR hardware and developing advanced virtual engines and interaction technologies, along with wearable biosensor hardware and precise motion capture software and hardware—would it be worth it to achieve sensory responses, movement rules, and high-immersion experiences in the virtual space of the Metaverse?

Clearly, reconstructing the digital society with Web3 decentralization, token incentive mechanisms, and DAO governance structures to provide humanity's digital evolution with a better social system and governance structure is what is worth the collective efforts of technology and industry to build a digital space and anticipate the Metaverse world. And all of this is predicated on the prior establishment of DePIN.

Conclusion

With the Nvidia GTC conference being held in the United States, topics related to GPUs are increasingly attracting market attention, and DBC is being mentioned across various sectors of "AI + Web3," "AI + Metaverse," and "AI + DePIN." Having crossed nearly two cycles of bull and bear markets and accumulated 160,000 token holders, DBC is also striving to seize this opportunity to deeply integrate into the crypto economic market, hoping to be listed on more major exchanges, including some large exchanges in South Korea, as DBC has been deeply rooted in South Korea for six years, with multiple large GPU mining pools and cloud internet cafes in operation.

This article uses DBC as a case study to analyze the value of the DePIN sector while striving to integrate popular sectors like AI and GPUs with DePIN and the Metaverse in the crypto world, completing the narrative of "AI and Web3 converging in the Metaverse." Satoshi Nakamoto's original intention will also be realized in the Metaverse world built on DePIN.

Note: This article was co-researched and co-created by ThePrimediaDAO, with collaborators including TPDAO initiator Jerry and TPDAO core builder Dyson. Friends interested in participating in TPDAO build can communicate with the operations guild leader fredo (@jonesenjiang).