Low-threshold DePIN airdrop: DAWN and Sogni

DAWN

DAWN is a decentralized broadband network that allows users to sell their unused bandwidth, or internet speed, to those around them for profit. In the past, the rights to sell broadband resources were solely held by centralized operators.

DAWN is very similar to grass, but has a more impressive investment lineup, having raised a total of $33 million in funding, with both rounds led by Dragonfly — a top investment firm in the cryptocurrency space. The ability to secure such significant funding is likely closely tied to the success of grass, which has single-handedly increased the valuation potential of this sector.

Goal

The goal of DAWN is to enable existing users to sell their internet bandwidth. For example, if I can't afford an expensive broadband package, and my neighbor has excess bandwidth, they can sell their surplus internet through the DAWN project, allowing me to access the internet at a lower price while my neighbor receives some compensation, creating a win-win situation.

Specific implementation methods:

Role 1: Users sharing internet bandwidth

In their planning, there are several types of roles. The first role is users sharing internet bandwidth. There are two devices involved, depending on whether you are a professional in this field or a home user. If you are a professional, you need to purchase RAS devices. If you are a home user wanting to participate in the network, you can use your home router, effectively creating small network base stations everywhere, where everyone can sell and provide broadband services.

Role 2: Users purchasing internet bandwidth

The second role is users purchasing internet bandwidth, or consumers. Currently, these services are limited to the United States and are still in a pilot phase. Of course, the prices for selling bandwidth will vary depending on the location and network speed. Using DAWN's services is likely to be much cheaper than traditional service providers.

How much cheaper will DAWN's services be compared to traditional providers? An official example states that for gigabit speed, the cost is $20 per month, which is about three times cheaper than local packages priced at $70.

Role 3: Validators

The third role is validators, which is currently how we can participate. At this time, users cannot sell their internet bandwidth unless they are within the pilot area in the United States. However, the project has opened the validator role to everyone and has an airdrop points activity. You only need to install the official plugin in your Google Chrome browser.

Validators act as supervisors to ensure that the transaction process between buyers and sellers is fair enough. For example, if a user buys a package claiming to provide gigabit internet through DAWN, validators need to monitor whether sufficient internet speed can be consistently provided throughout the month.

Sogni

Sogni aims to become a decentralized Midjourney, allowing every user to contribute their computer, CPU, and GPU through an open-source model. Creators can use this computing power to render and create their works, while users contributing machine power can earn token rewards.

Currently, the project has launched a testnet activity and has clearly stated that in December, it will airdrop the first batch of tokens to current testnet users, totaling 20 million tokens. However, the total amount of tokens and the proportion of this airdrop have not been disclosed by the project team.

After the mainnet goes live, users wanting to use the Sgni platform will need to purchase platform tokens to consume services. Currently, on the testnet, everyone can receive 200 test tokens each day, which can be used for free to access their model image features, consuming test tokens in the process.

Airdrop Rules

Half of the tokens from the first airdrop will be given to artists using model images. The more images generated by artist users, the more tokens consumed, and the larger the airdrop they will receive, effectively encouraging everyone to claim test tokens daily and use them up as much as possible. The subsequent airdrop will be based on the amount of tokens consumed.

The other half of the airdrop tokens will be given to users providing computing power. Currently, only Apple computers are supported. If your computer has decent performance and is idle, you can run Sogni's software to provide performance. Once a user has a creative need, the system will call upon your computer's performance to render images.

The rankings for these two types of users can be seen on the official website. Currently, there are very few participants, making it easy to rank high, especially in the computing power provider rankings, where competition is not fierce.

The participation method for artist roles is straightforward. After installing the software from the official website and registering an account, you will receive 2000 test tokens. Additionally, you can claim 200 test tokens every 24 hours, which you should quickly spend. Input your desired PRO commands, select different models, and click view model to see various open-source models available for use. After selecting a model, there are also some parameters available for fine-tuning, allowing you to generate 16 images at once. The consumption of tokens will be faster, and finally, click confirm to generate the images.

The other role is that of machine performance providers, who need to download some models on their computers before they can use them to complete tasks. Click on the model to download it. The more models you download, the better. For example, if you download models A, B, C, and D, you can take on tasks in those four styles. However, if you only download one model and users do not choose that style, you will not receive any tasks.

Therefore, as long as your computer's storage space allows, the more models you install, the better. You will be able to take on more tasks and earn more points.

Summary

Sogni is an open-source AI model that can install many open-source image models, making it a useful tool. However, a useful tool does not necessarily equate to a high market valuation.

Sogni has not yet disclosed its funding situation, and there is currently no known institutional investment. Therefore, whether the airdropped tokens we receive in the future will hold any value remains uncertain.

From an investment perspective, the first project introduced, DAWN, has higher expectations. The commonality between these two projects is that retail investors can participate without additional costs, making it easy to get involved without being at risk of being exploited.