Passive Income or Power Play? The Top 5 DePIN Projects That Paid Out $150M in Revenue This Jan
Khushi V Rangdhol Jan 15, 2026 05:18
For years, critics called DePIN a "Ponzi scheme with hardware," claiming the only money being made was through inflationary token rewards. January 2026 officially silenced those critics. Total monthly revenue across the top projects hit a record high, driven by enterprise-grade demand for compute, mapping data, and wireless bandwidth.
Here are the five giants that led the $150M revenue surge this January.
1. Aethir (The GPU Powerhouse)
Aethir has become the undisputed king of decentralized AI compute. With over 150 enterprise clients—including major gaming studios and AI research labs—Aethir's revenue model is now firmly anchored in real-world usage.
- January Payout: Estimated $55M.
- The Power Play: Aethir’s $344 million "Strategic Compute Reserve" allows it to guarantee uptime for institutional clients, a feat previously thought impossible for decentralized networks.
2. Render Network (The AI-Creative Bridge)
As the global GPU shortage persists into 2026, Render has transitioned from a simple "rendering" tool into a critical backbone for AI inference.
- January Payout: Estimated $38M.
- Passive Income Factor: Individual node operators saw a 40% increase in yield this month as "AI-native" tasks replaced traditional CGI rendering as the primary workload.
3. Helium (The Connectivity Comeback)
Despite a brutal 2025 for its token price, Helium’s utility has never been higher. The transition to 5G and mobile data offloading has finally started to pay off.
- January Payout: Estimated $24M.
- The Driver: A massive 800% year-over-year surge in on-chain network fees, driven by a surge in "last-mile" data transactions from logistics and IoT companies.
4. Hivemapper (The Data Refinery)
Hivemapper is no longer just "Google Maps on the blockchain." In January 2026, it became a primary data provider for autonomous vehicle companies that need high-definition, real-time street imagery.
- January Payout: Estimated $18M.
- Why it's winning: By paying out in HONEY based on useful data rather than just miles driven, Hivemapper has created a high-quality map that is updated faster than any centralized competitor.
5. Akash Network (The Open Cloud)
Akash has successfully carved out a niche as the "un-censorable" alternative to AWS. With its new Confidential Computing layer launched in Q1 2026, it has attracted privacy-conscious tech firms.
- January Payout: Estimated $15M.
- The Revenue Shift: 13% quarter-over-quarter growth in fee revenue proves that users are willing to pay for decentralized cloud services when they offer better transparency and lower costs.
Revenue Breakdown: Jan 2026 vs. Jan 2025
The Verdict: Is it Sustainable?
The $150M payout in January wasn't a fluke. It represents a "Web 2.5" success story: projects that use blockchain to coordinate hardware but sell their services to traditional Web2 enterprises. For investors, the "Power Play" is no longer just holding the token—it’s owning the hardware that generates the yield.
"In 2026, DePIN is no longer about the token; it's about the cash flow. If your network isn't being used by a company that doesn't know what a 'seed phrase' is, it isn't DePIN." — Sector Analysis, Feb 2026
Sources: Bitget: Top DePIN Projects Transforming Infrastructure 2026, InnMind: DePIN Fundraising and Revenue Playbook 2026, Token Terminal: Helium Financial Statement Jan 2026, Binance Square: Top Decentralized AI & Cloud Revenues Jan 2026, CoinMarketCap: State of DePIN 2025-2026 Revenue Trends
Image source: Shutterstock
.jpg)