DePIN Surpasses Market Expectations with a Valuation of $10 Billion

BearMarketBuilder · 2026-02-09T19:09:16+00:00

Digital asset markets often misjudge expectations, as evidenced by the $10 billion valuation of DePIN despite drastic token price drops. While many projects' tokens have plummeted 94-99%, their revenue remains consistent. This gap reveals a market that overreacts to sentiment rather than focusing on operational fundamentals. Investors tend to get caught up in hype and short-term price movements, ignoring the underlying value and long-term potential of these assets. Such behavior can lead to misallocations of capital and increased volatility, ultimately harming the overall health of the market. It is crucial for participants to look beyond surface-level metrics and assess the real fundamentals driving each project.

BearMarketBuilder

2026-02-09 19:09:16

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The digital asset market continues to prove that traditional expectations are often misleading. Although the valuation of DePIN reaches $10 billion—an figure that contradicts the skeptics’ predictions—projects in this sector continue to maintain their fundamental appeal. Data from NS3.AI shows that this phenomenon is not a coincidence but reflects a significant market gap between sentiment and operational reality.

Drastic Price Drops Do Not Shake Business Fundamentals

The astonishing decline in DePIN token prices—ranging from 94% to 99% from previous peaks—raises serious questions about the viability of this sector. However, on-chain data tells a different story. Major projects within the DePIN ecosystem continue to generate consistent and measurable revenue. Just in the previous period, on-chain revenue from these projects reached $72 million, indicating that their business engines are still running normally despite sharp token price drops.

This gap reveals an important truth: market expectations are sometimes based on speculative sentiment rather than in-depth analysis of project cash flow. Token issuers may panic when seeing price charts, but long-term investors focused on revenue should see growing opportunities.

Why Is the Market Mispricing DePIN Projects?

The disconnect between token prices and project fundamentals reflects a classic crypto market phenomenon: overreaction to negative sentiment and undervaluation of value-generating assets. When prices fall 95%, most traders automatically assume the project is “dead” or no longer viable. Yet, revenue streams continue to flow into the protocol.

NS3.AI itself found that these DePIN projects continue to produce real utility in the physical world. They are not just superficial cryptocurrencies but businesses with concrete revenue models. The market’s pessimistic expectations for this sector actually create a valuation gap that appeals to contrarian investors.

Implications: The Market May Systemically Underestimate DePIN

The $10 billion valuation achieved by DePIN, along with solid revenue generation, raises the question: is the market giving a massive discount to this sector? With fundamentals still growing but sentiment remaining cold, market expectations seem misaligned with the long-term potential of DePIN projects. This conclusion challenges mainstream expectations but is supported by concrete field data.

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