Why We Need a Universal DePIN Address System

Every DePIN protocol mints its own siloed token and identity system. A Helium hotspot cannot natively prove its reputation to Filecoin or Render. This creates:

• Zero composability between networks.
• Massive onboarding friction for users and hardware.
• Fragmented liquidity and security across $20B+ in DePIN assets.

A canonical, chain-agnostic address standard for physical assets. Think an ENS for machines, but with built-in verifiable credentials for uptime, location, and performance.

• Enables cross-protocol staking & rewards (e.g., stake HNT to earn FIL).
• Unlocks DePIN-native MEV: routers like Jito could prioritize bundles from high-reputation nodes.
• Creates a unified security layer, reducing sybil attack surfaces by ~70%.

Universal addresses turn fragmented supply into a unified marketplace. Users express intents ("store 1TB for 30 days") and solvers—like those in CowSwap or UniswapX—compete to fulfill them across Filecoin, Arweave, and Storj.

• Drives cost efficiency through cross-network arbitrage.
• Increases hardware utilization rates from ~40% to >85%.
• Mirrors the liquidity unification seen in DEX aggregators like 1inch.

The path is proven. Ethereum's ERC-4337 (Account Abstraction) unified user onboarding. Lens Protocol created portable social graphs. We apply this to hardware.

• Leverage existing primitives: EIP-721 (NFTs) for asset representation, ZK proofs for private verification.
• Adopt a hub-&-spoke model similar to Cosmos IBC or LayerZero, where the address system is the hub.
• Avoids the pitfall of a monolithic chain, ensuring ~500ms attestation latency.

Every DePIN project issues its own proprietary ID, creating walled gardens. A Helium Hotspot ID is useless for a Hivemapper driver, forcing redundant KYC and fracturing user capital and reputation.

• Fragmented Liquidity: Staked assets and reputation are trapped per-protocol.
• Zero Composability: Cannot build cross-DePIN dApps without a shared identity primitive.
• User Friction: Manage a dozen private keys for a dozen devices.

A universal address acts as a sovereign, portable identity layer for any machine or operator, decoupling credential management from application logic.

• Portable Reputation: A single verifiable history for device uptime, data quality, and slashing events.
• Native Multi-Homing: One machine can serve Filecoin, Render, and Livepeer with a single operational identity.
• Plug-and-Play Composability: Enables cross-DePIN derivatives, insurance pools, and credit markets.

IoTeX built a full-stack solution with W3bstream as the off-chain compute layer and the ioID decentralized identifier (DID) as the on-chain address standard for machines.

• Real-World Proof: Verifies physical work (e.g., sensor data) off-chain before settlement.
• Device NFTs: Machines are minted as soulbound NFTs, enabling true ownership and P2P leasing markets.
• EVM-Compatible: Integrates directly with DeFi primitives on IoTeX and via bridges.

peaq employs a multi-chain DID system where a machine's core identity lives on peaq, with lightweight 'echo' IDs mirroring it to ecosystems like Ethereum, Polygon, and Kusama.

• Multi-Chain Presence: Single machine identity operable across multiple execution environments.
• Machine RWAs: Tokens representing real-world machine ownership and revenue streams.
• Agile Governance: Layer-1 customizability for sector-specific DePIN rules (mobility, energy, etc.).

Universal addresses are useless without trusted data. Oracles like Chainlink, API3, and Pyth are the essential pipes connecting a machine's real-world state to its on-chain identity.

• Provable Metrics: Feed device health, location, and output data to reputation and payment smart contracts.
• Decentralized Verification: Mitigate single points of failure in physical data reporting.
• Standardized Schemas: Enable cross-oracle data consistency for machine states.

A universal address layer unlocks the final piece: pooled, cross-protocol capital efficiency. This is the foundation for DePIN-specific AMMs and lending markets like those pioneered by Karrier One and Uplink.

• Cross-Collateralization: Stake reputation from one network to borrow assets in another.
• Unified Yield Aggregation: Automatically allocate device work to the highest-paying DePIN.
• Derivative Markets: Trade futures on network bandwidth or global sensor coverage.

Every DePIN project issues its own identity (e.g., Helium Hotspot ID, Hivemapper Dashcam ID). This creates protocol-specific wallets that cannot interact, preventing the creation of cross-network applications and services.

• No cross-chain DeFi: A Render GPU node cannot natively collateralize a loan on Solana.
• Fragmented liquidity: Value and reputation are trapped in individual networks.
• Poor UX: Users manage dozens of keys for dozens of devices.

A single, portable address that abstracts the underlying hardware and blockchain, acting as a verifiable credential for any resource (GPU, storage, sensor).

• Portable reputation: A Helium hotspot's uptime score is usable on an IoTeX sensor network.
• Plug-and-play integration: Developers build one integration for the universal standard, not N integrations for N protocols.
• Unified settlement: Enables cross-rollup payment streams from applications like Aave or Superfluid to any DePIN resource.

With a universal address system, platforms like Across and UniswapX can match resource intents ("I need 10 TFLOPS for 1 hour") with providers, abstracting away chain-specific execution.

• Atomic composability: A user's intent can bundle compute rental, payment, and insurance in one transaction.
• Efficient markets: Creates a global order book for physical resources, reducing costs by ~30% via competition.
• Automated orchestration: Enables complex workflows across Filecoin, Render, and Arweave without manual bridging.

Universal addressing transforms DePIN from isolated hardware networks into a cohesive utility layer for all of Web3, akin to AWS for blockchains.

• Monetize any asset: A car's sensors (via DIMO) can automatically sell data to a prediction market.
• Sybil-resistant governance: One human, one verifiable resource identity across Helium, Livepeer, etc.
• Trillion-dollar addressable market: Unlocks the $10B+ DeFi TVL to finance real-world infrastructure.