DePIN Is Dead. Long Live Infrastructure-as-a-Service.

Why crypto's best infrastructure companies stopped looking like crypto?

The old DePIN model—crowdsourcing hardware, bandwidth, and storage via token incentives—is failing. Storj's Chapter 11 filing and similar restructurings show the shift. History repeats: cloud and telecom commoditized raw infrastructure, while profits moved to contracted services on top. Crypto is now following suit, with winners like Kalshi and Hyperliquid selling finished products over invisible chains. This analysis reveals the pattern, the evidence, and where crypto infrastructure stands on the curve.