AI and the emerging "NodeFi" market may become the most active verticals in the decentralized finance sector, according to a report by Ethereum blockchain analytics platform Nansen and lending protocol MetaStreet.
The report, published on Oct. 14, makes the case that cryptocurrency markets are "evolving beyond their initial focus on ERC-20 tokens and DeFi," and that these dominant technologies will eventually plateau.
Burgeoning and emergent blockchain-based verticals, such as distributed computing and GPU-as-a-service programs, are expected to show relatively explosive growth as the generative AI industry matures.
DePINs show growth
The vertical with the greatest potential for growth, according to the report, is decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) projects.
DePIN projects range from decentralized energy distribution to decentralized data storage. DePIN can also be used for distributed computing and GPU-as-a-service programs.
Citing research from Fortune Business Insights, the report indicates that the overall market for distributed graphical process units (GPUs), also called GPUs-as-a-service, was worth $3.2 billion in 2023.
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The primary use case for GPU-as-a-service clusters is to train artificial intelligence models, which would indicate that demand in 2024 and beyond is likely to increase.
Per the report:
"Overall, AI-related compute DePIN appears to be in a prime position to become the next major vertical, with a sizeable and fast-growing market, high yield potential, predictable asset prices, and comparatively low implementation complexity."
As Cointelegraph recently reported, even as leading firms could be years away from profitability, the generative AI boom has led to massive investments throughout the entire AI technology stack.
While there's no guarantee that blockchain-based projects will garner the lion's share of investments, the areas of intersection between AI and blockchain appear to have the most long-term potential, according to the report.
It added that the NodeFi vertical -- an incentivization market for node operators -- may also take off. Still, unlike the rising tide that is the AI sector, NodeFi's viability is project dependent.