The Application Prospects and Token Model of DePIN Newcomer Roam
Powered by ChatGPTIn 2025, the DePIN sector is becoming a bridge for the integration of Web3 and the real world. Messari's "DePIN Annual Report," released earlier this year, reveals several key data points: Over 13 million DePIN devices globally serve infrastructure networks daily; although DePIN is in its early stages and accounts for less than 0.1% of the trillion-dollar end market, it has already attracted over $350 million in early funding; in 2024, the "on-chain battle" accelerates, with Solana leading in the network infrastructure space.
Two months ago, $Roam's WiFi node count was 1.20 million, making its debut in the Messari report and becoming one of the five DePIN projects globally with over a million hardware nodes. Now, the node count has surpassed 3 million, with 2.50 million users and a total of 220 million network check-in verifications. $Roam, leveraging the deep integration of OpenRoaming technology and blockchain DID/VC technology, along with a business model that includes free eSIM services and token incentives, is rapidly expanding its wireless network business scope and service audience, guiding users seamlessly into the Web3 ecosystem and providing opportunities for ongoing income.
The Application Prospects of $ROAM
$Roam is the only Web3 IDP project within the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) OpenRoaming™ consortium, standing alongside giants such as BT, Comcast, Cisco, and Google. Its network covers over 190 countries globally, and in addition to 3 million self-built nodes, it has access to over 4 million available OpenRoaming™ WiFi hotspots.
Earlier this year, $Roam was included in the Messari Annual DePIN Status Report due to its hardware node count exceeding one million. Recently, Messari released a new report titled "Understanding $Roam," which analyzes Roam. Additionally, Solana's official channels have recommended $Roam in two videos. Since December 2024, $Roam has consistently ranked first on the DePINscan hardware nodes leaderboard, with a widening gap from the second place.
△ On March 11, Messari released the thematic report "Understanding Roam: A Comprehensive Overview"
Through DID/VC privacy protection mechanisms, WiFi OpenRoaming security standards, 5G network integration, EAP authentication frameworks, and Trust-Over-IP decentralized identity management, $Roam has constructed a secure, private, and decentralized wireless network service system, ensuring that global users can enjoy seamless and secure network connections while safeguarding their privacy, thus realizing a true multinational and cross-connection future telecommunications operator model.
The $Roam Discovery platform has partnered with 25 projects, covering areas such as Layer 1, PayFi, and AI, providing WiFi node resources, software tools, and community support to ecological partners, facilitating the implementation of more ecological Web3 applications. $Roam also addresses the data silos of traditional operators by ensuring data privacy and circulation through DID/VC and TEE+ZK technology. As an AI data layer infrastructure, $Roam's 3W data (Who, When, Where) + payment/device data breaks industry data barriers, distinguishing between real and generated data, and enhancing AI training quality. Furthermore, $Roam provides DID identities and OpenRoaming certificates for AI agents, supporting smart home and IoT collaborations, accelerating the era of human-machine symbiosis.
After the TGE, the application scenarios for the $ROAM token will continue to materialize. Soon, $ROAM will be usable in gaming hubs (incentivizing player participation) and for direct consumption via credit cards (increasing everyday usability), enhancing token consumption and user stickiness.
Potential Signals in Volatility
$ROAM users can also participate in a staking program to earn data rewards, with each staking cycle lasting 28 days. Depending on the number of tokens staked, users will receive additional data rewards upon maturity: staking 100 $ROAM grants 5 GB, 200 $ROAM yields 12 GB, and 500 $ROAM exchanges for 30 GB. Users can increase their staked tokens at any time to earn more data rewards. This design ties the tokens to actual network usage.
The total supply of $Roam tokens is 1 billion, of which 120 million are allocated to the team (with a 6-year linear unlock), 280 million are distributed to past and future investors (including airdrops), and the remainder is generated through mining. Currently, the circulating supply is 280 million, with a FDV of $180 million, and both staking and locking rates still have significant room for growth. After the TGE, $Roam will adjust its mining rules and optimize supply management to lay the foundation for long-term value growth.
The $ROAM token economics is centered around a dual-deflationary mechanism of points/tokens, reducing circulating supply through burn pools and reverse burn pools, thereby promoting scarcity and increasing value. Previously, $Roam launched a Pilot burn pool testing mechanism, destroying one-quarter of the total points accumulated over the past year and a half within ten days of going live, with stable online participation exceeding 10,000 users.Ordinary users can earn points by adding WiFi, checking in, and participating in activities. The upcoming AI interaction will also provide point rewards. Mining machine users can additionally earn points through mining, and the new mining rule adjustments may lead to higher returns. Reverse burning allows users to convert $ROAM tokens into points (the conversion rate is based on the weighted average of the sticker pool and the general pool, dynamically adjusted), with 97% of the tokens being permanently destroyed, directly reducing circulation. Data from the Pilot burning pool shows that the point burning ratio for the general pool, sticker pool, and mining pool is 5:3:2. Reverse burning provides arbitrage opportunities for users who hold stickers (obtained only through check-ins), incentivizing them to buy coins from exchanges and participate.
This dual-deflation design draws on the principle of the "impossible triangle" to ensure the sustainability of the system. The token release curve is similar to Bitcoin's exponential decay: initially, 0.6% is released per month, dropping to 0.35% after 5 years, 0.2% after 10 years, 0.05% after 20 years, and only 0.001% after 50 years. At the same time, $ROAM introduces a difficulty adjustment mechanism to dynamically adjust the release speed based on network activity (Check-In numbers). If activity declines, the token release slows down to avoid value collapse; conversely, it modestly increases to eliminate inefficient nodes and enhance the returns of high-value nodes. This mechanism is similar to Bitcoin's hash rate adjustment, ensuring that the token value is linked to network health and preventing a death spiral.
The increase in practicality further enhances the stability of the economic model. The number of WiFi nodes has increased from 1.20 million to 3 million, with users reaching 2.50 million, indicating continuous growth in intrinsic value. The upcoming launch of the game center and credit card consumption scenarios will increase the demand for $ROAM tokens, stimulating circulation consumption. The staking program offers ordinary users an annualized return of 50%, while mining machine users can receive up to 200%. Currently, the locked amount is 627 thousand ROAM. The upcoming acceleration feature is expected to boost returns by 20%-30%, potentially raising the staking rate to 10% (28 million $ROAM).