The Tokens. When crafted thoughtfully, native tokens gain value as network usage expands. This increase in value benefits those who joined the network early, receiving tokens for their contributions, testing the network, or purchasing tokens. While token designs may vary, the trend across most protocols is to offer higher token rewards to early adopters. Projects like Helium, Filecoin, Hivemapper, and Fluence incentivize contributions such as WiFi routers, storage capacity, video data, and compute power, respectively. These platforms have attracted a diverse global community, some of which have surpassed centralized offerings in their respective fields. Remarkably, they have achieved this growth without the need for significant capital investment in hardware.
Take Helium, for instance, which has achieved nearly global Internet of Things coverage without owning or leasing any infrastructure—instead relying on hardware sourced from its community.