San Francisco, 4pm PST: XYO, the first DePIN project launched, with 80% of its users coming from outside the crypto space, will be listed on Kraken Exchange after reporting $8.8 million in revenue for 2024 via its SEC public filing. The network launched in 2018, predating the term DePIN coined in 2021, and is designed to enhance the validity, certainty, and value of real-world data.
Historically, crypto projects often relied on metrics such as TVL or social media activity to gauge success. However, these indicators can be misleading, as they don’t necessarily correlate with profitability or long-term sustainability. The recent IPO of Circle Internet Group earlier this year marked a pivotal shift in how crypto projects are evaluated by investors and exchanges alike.
“In the last cycle, during the ICO boom, tokens were being launched and listed at breakneck speed based on whitepapers and hype. Metrics like social media followers and Total Value Locked (TVL) had a much bigger sway during that period. Today, as the industry matures and U.S. regulation takes shape, the focus has shifted toward businesses that operate like successful companies in the real world, with revenue, profitability, and sustainable models as key indicators. Exchanges are aligning with this shift, and we’ll see more of these businesses thrive. We believe this is a healthy evolution for the entire industry,” said Markus Levin, co-founder of XYO.
Circle’s IPO, which priced between $24 and $26 per share before listing, saw its stock surge threefold following the launch price of $69. A major catalyst for this was the company’s 53% year-over-year revenue increase, which totaled $658 million in Q2 2025, surpassing analysts’ expectations.
This shift marks a significant turning point in the evaluation process for crypto projects. Investors are increasingly looking beyond surface-level metrics to focus on tangible indicators of business success. Revenue growth, profit margins, user acquisition costs (UAC), and lifetime value (LTV) of users are now at the forefront of investment decisions. These real-world metrics reflect the growing sophistication of the industry and the increasing demand for projects that offer a clear path to profitability and long-term value creation.
Initially, these metrics were mainly used by institutional fund managers and professional investors to assess whether a business was worth investing in. However, as the industry matured, retail investors also began prioritising measurable metrics over speculative hype, and this has been an emerging trend. Now, exchanges are also requiring revenue-based metrics before allowing projects to list, further emphasizing the importance of financial sustainability in the evaluation process.
Over 165 DePIN deals and $744M in VC funding have closed since January 2024. However, XYO’s listing highlights a broader shift in the listing process of DePIN projects. Now, successful listings hinge on real revenue, not speculation. It’s a sign that the previous ICO era is finally ending, and sustainable revenue is becoming the new listing threshold.
The DePIN market is projected to grow from $50B today to $3.5T by 2028, according to the World Economic Forum. But hype-driven projects may struggle to gain traction as revenue will be one of the main measures of success.
About XYO:
Founded in 2018, XYO is the first DePIN and one of the largest, with over 10 million nodes.
The organization has two entities, XYO Foundation and XL Labs, a for-profit organization.
XYO collects and validates real-world data, connecting Web3, Web2, and industries like AI and geolocation. Their Proof of Location and Proof of Origin technologies power real-world asset tracking, DePIN solutions, and interactive gaming experiences. XYO created the COIN app to drive network growth, and their XYO token is listed on major exchanges like Coinbase. In addition to the XYO Foundation, they founded XY Labs Inc., the first crypto company in the U.S. to gain SEC approval for a Regulation A offering, allowing both accredited and non-accredited investors. XY Labs is also one of the first to tokenize and list its shares, trading under $XYLB on tZERO ATS, leading the charge in the RWA wave.
