How does ICN redefine cloud computing in the wave of DePIN? An in-depth analysis of the ICNT token and decentralized infrastructure

Monopolistic Dilemma in Cloud Computing

Today’s cloud computing market is firmly controlled by a few tech giants. Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform dominate the vast majority of the market share. This centralized structure brings a series of issues: enterprises are locked into a single provider and cannot easily migrate; prices remain high, often ten times the cost of decentralized solutions; data privacy and security risks are always present; users have almost no control over their infrastructure.

This “information asymmetry” of power has led many companies and developers to seek alternatives.

Impossible Cloud Network: Practitioners in the DePIN Field

Impossible Cloud Network (ICN) is not an idealistic project that appeared out of nowhere. It was founded by serial entrepreneurs who previously generated over $1 billion in revenue. These team members have successful IPO experience and know how to bring products to market.

Unlike many DePIN projects on paper, ICN started with a real enterprise-grade object storage service. Currently, this service handles over 1 billion interactions weekly, serving actual business clients. This “from product to token” approach is more grounded than “from token to product.”

The key differences here are:

• ICN has validated market demand
• ICN has accumulated real users
• ICN is now expanding this system using blockchain technology

The “Verification Challenge” in DePIN and ICN’s Solution

DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) projects face a classic problem: how to verify that hardware dispersed across various locations is truly operational?

ICN’s answer is a three-layer architecture:

1. Hardware Provider Layer: Operators managing enterprise data centers
2. Service Provider Layer: Developers creating cloud services using these hardware resources
3. Oracle SLA Nodes: Oversee overall network performance to ensure service quality

This design does not allow anyone to participate with consumer-grade hardware (a common flaw in many DePIN projects), but instead requires operators to deploy enterprise-grade equipment in high-level data centers. This raises the entry barrier but also ensures real commercial applicability.

The Dual Use of ICNT Tokens

ICNT is the fuel of this ecosystem, with a fixed total supply of 700 million tokens.

Two core functions of the token:

1. Staking Guarantee: Hardware operators need to stake ICNT to participate in the network. This means they have “skin in the game” and are incentivized to maintain high availability and performance.

2. Network Access: Service providers use ICNT to purchase hardware capacity. This creates natural demand for the token— as network usage increases, so does the demand for ICNT.

Currently, ICNT is priced at $0.37, with a 24-hour decline of -1.11%, a circulating market cap of $70.13M, and a circulating supply of 187.6 million.

Why is ICN Different from Other DePIN Projects?

Compared to Akash Network, which in Q1 2024 had a “historical high” revenue of only $1.4 million, while the same period CoreWeave (a Web2 competitor) already reached $465 million in annual revenue, the gap is evident.

ICN’s advantages include:

Real Business Foundation: Not starting from zero, but based on already operational services
Enterprise-Grade Hardware: Connecting only to high-level data center equipment, not consumer PCs
Geographical Dispersion and Aggregation: Using the “data gravity” principle, data and computation naturally gather, creating network effects
On-Demand Scaling: Tokenomics designed so the system can turn profitable at low thresholds without over-provisioning

Token Allocation Logic

The 700 million ICNT distribution reflects considerations for the project’s long-term development:

• Network rewards to node operators: 140 million (20%), with 15% unlocked immediately and 85% released over 48 months with a decay schedule
• Investor rounds: 150.5 million (21.5%), locked for 12 months, then linearly unlocked over 24 months
• Team and founders: 154.7 million (22.1%), mostly with a 12-month lock-up
• Ecosystem partners: 77 million (11%), 50% unlocked immediately, 50% linearly over 36 months
• Ecosystem development fund: 70 million (10%), used to incentivize developers and community
• Network expansion fund: 70 million (10%), fully unlocked immediately to support early growth
• Cloud service development compensation: 37.8 million (5.4%), partially unlocked immediately, partially over 24 months

This design avoids a large one-time sell-off and ensures early adopters are incentivized.

Practical Application Scenarios

Enterprise Storage Needs: Real users generate 1 billion interactions weekly—this is not a proof of concept but an operational system.

AI Computing: Through collaborations with partners like Aethir, ICN is expanding GPU computing capacity to support AI workloads.

Multi-Service Ecosystem: Modular design of hardware layer, service layer, and supervision layer allows different participants to combine flexibly, creating complex cloud service solutions.

Infrastructure Monetization: Data center operators can earn ICNT rewards by providing hardware capacity, monetizing idle resources.

Three-Stage Development Roadmap

Stage 1 (Current): Mainnet launch, establish protocol foundation, introduce NFT guarantee mechanism, recruit initial hardware providers.

Stage 2 (2025-2026): Ecosystem expansion, introduce more hardware types like GPU/CPU, optimize geographic distribution, develop developer tools.

Stage 3 (Post-2027): Fully decentralized governance, permissionless interoperability, system optimization, and community operation.

This process is not a pipe dream—ICN already has a running production system as a foundation.

Advantages Over Traditional Cloud Services

Cost: Transparent and competitive pricing vs. complex black-box pricing of traditional clouds
Control: Users have full control over data and infrastructure vs. being locked-in by providers
Security: Distributed architecture is inherently resistant to single points of failure vs. centralized risks
Flexibility: Composable service layers vs. one-size-fits-all solutions

Summary

ICN represents a move from theory to practice in the DePIN field. It is not just storytelling with ideal visions but validating Web3’s value through a proven business model.

Whether you are an investor seeking DePIN projects with solid fundamentals, an enterprise aiming to escape cloud monopolies, or a developer wanting to participate in decentralized infrastructure, ICN offers a tangible option. As the network continues to expand, ICNT holders will benefit from increasing demand support.