New Star Rising in the DePIN Field: Decentralization Cloud Computing Project Valuation Soars to $470 Million

Recently, a decentralized cloud computing project named Impossible Cloud (referred to as ICN) received strategic investment from a well-known venture capital fund, with a valuation reaching 470 million USD. This investment institution has been an early investor in several successful tech companies. So, what exceptional qualities does ICN possess to achieve such a high valuation recognition? What unique aspects does this project, which claims to disrupt traditional cloud computing giants, really have? Let's delve into its technology and business logic.

Pain Points of the Traditional Cloud Computing Market

Currently, the cloud computing market is mainly monopolized by a few tech giants, forming a new centralized pattern. This pattern has brought about the following issues:

1. The cost of services is rising year by year, and companies have to accept the increasing expenses of cloud computing.
2. Once users choose a cloud service provider, it becomes difficult to switch because the migration costs are too high.
3. Enterprise data is actually stored on third-party servers, and data sovereignty and security are challenged.

The goal of ICN is to establish a decentralized cloud infrastructure network that helps enterprises regain data sovereignty, reduce costs, and avoid being locked in by specific vendors. This is precisely the core value proposition of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) – to reconstruct traditional infrastructure using blockchain technology and token economics, liberating it from centralized control.

Technical Architecture of ICN

ICN adopts a three-layer decentralized system architecture:

1. Hardware Layer: Contributed by global hardware providers with enterprise-level hardware devices, rather than ordinary PCs or idle computing power. This allows ICN to aggregate a large amount of high-quality computing resources.

2. Service Layer: Service providers build various cloud products on top of hardware resources, emphasizing modularity and composability to promote the emergence of innovative services.

3. Monitoring Layer: Responsible for monitoring and verifying service quality by dedicated nodes, addressing the common "malicious verification" challenge faced by DePIN projects.

These three layers operate in coordination through a proprietary protocol, forming a self-regulating ecosystem. Compared to other storage-type DePIN projects, ICN's decentralized architecture provides a more reliable "anti-cheating system" for cloud services.

Business Strategy

ICN has adopted a strategy of developing its token economy after establishing its business operations. It is reported that the project has already attracted over 1,000 enterprise clients from Europe and the United States, with an annual revenue exceeding $5 million and a growth rate of 2,000%. It is expected that by the end of 2025, the contracted annual recurring revenue will reach $32.7 million.

ICN chooses to focus on storage services as an entry point, concentrating on serving B2B enterprise clients. This strategy helps to form a "data gravity," attracting clients to migrate more computing and network services to the platform. Targeting a client base with strong willingness to pay and stable demand allows ICN to establish a stable cash flow.

Token Economics

The tokenomics design of ICN is highly aligned with its business logic:

1. Hardware providers must stake tokens to access the network, ensuring service quality.
2. Service providers purchase resources using tokens, creating real demand.
3. Monitoring nodes and hardware providers receive token rewards for their contributions.

This design makes the token the "blood" of the network rather than a speculative tool, with its value derived from the scale of actual business. Unlike many DePIN projects that rely on continuous high inflation subsidies, the token economics of ICN are more sustainable.

Team Background

The ICN team has a strong background in Europe and America:

• The co-founder successfully created and listed a gaming company.
• The core team has extensive experience in gaming and cloud storage, and the CTO holds patents related to storage.
• The project has secured $18 million in funding, with investors spanning both Web3 and traditional sectors.

A well-known venture capital fund, as an early investor in several successful technology companies, has further endorsed the development prospects of ICN.

Market Outlook

The global cloud infrastructure market annual revenue is approximately $313 billion, and it is expected to reach $837.97 billion by 2034. ICN's goal is to become the "AWS of Web3," and even capturing a small portion of the market presents significant business opportunities.

ICN represents the forefront of Web3 technology's penetration into core enterprise IT systems. This pragmatic project that integrates the advantages of Web2 and Web3 is paving a more feasible path for the enterprise-level application of blockchain technology.