The DePIN sector is emerging as blockchain’s next frontier, connecting physical infrastructure with digital networks. At Token2049 Singapore, BeInCrypto sat down with Markus Levin, Co-Founder of XYO Network. His vision centers on making verifiable real-world data accessible for AI and Web3 applications.
XYO recently launched its own XYO Layer One blockchain after seven years as a decentralized data company. With over 10 million nodes spanning nearly every country, the network tackles location verification challenges, data validation bottlenecks, and prohibitive costs, among numerous other data processing issues inherent to holder blockchains. Levin’s ambitious goal: position XYO Layer One as the definitive blockchain for AI-ready data infrastructure.
XYO recently launched the XYO Layer One blockchain. After seven years in operation, what drove you to build your own Layer-1, and what fundamental gaps in the existing blockchain landscape does it address?
For years, XYO has operated as a data infrastructure company in the blockchain space. Our middleware technology connected the physical world to digital systems and other blockchains, providing verifiable data through innovations like Proof of Origin and Proof of Location.
But throughout that time, no one built a Layer One that was truly data-centric. Every major blockchain focused on transactions, moving tokens from one wallet to another, rather than building a foundation for validated, real-world data.
With the rise of AI, that gap has become even more critical. Reliable data is now the most valuable resource, yet the infrastructure to verify and process it on-chain still did not exist. That is why we built XYO Layer One from the ground up, a blockchain purpose-built for data, powered by the technologies we have been developing over the past seven years.
With the rollout of the dual-token model, one for governance and the other for utility, how do you envision the balance of incentives among node operators, developers, and enterprise clients in your ecosystem?
We built our dual-token model between the XYO token, which is more than seven years old, and our newly released XL1 token in a way that they both strengthen each other—we call them yin and yang. XYO is external to the Layer-1. It’s for the DePIN, the ecosystem, for the rewards and contributor rewards, for staking XYO Layer One for security, governance, and so on. It’s the governance and DePIN network token, and you can stake it in XYO Layer One to earn XL1 tokens. The XL1 token is a gas and transaction token for dApps inside of XYO Layer One, so it’s always internal. You stake XYO to get XL1. Already a few percent of XYO are staked of the total supply, and we are very excited about the growth we see there. That restricts the XYO supply. Then on the XL1 side, we see tokens get burned as we have transactions on the XYO Layer One because with every transaction the gas fee gets burned. So basically both tokens strengthen each other.
AI, logistics, and real-time data analytics industries have been highlighted as primary benefactors of XYO’s technology. Can you share examples of recent industry pilots or partnerships leveraging XYO Layer One’s capabilities?
We recently announced our partnership with a company called Piggycell from South Korea. They have 98 percent share of the mobile charging market and are a Web2 company moving into Web3. They have charging stations in bars, restaurants, and convenience stores. We are working on providing Proof of Location for their charging stations and for the users of their devices, so that you can prove it’s where it’s supposed to be, and the user didn’t run off with the charging cable. We also plan to tokenize the data generated there.
How does XYO’s approach to verifiable real-world data overcome the limitations and reliability concerns of centralized location solutions and other blockchain oracles?
Here’s an example of the Pokémon Go game. I had several calls with its maker, Niantic, and the problem was that a bunch of kids sat in their basement spoofing their location and pretending to be in the Sahara to get the rarest Pokémon. This destroys the gameplay for fair players.
It’s just a game, but think about something with higher value like automated supply chains, smart cities, or self-driving cars. You want to ensure that your location can’t be spoofed or mass spoofed, and that’s what we’re here for. We also do that for other DePINs. For example, you can prove that the weather station you say is on your roof is really there, not somewhere else. For us, it’s all about collecting and providing certainty around the data so it can’t be spoofed or hacked. You can prove that the data came from the temperature sensor or a location sensor, for example.
XYO boasts over 10 million nodes globally. What are the current priorities for expanding developer engagement and incentivizing long-term participation in your ecosystem?
We have more than 10 million nodes in almost every country. We looked into all those nodes and saw we’re also in every African country. There are about half a million nodes in Africa now. DePIN is transforming the world. We are motivated by collecting data from underserved communities to prevent biases in AI.
For example, we translated our website into many languages, one of which was Amharic, the primary language of Ethiopia, with about 57 million speakers. ChatGPT made many mistakes with translation, and we were curious why. That was because Ethiopia is not a priority country for ChatGPT—it’s not where they earn the most money. But we think it’s crucial for data collection. You need to avoid biases in AI to make them truly the voices of humanity.
We have a new feature in the COIN App which allows you to stake your COIN—the points you earn by using the app—for XL1. We have a campaign, and people love that. When there are economic incentives, they are excited about it. The main staking is from XYO to the XYO Layer One to earn XL1. People see that they can stake in the COIN App. Then they realize they have XYO because they redeemed their COIN points for XYO. It’s to show them what they have and to get them educated.
XYO was the original DePIN project and now sits at the intersection of DePIN, DeFi, and AI. What ambitious milestones or use cases do you aim to achieve next year? How will these solidify XYO’s role as data infrastructure for the digital economy?
We want to be the blockchain for AI data. We are onboarding our own DePIN network and providing more features to enable that. Then, we onboard our third-party partners to onboard many companies into our XYO Layer One ecosystem because we can already show our 10 million nodes and generate so much data. We are going to on board the data world into the next revolution. That’s our big mission. It’s an exciting time to be in DePIN. According to the World Economic Forum, DePIN will grow from about 50 million to 3.5 trillion by 2028. It’s going to be momentous.
The Road Ahead: Building the Data Economy
Blockchain is evolving beyond finance. XYO’s Layer-1 infrastructure represents a strategic bet on verified data as the foundation of the AI-driven economy, deploying over 10 million nodes globally. The DePIN sector is projected to reach $3.5 trillion in the next three years. The company has positioned itself at the intersection of three transformative technologies.
The challenge ahead lies in converting this early-mover advantage into sustained developer adoption and enterprise partnerships. XYO’s seven-year journey has given it a head start in a race that’s only beginning.
