The party might be over for DePIN pioneers Helium (HNT) and Filecoin (FIL) as fear creeps back into the market. Both tokens are now slumped against critical, long-standing support levels, and a break lower could get ugly fast.
The whole narrative around building real-world crypto infrastructure, once seen as the next sure thing, is being tested. A nasty mix of a shaky global economy and problems unique to each project is squeezing their valuations.
DePIN’s promise to use crypto incentives for everything from cell service to cloud storage pulled in a mountain of cash and attention over the last year. However, the transition from hype to a profitable business is proving to be a brutal one.
For Helium and Filecoin, two of the biggest names in the space, this struggle is now painted starkly across their price charts.
Helium (HNT) – Line in the sand
Helium’s chart tells a story of a long, painful grind down to a make-or-break zone. Technical traders are watching this one with hawk eyes, knowing the next move could define its trend for months.
- Line in the sand – All eyes are on the $3.10 to $3.20 area. This zone has acted as a floor multiple times in 2025. A clean slice through it would likely trigger a cascade of stop-losses.
- If the floor gives way – The next real hope for buyers isn’t until around $2.80.
- To get out of this mess – HNT has to reclaim the $4 psychological barrier. Clearing that could give bulls the confidence to step back in.
Source: HNT/USD, TradingView
The disconnect for Helium is between its impressive physical growth and its sluggish economy. On paper, things look great. Hotspots are popping up everywhere since the project moved to Solana, with the IoT network now counting over 375,000 active units.
Big-name partnerships with giants like AT&T and Telefónica, who use the network to patch coverage gaps, also look good in press releases. Even Helium Mobile is signing up more users, which in turn burns more HNT for network credits.
However, here’s the problem – Who is actually using the network? Demand for data transfers has failed to materialize at the scale everyone hoped for. The dirty secret is that most network fees (burned HNT) come from people paying to onboard new hotspots, not from a thriving economy of devices paying to send data. That’s a fundamentally unbalanced system.
Filecoin (FIL) – A foundation shows cracks!
Filecoin, the supposed titan of decentralized storage, is in just as much trouble. The token is poking at a foundational price floor that has held for years, and a failure here could be catastrophic.
- Last stand – For FIL, the $2.30 to $2.75 range is everything. A weekly candle closing below this would invalidate the bullish case for many long-term holders.
- Next stop down – A breakdown from here puts the $1.96 – $2.00 area squarely in the bears’ sights.
- An uphill battle – To reverse the damage, FIL needs to claw its way back above the $2.75 to $3.25 zone, an old floor that’s now become a ceiling.
Source: FIL/USD, TradingView
Under the hood, Filecoin is trying to reinvent itself. The Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM) was supposed to be its salvation, finally letting developers build DeFi and other smart contract applications on top of all that storage. It’s a strategic pivot to become the go-to hard drive for AI and Web3, and it’s even snagged collaborations with major ecosystems like Solana.
Even with these upgrades, Filecoin can’t seem to escape its own inflation. The network constantly prints new FIL to pay storage providers, creating a relentless wave of potential sell pressure.
For the price to go up, demand for storage and block space has to grow faster than this new supply. The FVM is designed to help by creating new ways to use and lock up FIL. However, the market’s answer, so far, has been a resounding “not enough.”
Wake-up call for the sector
What’s happening to HNT and FIL is a reality check for the entire DePIN space. The dream of a world run on decentralized hardware is powerful, but dreams don’t pay the bills. These projects are now fighting to prove their economic models work in a fiercely competitive arena. Helium has privacy-focused rivals like Pollen Mobile to worry about, while Filecoin is in a multi-front war with Arweave’s permanent storage and Storj’s appeal to corporate clients.
Pouring salt on the wound is a macro climate that has zero appetite for risky tech bets. When interest rates are high and uncertainty rules, money flees from speculative assets. Tokens like HNT and FIL have to do more than just exist; they need to generate real, predictable revenue to survive.
For both projects, it boils down to this – Start generating real, sustainable demand or watch the charts bleed out. Traders are holding their breath; a bounce here could signal a heroic reversal, but a break could unleash a new wave of selling that drags the whole sector down with it.