The DePIN Pledge.
A movement-driven campaign that secured 25+ ecosystem commitments and top-tier media coverage within a week. Positioned Fluence as the facilitator of the entire DePIN ecosystem.
Challenge
DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) was in its infancy and needed a unified voice. Fluence was building decentralized compute infrastructure, but the broader DePIN category lacked coherence. The challenge was to create a movement-driven initiative that could rally builders and communities while positioning Fluence at the center.
What I did
The DePIN Pledge was conceived as a non-aggressive positioning play, inspired by "Intel Inside": a public commitment framework for companies building on fully decentralized infrastructure.
The execution combined a directory of committed companies with NFT badges as proof of participation. The badge format gave the pledge memetic weight in Web3 culture, while the directory provided genuine utility for builders evaluating the ecosystem.
The design was deliberate: taking the pledge was easy, but not taking it became a conspicuous absence. Incumbents who skipped it were implicitly positioned as less committed to decentralization. Competitors had to follow Fluence's framing to stay relevant.
Outcome
25+
pledges secured within the first week
Top-tier press
Media coverage at launch from major crypto outlets
Category owner
Positioned Fluence as the facilitator of the DePIN movement
Competitive moat
Forced competitors to follow Fluence's framing