DePINed podcast Building a Decentralized Connectivity Layer for DePIN | Jason Brink, Datagram (#72)
Dec 18, 2025
Jason Brink, Co-founder and CEO of Datagram, shares insights on building decentralized infrastructure networks. He discusses why most DePIN projects fail and highlights Datagram's robust model that supports B2B services like voice and video. The conversation reveals how Datagram utilizes a buy-and-burn token model for sustainability and transparency. Jason also emphasizes the importance of genuine user engagement and outlines future plans for VPN and AI services. With over 400 B2B clients, Datagram is setting a new standard in decentralized connectivity.
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Real Nodes Over Token-Dispensing Nodes
- Datagram builds nodes that actually serve real traffic rather than 'heartbeat' token dispensers.
- They position as a decentralized alternative to AWS focusing on UDP voice/video now and TCP storage/hosting later.
From Gala's DHT To Datagram
- Jason recounts building the Gala Founders Node Network that handled ~85% of DHT routing for IPFS.
- He left Gala to build Datagram to make DePIN work for real customers rather than token-only projects.
Core Substrate For Transparent Metrics
- Datagram created the Core Substrate to give other DePIN projects on-chain uptime and usage tracking for free.
- This makes token distributions transparent and lets networks interoperate and earn additional revenue.