What is Piggycell? Animoca Brands leads a $10 million financing round, an analysis of the value of the DePIN + RWA track newcomer.

On October 15, 2025, Korean shared power bank giant Piggycell officially completed its token generation event (TGE), combining its vast offline business with a blockchain economic model, becoming one of the most关注 cases in the DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) track. With a 95% market share in South Korea, 4 million paying users, and a multi-million dollar investment from Animoca Brands, is this project truly a disruptive innovation or just another overhyped Web3 concept? This article will delve into its business model, token economy, and potential risks based on existing public information.

What is Piggycell?

Piggycell is essentially a DePIN project that transforms the physical shared power bank network into a blockchain-based one. As the absolute leader in the South Korean market, the project has over 14,000 sites, more than 100,000 devices, and a paid user base exceeding 4 million. Its core positioning is to build a decentralized physical infrastructure network through RWA (real world asset) tokenization and NFT asset binding.

Technical Architecture adopts a multi-chain solution: primarily based on BNB Chain to issue PIGGY Token, while integrating opBNB as the event recording layer, Internet Computer (ICP) hosts the core smart contracts, and collaborates with XYO Network to provide geolocation verification services. This design aims to balance transaction efficiency, cost, and functional diversity.

The core issue addressed by the project is the concentration of asset ownership and the lack of transparency in profit distribution within the traditional sharing economy. By binding each charging device to an NFT, Piggycell enables ordinary users to directly participate in infrastructure investment and share profits, achieving a paradigm shift from “platform ownership” to “community sharing.”

Core Innovation Analysis

RWA Tokenization Model

The most disruptive innovation of Piggycell lies in its RWA tokenization mechanism. Each physical charging station is mapped as an on-chain NFT, with holders entitled to the revenue rights of the device. According to the project design, 70% of the rental income will be directly allocated to NFT holders, creating a revenue model based on real cash flow.

Compared to traditional DePIN projects, Piggycell's unique advantage is:

• Verified Revenue Base: Revenue exceeding 10 billion KRW (approximately 7.5 million USD) in 2023 provides substantial support for the token value.
• Dual-track Incentive System: Combining “Charge-to-Earn”, “Occupy-to-Earn” and “Challenge-to-Earn” mechanisms, while incentivizing users to contribute through usage and behavior.
• Real-time profit distribution: Automatically executed through smart contracts to ensure transparency and timeliness in profit distribution.

DePIN and gamification integration

Another innovation of the project is the combination of physical infrastructure operations with gamification elements. Users not only earn PGC token rewards by renting portable chargers, but they can also gain additional income by “restocking” in areas with device shortages. The recent public beta handled over 9.4 million on-chain transactions, demonstrating the scalability of its technical architecture.

Token Economics Analysis

Distribution Structure Analysis

The maximum supply of PIGGY Token is 100 million coins, with the specific distribution ratio as follows:

• Ecosystem Reserve: 60% - Used for long-term ecological incentives and network development
• Funding: 20% - Allocated to investment institutions, including Animoca Brands and others.
• Team: 7% - Core team allocation, usually with a lock-up period.
• Contributors: 7% - Early contributors and advisor rewards
• NFT Incentive: 3% - Specifically for NFT-related reward mechanisms
• Market: 3% - Marketing and promotion budget

Critique and questioning

Although the token economic model seems reasonable, there are several key issues:

1. Ecological reserve ratio is too high: The 60% ecological reserve ratio lacks a clear release timetable and specific usage details, which may lead to significant potential selling pressure in the future. According to existing public information, the unlocking mechanism and governance supervision for this portion have not been clearly disclosed.
2. Initial Circulation Volume is Opaque: The TGE has been completed, but reliable data on the initial circulating market value and fully diluted valuation (FDV) is hard to find in public channels, which poses a challenge for investors to assess a reasonable valuation.
3. The team token lock-up period is unknown: Although the team allocation accounts for only 7%, the specific unlock schedule and lock-up conditions have not been disclosed, increasing the risk of early investors facing sudden sell-offs by the team.
4. Sustainability of Returns in Question: Token rewards heavily rely on the growth of physical business. If the Korean market becomes saturated or global expansion is hindered, high return promises may be difficult to maintain.

Ecological Support and Market Heat

Investment Endorsement Value

Piggycell has received strong support from top Web3 investment institutions:

• Animoca Brands: Led a $10 million seed round, providing not only funding but also access to its vast gamification and metaverse ecosystem resources.
• DWF Labs: Participated in investments, providing expertise in market making and liquidity management.
• Internet Computer (ICP): Strategic investment and technology integration through the Olympus Accelerator Program.

These endorsements not only provide financial security but, more importantly, offer projects a pathway for global expansion and opportunities for technological integration. However, the anticipated exit of investors may also become a source of pressure on future prices.

Partner Network

The ecological collaboration of the project is equally impressive:

• XYO Network: Provides location proof and data verification services to ensure the authenticity and reliability of physical device data.
• IoTeX: DePIN professional technical cooperation to enhance device connectivity and data processing capabilities
• Galxe and XPIN Network: Support community building and user growth plans

The actual integration depth and resource investment of these collaborations still need time to be validated, and some collaborations may still be in the early stages.

Potential Opportunities and Core Risks Coexist

opportunity point

1. Huge market potential: The global shared power bank market is expected to reach $25.09 billion by 2033, and the DePIN track is a trillion-level blue ocean.
2. Clear first-mover advantage: The monopoly position in the South Korean market provides stable cash flow and operational experience for global expansion.
3. Real Revenue Support: Unlike traditional purely conceptual crypto projects, Piggycell has verifiable revenue and user base.
4. Narrative Advantage: Occupying both the RWA and DePIN hot tracks simultaneously makes it easy to gain market attention.

risk points

1. Lack of Transparency in Team Information: Based on the existing public information, the specific identity background information of the core members of the founding team is limited, which increases the uncertainty of project execution.
2. Global Expansion Challenges: The success in the South Korean market may not be replicable in other regions, facing localization competition and policy differences.
3. Token model stability: Complex incentive mechanisms require precise balance; otherwise, they may lead to inflationary pressure or incentive failure.
4. Regulatory Uncertainty: RWA tokenization is still in a regulatory gray area globally, and policy changes may affect business models.
5. Technical Execution Risk: The cross-chain architecture and multi-system integration increase technical complexity, and any failure may affect user experience and revenue distribution.

Conclusion and Strategy Recommendations

Piggycell represents a rare case in the DePIN field that has substantial business support. Its attempt to combine traditional profitable business with a blockchain economic model is commendable. However, the high ecological reserve ratio, lack of transparency regarding the team, and uncertainty in global expansion pose significant risks.

Based on comprehensive analysis, the following strategic recommendations are provided for investors with different risk appetites:

Radical Investor:

• Consider moderately accumulating positions after the token is listed on mainstream CEX, with a focus on the project's global expansion progress and the actual contributions of partners.
• Participate in NFT-related activities and share physical profits through device ownership, but strict control of position ratio is required.

Conservative Investor:

• Wait for the data validation after the token economic model runs for 1-2 cycles, especially make decisions after the ecological reserve release mechanism is clarified.
• Follow-up on the further disclosure of team background information and the enhancement of transparency regarding token locking situation.

Conservative Investor:

• Temporarily observing, focusing on the project's replication ability in markets outside of South Korea and quarterly financial data.
• Consider participating only after a clear regulatory framework is established and the stability of the token economy is proven.

The key to Piggycell's success lies in whether it can effectively globalize the validated model from the South Korean market while maintaining the long-term balance of the token economy. For the entire DePIN track, this project will become an important benchmark for verifying the practical feasibility of combining physical infrastructure with Blockchain.