Web3 CMO Stories

Unlocking Decentralized Computing: Transforming Your Devices into Income with Domenic Carosa, Co-Founder of Hivello | S5 E03

• Joeri Billast & Domenic Carosa • Season 5

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Join us as we unlock the mysteries of decentralized computing with Domenic Carosa, one of the innovative minds behind Hivello. What if your computer could pay you back? Discover how Hivello transforms ordinary devices into income-generating assets, allowing users to rent out their computing power—just like Airbnb does with homes. Domenic draws intriguing parallels between the rise of DePIN technology and the early days of the internet, inviting you to imagine a future where your CPU, RAM, and GPU work for you, earning DePIN tokens, stablecoins, or even cash.

Experience a seamless journey into Web3—without the usual tech headache. With the Hivello app, getting started is as simple as clicking ‘Download’—no need for Docker or Kubernetes. Our conversation unveils the power of Hivello’s proprietary AI, which personalizes your experience by selecting the best DePIN protocols, and teases the prospect of fiat payments, making this cutting-edge technology accessible to everyone. Plus, learn how running the software continuously can earn you Hivello tokens—ready for staking, saving, or trading.

Peek into the future of the Hivello ecosystem as we discuss post-Token Generation Event (TGE) plans. Imagine a world where stablecoins are integrated, fiat payments become the norm, and Hivello expands to 50 top decentralized networks by 2025. Domenic emphasizes the pivotal role of artificial intelligence and strategic partnerships in optimizing returns. The Hivello team values community engagement, offering platforms like Discord and X for feedback, ensuring the ecosystem evolves with you.

This episode is your gateway to strengthening decentralized networks and experiencing Hivello’s advantages—don’t miss out!

This episode was recorded through a Descript call on February 12, 2025. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/unlocking-decentralized-computing-transforming-your-devices-into-income-with-domenic-carosa-co-founder-of-hivello/

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Domenic:

Crypto, and DePin specifically, is the equivalent of the internet in 1997. So just think of the internet in 1997, facebook and Google and a whole bunch of Amazon. They weren't even born yet as companies. So we're actually still so early in the development of that ecosystem.

Joeri:

Hello everyone and welcome to the Web3 CMO Stories podcast. My name is Joeri Billast and I'm your podcast host, and today I'm really excited to be joined by Dom. Hi Dom, how are you?

Domenic:

Very well and thank you for having me.

Joeri:

Yeah, guys, Dom is the second time he's coming on the podcast. Actually, full name, Dominic Carosa. He's the co-founder and the chairman of Hivello and he has a lot of experience more than 30 years in business and technology, founding and exiting multiple startups like Banksa, Uni. ai, apollo, crypto, and as an agent, investor and founder of Dominant Venture Partners, he has invested in more than 50 tech companies. So, while shaping the future of decentralized infrastructure and Web3 innovation and I met, dom was in Austin at Consensus. I really you know your project was really something that I need to talk to this guy. We made an amazing podcast episode, but maybe you missed it. If not, I will put a link in the show notes if people want to go back to there, because a lot of things have happened in the meantime, Dom.

Domenic:

So, Hivello is DePin aggregator and I'm going to try and get too tecchnical during the podcast. And DePin stands for Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks, and the best way to describe Hivello is we're like Airbnb for your computer. So, for example, with Airbnb, you've got a spare bedroom or a house and you want to rent out. You have an asset that you want to rent out and earn income.

Domenic:

Hivello is basically the same thing, but for your computer, and a computer you can rent out RAM, your CPU, your GPU, your storage, your IP address. So there's all of these aspects of your computer that you can rent out. And deep in is the specific category within Web3. And so the whole premise around Hivello because the space is obviously very complicated and technical is that we allow you to rent your computer through DePIN protocols and you, as a user, are able to earn income, whether it's DePIN tokens, stablecoin or cash.

Joeri:

Yeah, I love that comparison. Actually, it's not specifically for people that are already in Web3, for an everyday user that has a computer that can actually participate in a simple way in DePIN right.

Domenic:

Absolutely.

Domenic:

And for those that are not familiar with what DePIN actually is, I'll give a real-life example.

Domenic:

DePIN as a concept is about 30 or 40 years old, and there was a group out of the US called NASA that was generating a lot of content, a lot of data, through their telescopes, and they didn't have the internal computing power in terms of processing the data, and so they set up an institute called SETI to try and solve this problem, and I remember as a teenager I downloaded the SETI application. Every night I would download some NASA data, raw data it would process and then send it back to NASA, and so that was the first example of what you call distributed computing, and this is obviously pre-blockchain and crypto. And back then the reward was simply if you found a star or a planet, you were actually involved in naming it. Now, with crypto and chain technology, you're able to get paid in tokens for sharing your computer resources. So that concept fast forward to where we are today. There's the second, the deep end, that basically allows you to share your computer resources and get paid and, at the same time, building new forms of infrastructure, particularly decentralized infrastructure.

Joeri:

Yeah, it's actually DePIN is one of the hot topics of what narratives you know in the space these days, and you are not the only one who uses this word DePIN, and is it that that calls himself a deep in company? So then I'm wondering, yeah, what makes Hivello different from other DePIN platforms in the space?

Domenic:

Well, we're actually the largest and I guess we got first ever advantage in the space, and the way it works is actually really simple. So people go to Hivello, they click on Windows, mac or Linux, depending on the type of computer that they have. It downloads the software and the software will work out what kind of RAM, cpu, gpu and I know these are all technical acronyms but basically what kind of computer you have, what country you're in, and then it will install and run the best D-pins on your computer to maximize the ROI. And then over time, we're using an AI agent that will optimize the best D-pins in order to maximize the return. So that's how the software works.

Domenic:

And, from a payment perspective, part of the software is we give people many options. If you're mining six or eight or 10 different D-pins on your computer, you'll be earning D-pin tokens of each of those that you're running on your computer, and so you have a choice as a customer. You can say I want to transfer those tokens to myself eight or ten different tokens or I can convert to stable coin like usdt or usdc, or alternatively, I can get paid directly into my bank account. So that just keeps so, ultimately giving customers an option. And then we've just recently launched the Hivello the, the H-B-L-O token, and so customers of Hivello will also be earning the Hivello token as an extra bonus for using the software, and then what customers can do is that they can stake the Hivello token for a yield and a high percentage of the reward, so effectively creating a circular economy.

Joeri:

Yeah, I love that, and congratulations, by the way, with your TGE, as we call it, the token generation event and the Hivello token. Yeah, maybe can you share some more details about that event and what it means for the ecosystem.

Domenic:

In the let's call it in the traditional equity sense, it would be like listing a company on a stock exchange, but in the blockchain world, you list a token as opposed to the equity, and so we're, as of today, listed on two global exchanges, gateio and MEXCc, and we're also listed on radium, which is a decentralized exchange on solano, and so there are a number of different ways that consumers out there can buy the havelo token as part of becoming part of the ecosystem and then, with that token, if they're a user of havelo, they can stake it and earn a high percentage of the rewards. Or if they're not using Hivello, they can still take the token, stake it and generate a yield through our platform at Hivello.

Joeri:

Yeah, I love that. I love the comparison you know with the stock market and with dividends that you can get there. Maybe for some of our listeners that are maybe new to Hivello or to know these tokens, can you explain a bit more about staking and rewards and how that works?

Domenic:

Yeah. So from a staking perspective, think of it and just to maybe use a real life example is you've got some cash, you go to a bank and you deposit that cash into some kind of term deposit, basically. So you lock your money for a month or six months and you generate a yield or a return on those monies. The same concept also exists in the crypto space, and so at Hivello, we've got basically a number of different ways to use our token. One is obviously through staking, where you stake it and you're able to earn a yield on those tokens.

Domenic:

Alternatively, if you're a user of our software, you're able to stake it and earn a high percentage of the rewards, because we've got a concept a bit like tiers at airlines bronze, silver, gold, platinum so by earning the Hivello token, or buying it and staking it, you go up a tier, which means you're able to earn even more from those deep-in protocols that are running or those deep-in nodes that are running on your machine. A lot of this information is available on our website as well, and we've got a big community on X and also an even bigger community on Discord. That's very, very active, and so if people are new and still getting their dipping their toe in the water. With regards to DePIN, they can certainly not only download our software, but they can join our community and it will basically help and teach them, because it can be a little bit daunting at the start for those that are not aware of how DePIN and crypto actually works.

Joeri:

Yeah, I love that you have this community. Of course is a very important aspect of Web3. And then, yeah, there is lots of talk about in the space, about creating hype and so on, but you want this ever-stable community and I've seen this happening with Hivello, that you're really growing since the last time we met with your community. Yeah, any tips of, any thoughts about that, how the community that you have right now keeps on engaging all the time?

Domenic:

Yeah, as of today, we've got about 18,000 nodes running and that's growing. That's up over 400% since December. So the number of nodes are growing and, conversely, the number of community members is growing as well. And this whole segment of DePIN.

Domenic:

I'm obviously very passionate about it because, in my view, it's Creating decentralized networks goes back to the ethos of the internet. When the internet really began and became main in the mid-90s, everything was decentralized. So if I had built a website, I would host it at home on my computer or at the office, and then, over time, from web one to Web 2, things became much more centralized. And now what's happening? With the advent of blockchain? Things are becoming decentralized again, and for me, that's a very important point, and the reason is because we now, as consumers, as individuals, not only have an ability to be our own bank, whether it's with Bitcoin or other tokens, but we can also be part of running the infrastructure of the future, whether it's storage infrastructure or AI training infrastructure and actually getting rewarded.

Domenic:

When I say rewarded, it's getting paid to run the network Major philosophical change compared to where it's been in the past, and so it just means people. Whether you're in the Western world or in an emerging market, you can actually earn income. And we basically like to say this you can actually make money while you sleep. So you just leave your computer on, let it process all the data a bit like the NASA and SETI example and then earn those particular tokens. And we think that's a really important point in regards to building out decentralized infrastructure and, frankly, I think DePIN as a category will bring in the next 100 million people, web 2 people into web three, that's exciting and yeah, if you can tell, say that to people make money while you're sleeping, that's, you know who wouldn't bump that right.

Joeri:

So if people that are now listening and they are really curious, oh, I want to sign up for Hivello, I want to Hivello. How can they install and start using the Hivello app?

Domenic:

So it's super simple. People go to Hivello. They'll see a screen. They basically click on Windows, mac or Linux, depending upon the system that they're running the software install. They then just have to log in with their username or Gmail, so it's a very simple have to log in with their username or gmail, so it's a very simple process to log in and then the computer, the, the Hivello system, does the rest.

Domenic:

And that's really what we've tried to do because, once again, without wanting to get too technical, but maybe for those web3 users out there, typically if you were to do this without Hivello, you need to download the software. It's likely. You need to use Docker or Kubernetes. One is a containerization, another one is an orchestration platform. Most people don't even know what those platforms are. You need to be able to set up wallets and dealing with private and public keys.

Domenic:

You need to have the native token of that deep in need to have the l1, the layer one for gas you know whether it's solana or ethereum or arbitron and so that respect that takes a lot of time and energy and knowledge on how to actually do it, and so what we've done at Hivello is tried to make the software look and feel like using Spotify or iTunes, basically point and click, and in our view, that's how deep in and how Web3 needs to be in order for it to become mass market where the average person can actually get involved in Web3 as an industry. And so what we're doing and I'm very passionate about this being part of the the process of bringing the next 100 million people into DePIN in the web3 space- yeah, well, and, as you said, it's really easy to install because I have a mac, you know it's it's it's like one, two, three.

Joeri:

You know it's easy to do. But I'm also wondering if people now install the app, how does the app determine which DePIN protocols are the best suited for the user's device?

Domenic:

And that's where I guess our own proprietary data and AI comes in.

Domenic:

And so we've got still a number of steps that we need to take, but what we've done is basically built a once again, without getting too technical built a data cube that our AI will basically look at and try and work out what are the best D-pins to run on each person's machine, so personalizing the D-pin experience based upon existing on-chain data as well as proprietary data that we're generating from all the nodes that are running in the space.

Domenic:

And so, by running Hivello, you're basically dealing with cryptos, you're touching AI, and so there's multiple touch points technology touch points but at the same time, you don't need to know any of that to be able to run Hivello, and so part of our roadmap is you can even download the software you can select to get paid in fiat currency, which means into your bank account, and you don't even need to touch crypto.

Domenic:

So that's part of our roadmap and we think that's important in terms of bringing Web2 users into Web3. And at some point there'll be a percentage of those customers that say actually don't pay me in fiat. I want to understand what a stable coin is, or I want to understand what a DePIN token is and how to use it, and so this is a way that people can actually get involved in crypto without spending any money, because the app is free and we. The way that we make money as an organization is that we take a revenue share of all the tokens that are being mined on your computer. So our interests are aligned with the interests of our customer and it's basically a revenue share type basis, so we're absolutely aligned with our community and our users out there.

Joeri:

So yeah, you don't need an investment to participate. Everyone with a device you know that has, that's some I would say, processor room on their space on their computer, could participate on their device. Now, are there any eligibility criteria for the airdrop of these tokens?

Domenic:

yeah, I should have spoken about the airdrop.

Domenic:

So part of being an early user at Hivello is that you'll be part of the airdrops over the next 12 months and hopefully beyond.

Domenic:

And what an airdrop basically means is that we are rewarding our customers, our community, for running the Hivello software. Above and beyond the DePIN tokens that they're mining, above and beyond the DePIN tokens that they're mining, there's a concept in Web3 DePIN called the cold start, so basically trying to build networks from a cold start, from zero, and so using the DOE and tokens as a way of incentivizing people to install and run the software and actually get paid in this case thelo token and. And so we've got a number of different airdrops. So the way it works from a process perspective is you run havelo and you'll see a little points counter at the top, so you're earning points the more you're running the system, and then at each airdrop we convert those points into Hivello tokens that you can then basically you can stake and a yield, you can just keep them, or you can basically go onto a platform like gate, mexc or radium and actually sell those tokens. So it's up to you as a consumer what you want to do with those Hivello tokens once you've got them.

Joeri:

So I understand there are different ways how to earn these tokens and they are, yeah, I mean, are they distributed? Actually, it's actually when you it's a certain goal or a certain criteria that is met.

Domenic:

Yeah, so all you basically need to do to be part of the airdrop is to be running Habalo on your machine and, frankly, in order to really be part of that ecosystem, it's really important that people keep their computers on 24 by 7.

Domenic:

And this is why we encourage people to use your spare desktop and laptop. Just have it sitting in the corner somewhere of your office or at home. It's basically just connected to power and internet and it will basically be processing all of that data. And then there's a website you log into and you can see the number of points that you've earned. You can see the number of USDT. We actually convert all the D-PIN token earnings into USDT because it's just a common language. Everyone understands USDT basically the US dollar and then, obviously, there will be a Hivello counter at some point in time to show you how many Hivello tokens you earn. But the best thing to do for those people out there that are looking at dipping their toe in the water with regards to DePIN is download Hivello and let the software run and do it itself on your behalf.

Joeri:

Cool. Yeah, I already did that, but people are listening. Be sure to do it. The link will be in the show notes in the podcast article. So you mentioned about periods for the airdrop eligibility, but what happens after that? So will there be additional rewards for people, people that continue contribute with a resource?

Domenic:

Yeah, we've got.

Domenic:

So part of our TG, our token generation event, or listing our token is that we've allocated about a third of all of the tokens, all of the tokens, and so we're talking about billions and billions of tokens that over the next four years, will best and will be used as a way of our community for running the Hivello system.

Domenic:

And so we've got this, this pool of tokens. Basically think of it as end of the day, money, but it's digital money, it's cryptocurrency that we will be using to incentivize people to run the Hivello nodes, run the Hivello system, and and so, you know, with that vest over the next four years. So I'm basically expecting that over the next four years, as we build out the, the business, um, people will get rewarded in the native DePIN tokens that they're mining, as well as the Hivello token. And so, once again, just trying to create a circular economy, because you can then take those DePIN tokens or those Hivello tokens and state them and actually earn a yield and, once again, all of these kinds of features, over time we will implement into the Hivello software, but that way you can once again just set and forget and be part of the ecosystem and, essentially, make money while you sleep.

Joeri:

Yeah, I love that. I see you're very passionate and very ambitious, and so I love that, and I'm also curious, then what is next for Hivello, now that the TGE took place or is taking place? What can users expect in terms of future growth and development of Hivello?

Domenic:

Right now we're continuing to make improvements to our software the ability to pay out in multiple stable coins as well as cash, as in fiat payments into people's bank accounts. That's obviously an important part. Continuing to add new D-pins, new D-pin nodes, into the Hivello software. Right now, as of today, there's seven D-pins that we have integrated. Our target by Christmas 2025 is to have around 50, 50 of the the best dpins integrated into our software. And then, obviously, let AI optimize for maximum ROI and plenty of partnerships. We have a number of partnerships out there. We're working with multiple exchanges and multiple L1s, as in layer one blockchains on multiple partnerships, so it's just a way that we can get the Havolo brand out there and, at the same time, continuing to build our community, because really, the community is at the backbone of what we're doing in the space, and so we've got a very active community on Discord, even on X. But Discord is where people get obviously very vocal, which is great because, as I say, the feedback is the breakfast of champions and we love getting feedback from our customers because ultimately, we are creating the product for the community and so getting the feedback and that feedback loop is super important to us. Feedback and that feedback loop is is super important to us and but at the same time, we are just so early in the development of this ecosystem.

Domenic:

I was at a, because sometimes people say you know about crypto and and also deep in is. Have I missed out? Is it too late? And I was actually at a conference and it was a lady from a research firm and she gave the analogy just in terms of the number of users. Crypto and deep in specifically, is the equivalent of the internet in 1997. So just think of the internet in 1997 facebook and google and and a whole bunch of amazon they weren't even born yet as as companies. So we're actually still so early in the development of that ecosystem and this is why it pays to be early and on the leading edge. And ultimately, what we're doing at Hivello is helping bring web 2 users into web 3, because obviously we're very passionate about decentralization, giving people an option to be their own bank and build and run their own infrastructure and getting paid for it. So you know, ultimately cutting out the middleman, or the middle corporations, as we like to say so, yeah, that's a good message at the end of the episode there.

Joeri:

So it's, it's. We are still very early, so you need to make your feet wet, as I always say. Say and start diving in with a solution like Hivello, which makes it really easy to start being a part of Web3. I think that's a good step to do. Any last message that you want to give to our audience, Domenic?

Domenic:

I think you summed it up really well as a way of getting your feet wet, which is download the software, start the process, see how easy it is. Just to give you some insight in terms of stats, as of yesterday when I looked at the data, one person is running on average 1.8 Hivello nodes. So what does that mean? And this is once again feedback that we got from the community, I set up a node at home on my computer and I'll set up one up at my girlfriend's house, my aunties and uncles, my parents house, my sister's house, and so we've actually got people in the community that are running multiple nodes across multiple people and just basically managing that whole process. And and that's all really important because the more computers there are millions of computers around the world that are forming part of decentralized networks the stronger those networks are and ultimately, the more revenue that will flow into DePIN.

Joeri:

Well, yeah, that totally makes sense, of course, and it's a really good sign that people they try with one device and then they put it on another device because they see it's, it's working and that's and they are excited. Yeah, I think you're building something really amazing, dom. Now, if people okay they can go to the website, I guess they can try out. They want to try out Hivello, if they, they want to join the communities and so on. Yeah, where would you like me to send them as a first step?

Domenic:

Go to Hivello. com and from there you can go to X, Discord or Telegram and then just be part of our community, and we encourage as many people to join as possible.

Joeri:

Amazing. Well, dom, it was such a pleasure to have you on the podcast again. Thank you very much for having me. Guys, what an amazing episode, and I just love how Dom explains this concept in easy terms, in simple terms, so actually there is no reason why you shouldn't make your feet wet, as we always say, and try out Evalo, because it's just a no-brainer. So if you think this episode and Evalo is really interesting for users or people around you friends, family, other entrepreneurs, marketers be sure to share this episode with them. If you're not yet following the show, this is a really good moment to do this. If you haven't given me a review yet, these five stars would help me reach an even and, of course, I would like to see you back next time. Take care.

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