I’ve been in crypto since 2017. In the Solana trenches, Ethereum alts back pre-2020s, bet big on DeFi in the era when APYs were too long for mobile screen sizes.

Through this time, there’s been an OG infra company doing RPC – and now open data – that’s been around. It wasn’t always a good token (crazy inflation back in the day) – but I’ve been tracking them for a few yrs and IMO there’s a big reason to be bullish.

TLDR: I’m bullish on Pocket Network ($POKT), and here’s why you should be too.

Main point: they’re about to launch the Shannon update which will totally rework the tokenomics, add a new line of business, and most importantly: KILL inflation/new issuance, while introducing token burn tied to usage. That last bit is important: Pocket clears +500m RPC calls every damn day, so we’re looking at a formerly inflationary asset that’s now deflationary.

1. Best Price/Performance for RPC: Pocket’s Web3 Infrastructure Edge

With the Shannon upgrade, POKT becomes the lowest-cost RPC provider in the Web3 space. That’s vs Alchemy, Infura, Quiknode – all of them. They’re not necessarily the best for everything, but they’re about to be the cheapest – up to 75% cheaper competition. dApps NEED RPC infra to exist, and Pocket’s going to be the go-to solution. They already make up a double-digit % of Alchemy’s RPC supply. They’re eating the market and no one knows about it.

2. Token Inflation? Gone. Burn Mechanism + DAO-Controlled Supply

Forget inflation. With burn-to-use tokenomics, every relay burns POKT, driving deflation and linking supply directly to usage. Plus, only the DAO can mint new tokens, ensuring supply remains in check and tied to actual network demand. It’s an EIP-1559-style burn mechanic but with a use-case-driven twist.

3. Expanding into AI & Open Data: POKT Powers LLM training on decentralized data

Pocket’s open data play is pretty interesting. The network will now serve AI inference traffic and fuel LLMs (think LLaMa & DeepSeek training), with a supply side of on and off-chain data providers serving the growing demand of AI builders. This AI boom makes data a premium asset. Payment? All in POKT. The total addressable market (TAM) just went way up, and usage = burn.

TL;DR: Pocket ($POKT) is Positioned to Pop for Growth

1. Best price/performance on RPC: Newly cheapest, most decentralized, censorship-desistant, must-have Web3 infra.
2. From inflationary to deflationary asset: Deflationary loop tied to real-world usage (AKA a “business model” for you non-crypto peeps) = sustainable value
3. AI & Data Expansion: New line of business = new line of burn

POKT is looking solid as a long-term bet with utility-driven tokenomics & real fundamentals. A revenue-generating business model even, but don’t wanna scare anyone away.

Network launch is mid-May, so smart money (and me) are loading up prior. There was already a $2mm volume day this week, so folks are sniffing this out. Get your back, diamond hand through launch and deflation, ???, retire.

Coingecko: Search “pocket network”

Where to trade: ByBit, KuCoin or Orca DEX