Blockchain Infrastructure Provider Looks To Bring Retail to Web3

Emrit is hoping to appeal to retail customers with passive income and real-world use cases

article-image

Blockworks exclusive art by axel rangel

share
  • Bringing real-world use cases front and center is key to adoption, especially on the retail side, Emrit said
  • The company offers cryptocurrency mining infrastructure to retail and business clients that allows them to earn passive income

Jiten Varu, CEO of distributed blockchain infrastructure company Emrit, knows that there is some skepticism around cryptocurrency. A great way to onboard the unconvinced? Show them the money.

The company offers cryptocurrency mining infrastructure to retail and business clients with an emphasis on energy-efficient solutions that allows them to earn passive income. The focus is on bringing what Emrit calls “distributed infrastructure” to communities, Varu told Blockworks.

The key to appealing to clients, especially retail consumers, is to focus on the tangible, Varu said.

“When you talk about Web3, it’s still very virtual for most people,” he said. “They don’t see the real use case.”

“What we’re finding is our retail customer is connecting to these projects very quickly because we’re bridging that gap between the physical and Web3 world.” 

Customers pay a one-time fee of $199 for the miner and receive 50% of earnings, which are deposited into the user’s wallet once a month. Emrit was unable to comment on average award amounts per user. 

“This is not a coin-focused or currency-focused crypto project, and that’s the first thing we try to educate our retail customers on,” he said. “It’s a passive income, not like day trading Dogecoin.” 

Emrit works with existing blockchains, Varu said. Its biggest project at the moment is with Helium, a decentralized wireless network commonly known for powering “internet of things” (IoT) devices with cryptocurrency. 

In 2021, Emrit deployed tens of thousands of Helium hotspots to consumers and enterprises in North America and Europe, and now it has its sights set on expansion in Latin America. 

To that end, Emrit in December struck a deal with telecommunications company C3ntro of Mexico City to supply Helium IoT to cryptocurrency miners, giving users a new way to generate revenue. 

“Our partnership with Emrit allows us to deploy new, innovative solutions to our customers at a fraction of capex associated with a typical IoT deployment,” Abraham Smeke, C3ntro vice president of global carriers.

Under the partnership, Emrit subsidizes network deployment costs with cryptocurrency mining rewards.

“Our consumer and enterprise hosts have earned tens of millions in [helium] cryptocurrency rewards over the last year, for simply providing a steady internet connection and electricity equivalent to a 5-watt light bulb,” Varu said. “As we look to hyperscale our business, partnerships with C3ntro will significantly speed the adoption of Web3 applications.”

Demand has been strong, particularly from the retail side, he said, but it’s not a way to generate riches overnight. 

“This is passive income that requires very little support and maintenance,” Varu said. “That’s the draw.” 

The partnership with C3ntro comes on the heels of Emrit’s collaboration with PlanetWatch, a global air-quality monitoring system using blockchain and IoT. In June 2021, Emrit partnered with the company to fund the deployment of thousands of air quality monitors to be hosted by Emrit hotspots. 

The partnership allows PlanetWatch to save climate data on the blockchain, increasing transparency and security.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Flashnote Template (41).png

Research

We believe that few tokens at the application layer are diverging more from fundamentals than ZORA. Its fully-diluted P/S sits at 90x, pricing significant growth despite a consistent decline in weekly revenues since late July. We foresee an 80% decrease in protocol net margins due to a recent update to the fee structure that reduces trading fees from 3% to 1%, while boosting creators’ portion of the fee split. ZORA’s supply overhang also represents a near-term headwind, with 45% of ZORA’s supply (4.5B tokens or $350M at current prices) earmarked for the team & investors beginning to unlock on October 23, 2025 (36-month linear vesting schedule).

article-image

Insiders have the best information — markets should be willing to pay for it

article-image

The CFTC-regulated exchange is opening doors to crypto builders and traders through grants, partnerships, and new deposit options

by Blockworks /
article-image

DFS tells banking organizations to integrate blockchain monitoring tools to curb money laundering and sanctions risks

by Blockworks /
article-image

New short and long-term priorities include L1 gas boosts, ZK-EVMs, privacy reads, and a lean, quantum-resistant Ethereum

by Blockworks /
article-image

The new stBTC token redistributes Bitcoin gas fees to users, creating liquid yield without inflation or lockups

by Blockworks /
article-image

The reserve will collect protocol revenues to back W token, alongside new yield and unlock schedule

by Blockworks /