Blockchain may have received its largest exposure as distributed registry technology at the base of cryptocurrency trade, but its use cases are advancing in other data-driven industries or in the supply chain that pursue the Internet of Things.
This is why a blockchain supplier like Ripple recently dedicated $ 50 million to the Blockchain Research Initiative in an attempt to accelerate the progress of the rationalization of bank payment infrastructure and regulatory and compliance automation for the 39; use of cryptocurrency.
"Banks are interested in this because if technology had proven to work, it would have interrupted the financial services industry," said Joe Renz, president of New Mobility Lab. "There are very different approaches and some companies use generalized accounting technology. because they can do things very differently from the traditional reader. "
Data can easily be monetized by combining it with other technologies via blockchain. This will attract the attention of traditional financial services and payment providers, Renz added during the annual IoT summit.
The growing number of companies creating and issuing their own currency using blockchain has produced a lot of market volatility. It makes it difficult for traditional financial services to watch over and make the jump to the blockchain.
Canadian bankers involved in the Jasper Project to determine the potential for blockchain and the return on investment compared to current legacy systems have advised financial institutions to proceed with caution with a move to the distributed ledger.
"Stability from a business perspective means that you need to know what will cost you something," said Jeff Weitzman, vice president of IoT's commercial strategy at Nokia.
In terms of transparency, blockchain can record IoT data for any number of uses, including knowing how much it costs to use light bulbs and other services in a meeting room to help precisely determine what it should cost to rent that room.
Much of the financial and business world is based on the final results and the blockchain can provide transparency and stability, added Weitzman.
A true machine-to-machine economy requires two machines that have never previously interacted to communicate with each other and possibly consume transactions, said Mike Mackey, chief technology officer at Technology Centers.
Common examples include refrigerators that can monitor the need for certain items and order them for the owner, or stand-alone cars that can make payments to any number of machines, including parking meters, fuel pumps or service needs.
"We will get to the point where a car could try to buy something from another machine – and many organizations are examining these options," Mackey said.
Emphasizing that many aspects of IoT and its marriage to the blockchain must be resolved, Mackey cited an example in his hometown of Seattle, where an automobile is probably automated to make a payment to a computer in a garage and does it with the same amount on a regular basis.
"But if suddenly there was a NFL football game nearby one night, and the parking price will rise to $ 60 for that event," Mackey said. "I'm not sure I want my car to make this decision to make me pay the extra money, so it presents an IoT challenge."