As the use of blockchain becomes more widespread, many are starting to establish new ways to leverage distributed ledger technology. Although blockchain has been most traditionally associated with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, its core technologies are applicable far beyond finance and investment. Recently, many new companies have started to explore the potential of linking decentralized networks and data and create new platforms that connect IoT devices through the use of tokenization and smart contracts. One of the most prominent companies in the industry is Streamr. But what can these platforms offer that traditional centralized cloud based services can’t?
To start, decentralized networks also offer similar on-demand scalability, minimal up-front investment and benefits from economies of scale. However, what sets these networks apart is the lack of a centralized party; they are by definition peer-peer, which through the use of blockchain encryption allows added security and an increase in transaction speeds. It also benefits from network effects, as the network grows a shared standard is formed across industries, making it even safer and efficient. What makes the technology really exciting is the potential for transactions to be made in between IoT devices, bypassing human intervention. For example, a self-driving electric car that is connected to the Streamr network can use tokens to purchase real-time traffic congestion data, electricity price data of nearby charging stations and weather forecasts for the area; all the while funding these purchases by automatically selling data back to the network.
Because the implementation of decentralization is so novel and complex, many companies like Streamr are still trying to fully implement the technology and deliver on the promise of full decentralization. However, even with the current limitations, the potential that decentralized data networks hold could fundamentally change how data is produced, monetized and integrated with IoT devices.
Source: https://streamr.network/docs/introduction
Love the article! Currently, the application of blockchain technology is still largely centered around crypto and blockchain is past the peak of hypened expectations on the gartner hype cycle. What comes after is usually a more mature version of a product. What do you think is the biggest challenge that blockchain challenge needs to over come to become a more mature product and create large scale value in industries outside of crypto?
I really interested in the topic. I started to invest in crypto recently and so I got interested in entire world of blockchain. I believe blockchain can represent one of the most useful innovation of these decades. A part from the crypto world the blockchain technology can be applied in several distinct field such as smart contracts, cross border payment, identity and data security and many others. we are only at the beginning of the exploration of this great new world, as you said many companies and start-up are now testing a try to implement the blockchain technology in order to improve their business. for example the start-up Doc.ai is try to implement artificial intelligence and blockchain tech in a platform that combines a patient’s medical data from pharmacies, hospitals, doctor visit etc etc under one secure app. The app allows patients to manage all their personal medical data and get prediction about their risk for future disease. Until now due to its complexity and it relatively short life blockchain are still a niche topics, but in the next years I’m sure we will observe many progress and application of those technologies in many business. Blockchain will be mainstream in the next decade.