The Review Of Blockchain Projects For IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) is just beginning to integrate into the daily life of society. Bitnewstoday studied several crypto projects from this sphere and shared the opinion about their future.

Why do things need the Internet and where is the blockchain

In the future, people expect multi-cookers that prepare the right dish before the owner arrives, a refrigerator that orders food, and traffic lights that adapt to traffic. The Internet of Things is a system that links gadgets into one network without human intervention. For example, a sandwich maker prepares a sandwich not by pressing the “Start” button, but when a person wants to eat a fresh sandwich. Accordingly, we need the same smart bracelet, which counts the impulses in the brain and sends a signal via WiFi to the sandwich maker.

The technology will be applied not only in everyday life but also in the manufacturing, service industries, etc. So far these are just plans, but experts have no doubt that the development of the smart gadgets is only a matter of time. The first “thing” was connected to the Internet not so long ago, in 1990, when MIT graduate John ROMKI connected his toaster to the Internet. The term “Internet of Things” was adopted in 1999, and after another 10 years, the number of things connected to the Internet exceeded the number of people on the planet.

Nevertheless, a protocol is needed for the M2M segment (machine to machine) to ensure uninterrupted access to the Internet, synchronization of gadgets with each other and without overloading the network. The essence of interest of crypto projects to IoT is based on the features of the Internet of Things industry and requirements for the technology on which business processes are established:

• the constant presence of smart things in human life;
• the high number of transactions within the network;
• device synchronization;
• high-speed processing operations;
• zero or extremely low fees when processing transactions online.

It is important that the role of a human is in setting goals, not processes. The owner sets the results, which is essentially different from the classical mechanics of working with devices. In other words, the owner of the device must adjust the items in accordance with the logic: if A, then B. If you woke up, the coffee maker makes coffee, if hungry, the sandwich maker makes a sandwich. If the exam is coming soon, then YouTube videos recommend educational videos.

This means that the devices themselves must acquire more electricity, bandwidth, space for data when they need it, and, possibly, dismiss these resources when they do not need them.

The essence of the projects on the blockchain is that they can offer cheap transactions with high processing speed. It is not surprising that there are already at least 50 such projects, since the blockchain and some of its analogues are harmoniously combined with the Internet of Things based on the essence of both technologies. We present an overview of the most popular ICOs in the IoT sector.

IOTA

Website: https://www.iota.org
Current place for cryptocurrency capitalization: 18
Date of listing: 06/13/2017
Current ROI since listing: –52.10%

The most popular cryptocurrency from the Internet of Things sector. At the time of its appearance, it immediately broke into eighth place in the rating of CoinMarketCap. IOTA's mission is to become a machine-to-machine transaction platform. To do this, devices on the network need to allocate and share resources efficiently themselves. For this, a directed acyclic graph (DAG) is used, in particular its Tangle type. To complete a transaction, you must confirm the previous two. Work in the Internet of Things involves a constant connection between gadgets, so the company considered that the transaction fees in the blockchain are too high. Tangle does not use mining, but uses Proof of Work for validation, so there are no transaction fees within the network.

Despite the advantages of Tangle, the technology has its drawbacks. IOTA works with low power nodes, so it is technically not very difficult to suppress the power of the entire graph. IOTA also uses SHA-3 hash function, which means its experimental nature. An example of its unreliability is hacking of the IOTA protocol, which was later confirmed bythe developers. In addition, in 2017, the entire IOTA network was completely shut down for three days, and this also proves the vulnerabilities and flaws.

IOTA has been developing since 2015, some of the functions have already been implemented, some are under development. Previously, the company was seen in speculations about partnerships with top companies, which were later not confirmed, but some, such as Bosch, confirmed their interest in IOTA.

Iotex

Website: https://www.iotex.io
Current place for cryptocurrency capitalization: 144
Date of listing: 05/25/2018
Current ROI since listing: –75.28%

Similarly to IOTA, IoTeX creates a platform for the Internet of Things. Due to numerous subchains, the IoTeX blockchain is able to withstand the sufficient load for multiple transactions in the IoT sector. IoTeX is full of technical intricacies, its details are not easy to convey to potential customers and partners and are even harder to implement. There are several Science Doctors in the team, which is not always beneficial for the project, though cannot be called a minus. Like most blockchains, the IoTeX token is a “gas” that drives transactions. The project roadmap is scheduled until the end of 2019, according to the official website, and the main network has already been launched.

IoT chain

Website: https://iotchain.io
Current place for cryptocurrency capitalization: 219
Date of listing: 12/10/2017
Current ROI since listing: –73.33%

Like other projects, IoT Chain also solves the problems of speed of information exchange and instant synchronization, which is extremely important for the Internet of Things, as well as security and privacy. The project is built on the DAG, as well as IOTA. Users can also sell their data for tokens, although IoT Chain places greater emphasis on security and ownership of this data compared to competitors.

Back in 2018, IoT Chain won the Blockchain Excellence Award at the World Economic Forum in Davos, which demonstrates community interest in the combination of the blockchain and the Internet of Things.

Conclusion

The development of the Internet of Things is going forward quickly due to the effect of a low base. By the end of 2018, the number of devices connected to the Internet has reached 23 billion, by 2025 it will be tripled. According to different estimations, the mass distribution of technology will happen in another 5-10 years. In addition to crypto startups, Apple, Google, Amazon, AT&T, IBM, Nokia and a few dozen other companies with billions in revenue are implementing their IoT solutions. Moreover, the tested platforms are targeted for each segment of the Internet of Things (industry, IT, telecom, etc.), which makes the product more niche and of higher quality.

IoT crypto projects try to compete and that is to benefit the entire market, even though it is difficult for them to go on equal terms: there is no finished product yet and it cannot bring profit or even pay off. Such an issue is not a problem for companies since the Internet of Things is just one of many areas of interest.

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