The innovation in the blockchain never stops, and that is great for crypto investing.
The technology is being applied in many new fields, and it is being combined with many other technologies. It is driving blockchain adoption in every industry and changing the economy.
One of the biggest examples and perhaps the future of crypto investing is the Internet of things (IoT).
Interconnection between devices is truly revolutionizing supply chain management, warehouse logistics, agriculture, and sustainable production. All of these will be accelerated with blockchain integration.
![]
The Internet of Things refers to a technological revolution where more and more devices are connected to the web and controlled remotely. These IoT sensors can be used at home to control ovens, air-conditioning, refrigerators, or any consumer electronics. Anything can be managed from a phone or computer.
IoTs are even more powerful on the business side. Here, sensors can be placed along with every single link of a supply chain and monitor the entire process. An item can be tracked from the origin to the final consumer in a single unbroken line of information.
These capabilities have made many call the Internet of Things the next industrial revolution. But it also has its own set of downsides.
All of these issues are making IoT adoption slow in central systems. But as anyone familiar with the blockchain knows, all of these problems can be addressed using a decentralized system. The synergy between IoT and blockchain is huge news for crypto investing. As the blockchain already has the solution for all the challenges described above.
So, let us break down each point and explain how blockchain solves it.
![]
As said before, IoT devices manufactured by different companies use their own data formats. Right now, all the information is saved in a centralized server that just stored the data in its native format. This is great for the manufactures because they don’t have to make sure their devices are compatible with the competition but terrible for users.
The final consumer, the people actually implementing the IoT devices, have to deal with a nightmare data management. Many times they have to take the information reported from different devices and convert it to a single format for better use. A time-consuming process that can also lead to some information being lost or damaged.
A decentralized network already uses a single data format. A blockchain hashes the information it stores, and then the hash of that data is what can be accessed later. Any IoT devices connected to a distributed network would have their information hashed and then stored on the blockchain.
These records would then be readable by any system in the same way we can use a blockchain explorer to look for transactions. The complexity of running many IoT sensors from different manufacturers would be gone, making them more efficient.
The ability of a blockchain to unify data formats is one of the best features driving crypto investing. Any project able to bring IoT to their network will score a major advantage over competitors.
Another problem with using a server to store and control IoT devices is that it becomes a single point of failure. Any problems experienced by the back end would compromise the correct functioning of the entire IoT system. Of course, data servers offer backups or secondary servers that can come online if the main one goes down. But these solutions are costly.
A secondary server needs to have the same hardware characteristics as the main one to avoid drops in performance. So, this results in doubling the investment to build a data center. If you want a 3rd layer of protection, then again, the investors have to pay for an entire machine with the same specs as the previous two.
If you are subcontracting from a data center, you have to pay for every extra backup layer or risk running your business with no backup.
These solutions are not ideal and become so expensive that only big companies can run IoT networks. A blockchain would solve this issue, as the information would be stored in thousands of devices worldwide. The nodes in the network are compensated by the rewards given by the blockchain and not out of the pocket of the user. This is a massive market for crypto investing.
![]
Whoever controls a data center has power over the information. If a supplier controls it, then it can cheat over the transport company and the retailers by tampering with the data. The freight company can do the same, and finally, the retailers can also do it. There is a fundamental lack of trust in a supply chain because all the parties can benefit from hiding things from each other.
The result is an enormous level of redundancy. Each party keeps their own records, in their own formats, in an effort to monitor the other players. The waste created by these redundancies is paid by the buyers who have to endure higher prices to finance all the different databases.
In crypto investing, we know the blockchain already solved this issue. A decentralized system can handle competing interests by being completely neutral. Because no actor can tamper with the information stored in a blockchain, everyone trusts it. This is huge for supply chain management.
As the information gathered by the IoT devices from each link on the chain would be stored in a blockchain. No one would be able to modify the information eliminating the need to keep separate databases. Another huge potential for crypto investing and IoT integration.
![]
One of the scary drawbacks of IoTs is the possibility of these being hacked. An attacker able to breach a server’s security would have access to all the information reported by the IoT sensors. This is even scarier if we think this could happen to the IoT network of a private home.
This is not a fantasy; it has already happened . It is one of the main reasons holding back IoT adoption and stalling the industry. We are familiar with the problem in crypto investing due to how many exchanges have been hacked. One thing that has never been hacked is the blockchain.
IoT devices connected to the blockchain would inherit all of the security from it. Security is perhaps the greatest feature a blockchain can offer IoT and the best driver for crypto investing in both technologies.
Finally, IoT devices would be secure enough to use at home, in a warehouse, at the office, and basically anywhere. The possibilities from this revolution are endless and would transform the landscape of crypto investing forever.
IoT integration with the blockchain is the most exciting field for crypto investing. Any project able to integrate both technologies would become the biggest ting crypto since Bitcoin. Many are trying, such as Vchain, Stellar, Cardano, IOTA, and others, but none have solved it yet. Any crypto investor needs to keep an eye on these technologies to profit from their advances.
A good way to stay up-to-date with crypto is by listening to podcasts. Here are the Top 10 Crypto Podcasts to Listen to in 2021, which will keep you informed and ready to invest in the latest trends.
