Blockchain Must Adapt to Build Trust in the Internet of Things

Blockchain - or distributed ledger technologies in general - offers hope for expressing and establishing shared trust in information created and exchanged by Things.

t.he immutable log of events that is the blockchain provides a means to establish authoritatively the provenance of information; to record and enforce policies for accessing the information; and to act on the information autonomously through "Smart contracts."

While there is tremendous promise, blockchain technologies must evolve substantially to meet IoT's unique demands.

The unique characteristics of IoT applications impose both technical and economic requirements that lead us to conclude that IoT applications must be situated within an economic, legal and regulatory context that extends beyond the blockchain.

In particular, whereas traditional blockchain applications ascribe all authority to the blockchain, we believe IoT applications must achieve a balance of authority.

A blockchain can accurately record the transfer of access rights to a piece of information that asserts that a container was shipped across town.

Purists from the cryptocurrency world will argue that a "Permissioned blockchain" is an oxymoron; however, some form of identity verification is required for participants who join the network so they can trust the information the Thing.

May be identified or otherwise certified to contribute information to an otherwise public blockchain - some sort of hybrid model that attempts to validate input but not restrict inputters.

We often talk about a blockchain as a replacement for a trusted third party for interactions within a community; that is, the community ascribes to the blockchain ultimate authority about "Truth." For applications built around a network of Things.

There is a very real danger for those deploying blockchain-based solutions for IoT to believe that the tamper-proof nature of the blockchain provides assurances about the integrity and trustworthiness of information.