Blockchain Shows 'Great Promise' for IoT, But Obstacles Remain, ABI Says

There's “great promise” for blockchain to “alter and transform established industries beyond” financial technologies, ABI Research reported Monday. Blockchain-based applications “can be used for numerous applications, including: digital identities, governance, asset tracking, and [machine-to-machine] transactions, among many others,” said analyst Michela Menting in a news release. “Blockchain can affect and perhaps radically transform all kinds of interactions.” With more than 1,500 blockchain startups, the technology generated more than $500 million in venture capital funding globally in 2016, ABI said. Vendors will need to address economics, legal and privacy issues for the technology, the firm said. “While the cryptocurrency market may be maturing, IoT applications are still largely untested,” Menting said in the news release.