The Internet of Things Needs Both Blockchain and 5G

5G will allow for data to be transferred in real-time. Blockchain allows for autonomous, trustless systems. Together, they will form the foundation of the future’s Internet of Things.  Earlier this month, President Donald Trump claimed the race to 5G adoption is as a race “America must win.” Indeed, it’s become more and more apparent that 5G adoption will determine which nations will be on the cutting edge of the next technological evolution. 5G provides us with a network that is virtually instantaneous. With real-time data processing, 5G will make many previously-difficult technological feats possible. Self-driving cars, ‘smart cities,’ and artificial intelligence (AI) all require real-time networks to work as intended. However, it’s difficult to imagine 5G operating in any meaningful capacity with our current centralized servers. A real-time network requires a trustless system underneath it which records, confirms, and transacts this data to the requested part in real-time. Therefore, the marriage between 5G networking and blockchain is inevitable — if we are serious about technology’s future.

The Internet of Things Is Coming

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been speculated about for a long time. Bringing all of our basic appliances ‘online’ has long been a dream of our future urban landscape. Soon, ‘smart cities’ will become the standards in our modern march forward. There’s no place this is becoming more apparent than in China, which has already taken such urban renewal projects very seriously. In the country’s Zhejiang province, for example, the City Brain project has proven to be a model for the future ‘smart city.’ Using cloud computing and AI-driven urban traffic management, 5G is expected by administrators to allow for the full potential of the internet of things to be realized. In fact, global spending on IoT is expected to exceed $1T by 2022 according to the International Data Corporation (IDC). Additionally, China’s Shanghai Yangpu district entered a partnership in March with the Berlin-based MXC Foundation to adopt its Smart City IoT Standard. The protocol utilizes blockchain technology for city-owned data and allows for standardized verification processes.

Blockchain Technology and the Internet of Things

There are now numerous projects dedicating to making blockchain’s marriage to the Internet of Things a reality. One of the leading IoT cryptocurrencies, IOTA, recently announced it would be integrating its ‘smart wallet’ into Jaguar’s Land Rover car line. By all estimates, the marriage between 5G and the blockchain is inevitable. The Internet of Things will require both of these breakthrough technologies — real-time data sharing and trustless decentralized networks — as fundamental to its realization. Given how quickly China and the United States are moving towards this goal, the Internet of Things is likely coming to our major urban cities faster than you might expect. Do you believe the Internet of Things will require both blockchain technology and 5G networks? Let us know your thoughts below.