Blockcloud, a service-centric blockchain network system for the "Internet of Things" (IoT), will be introduced today during the Genesis CAT Meet-up in Tokyo, Japan, which is committed to paving the way for a revolution in how we deploy IoT solutions.

It is predicted that the number of IoT devices will reach 20 billion by 2022, and IoT Applications such as smart healthcare, virtual assistants, augmented reality and self-driving cars are gaining popularity in our daily life.

The infrastructure of this ever-growing network of IoT devices, however, is still centralized and thus subject to a number of problems like uneven connectivity, slow/limited scalability, low security and lack of standards. Patching these issues requires costs that may ultimately affect the profitability of each IoT application.

Designed with IoT in mind, Blockcloud is decentralized, dynamic, secure, fair and economically sustainable. As team leader Zhongxing Ming explains, "Blockcloud is the first blockchain technology system tailored to the evolution of the Internet and to the Internet of Things."

At the core of this new architecture is the idea of Service-Centric Networking (SNC): a cloud application is not hosted in a server farm, but anywhere on the net in multiple instances wherever there is a capable/willing host. This improves performance, reliability and scalability. The addition of blockchain technologies (the same as those used in modern cryptocurrencies) guarantees the absolute security of the system and also offers a monetary incentive to the contributors, thus rendering the system sustainable.

The team behind Blockcloud is composed of scientists from top institutions such as Princeton, Tsinghua University, and Tokyo University, and world-class companies such as Morgan Stanley, BAT, and Huawei. Boasting 50 papers at top international conferences and on journals, more than 80 patents, and their works referenced more than 400 times, they had established industry-leading companies in the field of smart hardware, serving around 5 million end users and amassing more than RMB 40 million in financing.