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Chronicled Launches Blockchain Registry for IoT Devices

Registry will start with consumer goods embedded with BLE and NFC chips.

Written By

Aug 24, 2016

Chronicled, Inc., a technology company based in San Francisco, has announced the launch of an Open Registry for the IoT built on the Ethereum blockchain.

The blockchain registry will store the identities of physical IoT devices. For now, that will include consumer items such as wearables, smart home devices and security devices that have Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) or near-field communications (NFC) chips, but the company plans to include more devices in the future.

Chronicled says it hopes to create secure interoperability that allows for new consumer engagement opportunities. The registry is open sourced under the Apache license.

“One of the main problems holding back growth in the consumer IoT market is interoperability,” Daniel Cooley, a senior vice president at Silicon Labs, said in the announcement. “By putting IoT chip registrations into private databases, today every brand is creating the equivalent of its own private cellular phone network or its own private email system that is not interoperable with any other network. We are excited that our Bluetooth low energy chip customers now have the opportunity to register and verify their chips on a public blockchain. This interoperable back end is a valuable building block and positive step for the entire IoT ecosystem including app developers, brands and consumers alike.”

Chronicled has deployed around 10,000 NFC and BLE chips to date and, as the sponsor of the registry, has already seeded it.

The functionality supported by the registry’s back end reportedly allows brands and retailers to engage with their customers in new ways. For example, they can now leverage identity and location verification of a device to serve protected digital content. For example, they could push rewards or special content in real-time to customers who the registry detects are wearing specific products. Chronicled says the registry can also be used to verify authenticity and prevent counterfeit.

The company’s collaboration partners include Ambisafe, Blue Bite, Cellotape, Identiv, Origin Labs, Silicon Labs, SmartTrac, and Viper Design.