Since its earliest days, blockchain-based cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum have been popular with speculators and computer programmers, but so far blockchain technology has struggled to find a place in the real world.
While there are plenty of predictions that blockchain technology will change everything from banking and finance to voting and elections, the reality has lagged far behind the hype. Now a new ICO hopes to change all that, bridging the gap between the sometimes arcane world of blockchain technology and those real-world applications.
Solving real-world problems with blockchain technology has not been an easy thing to do, but the promise is enormous. As online shopping becomes more and more popular, one of the biggest challenges is confirming delivery and fighting fraud. Increasingly, the privacy and safety of online businesses hinge on the accuracy of location information, and many shoppers do not realize how easy it is to spoof that data.
Throughout the years, a number of companies have sought to eliminate the need for centralized hubs that control the flow of location-based information, but XYO Networks is taking a different approach.
Until now, attempts to improve the safety of online shopping and delivery have largely relied on protecting the devices that collect this data, but XYO Networks is taking a different approach. Instead of securing the flow of location-based data at the source, the company seeks to create a chain of zero-knowledge proofs, one that can establish a high degree of certainty in the underlying data.
In doing so, XYO Network hopes to bring the power of the blockchain to those location-based networks, targeting the millions of Bluetooth and GPS devices in use around the world. So far, the company has already linked more than a million located beacon devices, and their founders hope to expand that reach even further.
Many users who rely on GPS technology do not realize just how vulnerable these location-based networks really are. Every day, criminals and even state actors are targeting GPS-enabled devices with cyber attacks, jamming, spoofing and interference. The potential dangers of these attacks are all too obvious, and security experts fear they could devastate worldwide networks and lead to enormous disruptions.
Now XYO Network hopes to change all of that by creating a completely trustless means of tracking anything and everything. By using the power of blockchain, XYO Network seeks to create a robust network – one that allows developers around the world to seamlessly interact with the real world.
While the details are somewhat technical, the concept behind the XYO Network ICO project is easier to understand. By using the XYO Network, the owner of an online shopping site would be able to build a smart contract for their deliveries. By using precise XY coordinates, the shopping site would be able to build trust among its customers by ensuring deliveries.
Since the other end of the smart contract ensures that the funds do not change hands until the goods have been delivered, the risk is removed from the equation. Anyone who has ever shopped online will appreciate the value of this service, one that harnesses the power of the blockchain and brings it to the real world.
The technology XYO Network envision would further trust in other ways as well. Instead of waiting for their packages to arrive, online shoppers will be able to track their packages every step along the way, from the time the goods leave the warehouse to the moment they arrive on the buyer’s porch.
By using a smart contract to hold the funds until delivery, online companies can build trust among their shoppers, something that newcomers to the online marketplace have thus far been unable to achieve. Furthermore, XYO Network seeks to reassure shipping services by guaranteeing deliveries. According to the team behind the ICO, this should create a win-win situation for all involved – funds are not released until the goods are delivered, and buyers never pay for packages until they have actually been received.
The founder and Architect of XYO Network, Arie Trouw, puts it this way:
“The XYO Network is the world’s first XY-coordinate bridge between blockchain and the real world.”
By creating that bridge, the company seeks to harness the inherent security of the blockchain and give this emerging technology a foothold in everyday life.
The key to achieving this goal is its user-friendly format, something the company calls XY Gamma. XY Gamma is a simple web app interface. Developers can use this interface to build a simpler delivery process, while shoppers can use it to guarantee their deliveries and control their payments.
Scott Scheper, Head of Marketing at XYO Network summarizes the company and the premise on which it operates as follows:
“The XYO Network started with a fairly simple premise: allowing blockchain smart contracts to access real-world location data.”
While the premise is simple, the implications of this technology could have long-lasting and far-reaching implications for online buyers and delivery companies alike.
