The cloud arm of Chinese web giant Alibaba Group has partnered ‎with Xiamen ZhongChuan IoT Industry Research Institute to accelerate the ‎ambitious development timeline of a new blockchain ‎designed specifically for the Internet of Things (IoT) ‎space.‎

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Alibaba Cloud, which serves more than 1 million paying customers, has recently launched cloud products around artificial intelligence and big ‎data in Europe. The products have already been in use in other markets, including China.‎

This collaboration provides Alibaba Cloud with multiple IoT application solutions designed by the ZhongChuan IoT and helps establish an ‎AI hub to promote establishment of new smart cities in Xiong’an and Yuhang.‎

The partnership also focuses on promoting Waltonchain blockchain technology to achieve the municipal and ‎commercial IoT coverage.‎

Blockchain has recently garnered widespread support across many sectors due to advantages ‎in high performance, security, speed access and efficient operation.

The decentralized approach of blockchain technology is ‎promising for IoT security in terms of how it works with ‎cryptocurrencies. The integration creates a more resilient ecosystem for ‎devices to run on by ensuring that data is legitimate, and ‎that the process by which new data is introduced is well-‎defined. In addition, the technology behind Bitcoin can be used to track, process and coordinate ‎transactions between devices, allowing for significant ‎savings to IoT industry manufacturers.‎

Nevertheless, the approach could be a bit challenging ‎since blockchain works through consensus between ‎millions of nodes that are physically distributed around ‎the globe, while the small IoT networks may lack this ‎important feature.‎