Last month, the leadership team fielded questions in an AMA on the IoTeX sub-Reddit. We received some excellent questions that provided an opportunity to go into depth on various topics. Below are some of the questions posed, organized by topic.
Let us know if these answers prompt more questions and any other thoughts you may have. We love hearing from you!
Why Use W3bstream
What are the benefits of using a W3bstream and the MachineFi platform when developing IoT applications on IoTeX?
W3bstream takes a lot of work away from Web2/Web3 builders to launch MachineFi Dapps on both the device AND blockchain side. Instead of having to worry about connecting hardware, processing data, and generating proofs (all things that W3bstream does), companies can now focus exclusively on developing their communities and business models, while leaving the nitty-gritty technical work to W3bstream. We already have Web3 companies like HealthBlocks and Elumicate building real products on W3bstream, and will be showcasing partnerships with some large Web2 companies starting in early January.
Will W3bstream make it easy to on-board the MachineFi device like Ucam and Pebble and how does W3bstream make use of IoTeX tokens ($IOTX)?
For now, W3bstream is a hosted service that anyone can use to develop prototypes or incorporate into their Dapps. People can provision a W3bstream node for free, as well as use the W3bstream framework to generate proofs using their own W3bstream nodes (as long as they host the server themselves).
In the future, after we achieve wider adoption of W3bstream, the IOTX token will be required to provision a W3bstream node, which is a “fixed cost”, as well as to reserve bandwidth (i.e., store data, process data, generate proofs), which is a “variable cost”. We will also achieve decentralization of the W3bstream protocol, which will allow third parties to host W3bstream nodes (by paying IOTX) that service various Dapps and earn revenues under their own pricing models. This will drive incredible demand for the IOTX token – more details will be published in the coming months about the tokenomics and decentralization plans for W3bstream.
W3bstream Use Cases
What kind of industrial use cases might evolve from W3bstream?
W3bstream is a broadly applicable protocol – you can think about it as any device, any data, any “proofs of real-world activity” can be now easily connected to Web3. Currently, the usage of W3bstream is quite custom – as we progress through the W3bstream roadmap, we will be open-sourcing different tutorials and modules that will make it even easier (even completely off-the-shelf) for Dapps to being building with W3bstream. The more partners we work with, the more open-source modules will be developed, the easier it will be for anyone to build on top of existing solutions. This is the beauty of open-source technology!
We have outlined a lot of use case categories (X-and-Earn, decentralized data pools, Machine DAOs) that W3bstream will enable in our latest blog: Connecting the Real World to Web3 - MachineFi Use Cases
These use case categories are “horizontals” that apply to many “verticals” – we will be publishing more blog posts that detail these horizontal use case categories, as well as deep-dives into opportunities for specific verticals where we have high conviction, including healthcare, smart home, smart city, automotive, and more.
Working with Projects & Developers
Tell us about the projects that are beginning to build using W3bstream. Thanks again team.
Throughout this year, we have worked with Web3 Dapps like healthblocks.ai, elumicate.com, and more who are already building on W3bstream. You will see their initial implementations of W3bstream soon! We have also been building PoCs with Web2 device manufacturers to bring traditional companies’ devices/data into the Web3 space. This includes larger enterprises and household device companies – we can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on behind-the-scenes. This initial W3bstream launch is just a start, as we progress throughout our roadmap in 2023, we will be introducing past features to new partners and pushing new features to existing partners.
In addition to working with Dapps like HealthBlocks + Elumicate that want to build custom solutions on top of W3bstream, the IoTeX team has been working hard on a concept called "substreams’’ which will enable developers to grab data from common devices and generate standardized proofs that any developer can use to get started quickly. More info coming soon!
If you are interested in DePIN you can learn more about the latest developments in the sector and compare projects by visiting DePINscan. DePINscan powered by W3bstream and IoTeX is designed to empower intelligent investors in the DePIN sector.