Last updated on February 14th, 2018 at 01:16 pm
Is an evolution of graph database technology the answer to Blockchain’s efficiency problem? A Korean conglomerate thinks it might be. The biggest challenges for enterprises investing in the public Blockchain (or consortium Blockchains) is efficiency: power consumption and transaction speed are notoriously high and notoriously low. Enter Graph, a joint venture between SF-based Bitnine and Toronto-based Datametrex that recently announced a partnership with IBM to use its graph technology to speed up and expand transaction processing power on both public and private Blockchains.
The potential to make Blockchain’s distributed consensus mechanism and immutable data more efficient is something the entire industry is seeking. Currently it takes as much power to process a block as it does to power a home for a week, and consumption is increasing. As well, transaction processing is much slower than by existing methods due to the decentralized way the data needs to be written. Datametrex thinks they have the solution.
It’s not the first time that graph technology and the Blockchain have come together. FlureeDB announced a graph-based Blockchain platform in the fall. But Bitnine is different, says Datametrex COO Jeff Stevens. The team at Datametrex, who recently created a joint venture company called Graph Blockchain Limited with Bitnine for this initiative, saw enormous potential in the graph technology. While FlureeDB, for example, uses graph technology to standardize applications on the Blockchain and implementation of smart contracts as a “low code, rapid deployment, decentralized application platform,” Graph Blockchain Limited is focused on the speed of transaction processing itself, making transactions in high volume environments like power and utility up to 1000x faster.
The project involves partnering with IBM to deliver an electric power and utility solution for a Korean chaebol (the company was unable to disclose which due to non-disclosure agreeents). The solution will assist in analyzing charging stations. If the prototype performs as expected, it could rapidly expedite adoption. “It would change many aspects of how Blockchain is currently deployed,” said Mr. Stevens.
We’ll be tracking this project and its evolution so stay tuned for updates!
