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Identity on the network comes in two flavors: One is the identity of the user; the other, the identity of the device. In the case of the IoT, where there often is no user in the traditional sense, authenticating the identity of the device itself is critical, and a blockchain has been introduced to establish and maintain those device identities.
IOTA is a "permissionless blockchain" that seeks to do a number of things around the IoT, including establishing the identity of devices. It does this in the context of providing a micro-payment infrastructure to allow consumers and organizations to pay for IoT services on a per-use basis, but the payments aren't required for the identities to be authenticated.
The basis of the IOTA model is the "tangle," which is a combination of Full Nodes (defined as a full peer-to-peer member of the network) and Light Nodes (which must connect to Full Nodes in order to complete transactions). It is a variation on the traditional flat blockchain, but it does allow less powerful IoT devices to be part of the verified chain and remain fully identified and trusted.
(Image: Radu Bercan VIA SHUTTERSTOCK)
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