Hyperledger Project Names Iroha as Third Incubation Project

The Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Project is more than just another blockchain think tank. This initiative also acts as an incubator, where developers can submit their ideas and creations related to distributed ledgers. One of those projects is called Iroha, an open-source project developed by Soramitsu Co. Ltd, which was promoted to incubator status on November 1.

Project Iroha Focuses On Blockchain-based Data Management

Open-sourced blockchain project Iroha puts a strong focus on securing and decentralizing data management for financial institutions. However, this particular concept is not limited to finance, as it can also be applied to healthcare, IoT, and logistics. With the distributed ledger solution being submitted to the Hyperledger Project, any of the group’s participants can build new applications on top of Iroha.

This custom blockchain solution makes use of a consensus algorithm, which goes by the name of Sumeragi. In doing so, Iroha aims to finalize transactions within a span of two seconds. Speed is of the utmost importance when dealing with transactions and data management, and Iroha aims to provide that in near real-time.

One project running on top of this new blockchain is under active development right now. Sompo Holdings Inc. is working with Soramitsu to issue derivatives using this new distributed ledger solution. A secondary project, which will focus on experimenting with local currencies issued on the Iroha blockchain, will be studied by various Japanese universities in the coming months. It is also worth noting Soramitsu is working with Rakuten Securities Inc to build a new KYC system.

The news is a major milestone for the HyperLedger project, as Iroha is the third submitted project to achieve “incubation status.” Together with IBM’s Fabric, and Intel’s Sawtooth Lake, this new distributed ledger project will receive plenty of attention from Hyperledger Project partners from all over the world.

Sawtooth Lake and Fabric Are Worth Keeping An Eye On

Intel’s venture into the world of distributed ledgers goes by the name of Sawtooth Lake. This particular concept lets companies run their own proprietary blockchain to provide permanent and immutable data records. By taking a modular approach, Intel wants to make the deployment and maintenance of blockchains more convenient.

What is rather intriguing is how Sawtooth Lake users can create their own custom “transaction family.” In doing so, clients can create different data models suiting the enterprise’s needs. There is also a marketplace built-in, which can be used to issue and trade new digital assets.

IBM, on the other hand,  is focusing their attention on Fabric, a slightly different implementation of blockchain technology. Although IBM uses a modular architecture similar to Sawtooth Lake, it is more of a platform that aims to facilitate smart contract deployment. Rather than requiring a proprietary smart contract language, however, Fabric can host any mainstream programming language.