Tokenizing mobility and autonomous robotaxis may be among the next emerging blockchain trends with fully onchain business models.
Avalanche and Toyota Blockchain Lab are planning the future infrastructure necessary for self-deployed, autonomous robotaxi fleets, highlighting another emerging use case for blockchain technology in the future of transportation.
Avalanche and Toyota are researching the creation of a new blockchain layer to “orchestrate trust and unlock mobility’s value” through a blockchain-based intermediary network called the Mobility Orchestration Network (MON).
Built on Avalanche’s multichain infrastructure and Interchain Messaging (ICM), the proof-of-concept aims to enable secure data sharing for vehicle financing, ride sharing, insurance and carbon credit tracking, while streamlining ownership transfers for secondary markets.
Avalanche and Toyota’s forthcoming MON network will open the gateway to new emerging use cases, including the future implementation of fully autonomous robotaxi fleets, according to Roi Hirata, head of Japan at Ava Labs, the company behind the development of the Avalanche Network.
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Robotaxis are one of the most interesting emerging use cases for the network, he said, speaking during Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction daily live X spaces show on Wednesday:
“The payments, the leasing, you can actually start your own robotaxi services by raising funds onchain, with some kind of security token system.”
Investors will be able to raise their funds and track their robotaxis via the blockchain, meaning that the entire business model can be built onchain “from scratch,” Hirata said.
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Regulators and manufacturers still need to come on board to realize the future vision of fully autonomous robotaxi fleets, with manufacturers being the more difficult party to onboard.
Regulators and carmakers need to work together to enable official recordkeeping via blockchain ledgers and to enable use cases like onchain ownership transfers, said Ava Labs’ Hirata, adding:
“There’s always an official record in different countries, different formats. So having that and the manufacturer working together on a blockchain is the most key task that we have to tackle.”
Meanwhile, tokenizing mobility may emerge as the next key trend for cryptocurrency investors, following the latest proof-of-concept from Toyota and Avalanche.
Mobility remains difficult to track for vehicles, and future use cases will require “lots of systems” and decentralized applications to support its tokenization.
Other firms are also building on the Avalanche blockchain’s real-world asset (RWA) tokenization capabilities.
Grove, an institutional-grade credit protocol backed by Steakhouse Financial, is targeting $250 million worth of tokenized RWAs on the Avalanche network, in partnership with $373 billion asset manager Janus Henderson, Cointelegraph reported on July 28.
