Seattle-based tech giant Microsoft is testing out its platform for creating digital assets that allow users to transfer, transact, burn or mint tokens. The Azure Blockchain Tokens are built on a permissioned version of the Ethereum blockchain using cloud computing.
Instead of decentralized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin that use miners to verify transanctions, Azure Blockchain Tokens use Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing to reach consensus on transactions.
As noted on Microsoft’s official website,
“Azure Blockchain Tokens is a new Azure managed service that allows [users] to create and manage ledger-based tokens easily to accelerate [their] blockchain solution development. This service provides a set of prebuilt templates and the flexibility to create your own templates.”
According to Forbes, Los Angeles-based video game developer Mythical Games and virtual reality platform Ceek are using Microsoft’s platform to issue their own tokens. The framework is designed to expand the digital economy by moving assets and value across various interoperable blockchains and to create micro-digital economies. For example, Mythical is using a blockchain to create a game currency that can be made scarce and used as a medium of exchange for unique in-game objects.
Azure Blockchain Tokens has a software development kit that allows companies to quickly and conveniently launch and integrate digital assets into their business.
“With practical applications ranging from streamlining supply chains to managing retail loyalty points programs, tokenization has enormous potential to simplify and accelerate complex business processes – while also making them more secure.”
Microsoft calls blockchain technology “an immensely powerful concept that will forever change the way transactions between parties execute” and expects the world of public cryptocurrencies and private digital ledgers to merge, transforming industries.
“There are currently two token ‘universes’ at the moment in the form of public and private or consortium blockchain networks.
1. A public universe heavily tilted towards crypto currency use cases that features a diverse and wide selection of blockchain choices, each of them differentiating themselves on their technical under pinnings and evolving new economic models.
2. An enterprise or corporate universe that provides a narrower choice of blockchain technologies focusing on evolving existing economic models with a more diverse and wide view of tokens.
At some point the boundary between these two universes, public and private, will blur as the technology and social, economic, legal, regulatory and practical aspects involved with this disruptive technology matures. But for now, it’s safe to think that the use of tokens in the public universe is narrowly focused on different versions of money or crypto currency and the private universe is widely focused on tokens that
are not.”
Azure Blockchain Tokens are created based on guidelines provided in the Token Taxonomy Initiative, a standardized way of creating blockchain-based digital assets.
As of November 4, applications are open to everyone to test out Microsoft’s new technology.
You can sign up for access to the preview here.
