Where Roads Can't Reach, Blockchain Drones Just Might Travel

According to its makers, the drone can carry up to 880 pounds, travel as far as 220 miles and work up to 8 hours.

The SKYF team is trying to crack into a rapidly growing ecosystem, with PwC valuing the emerging global market for drones at over $127 billion in 2016.

As of today, drones can only carry small objects, but the SKYF team aims to open a totally new market for heavy-duty cargo drones.

The drones are being produced domestically by OKB Aviareshenia Ltd., a subsidiary of British entity ARDN Technologies.

"We need a blockchain to create trust between the counterparts: the banks, leasing and insurance companies, drone manufacturers and users, government agencies, licensing bodies, self-regulating organizations, and so on," Rodin told CoinDesk.

The idea is that the data being stored will encompass various pieces of information about the drones.

"Drones are a new thing, banks don't know how to evaluate them and calculate interest rates for them, how to monitor their use," added Olga Budnik, a PR director of ARDN. "So they would rather deny a loan or a leasing agreement than take a risk. And we give them a tool to follow the entire life of a drone."

ARDN has manufactured three drones so far, but the plan is that, by 2021, there will be more than 1100 SKYF drones operating worldwide.

Looking farther, the aim is for other manufacturers of air-borne, sea-borne, and ground-borne cargo drones to join the SKYFchain network.

The parties involved have signed preliminary agreements to test the SKYF drones for possible applications in their businesses.