VinChain is a new ICO creating a worldwide decentralised database of vehicle information on the blockchain, allowing it to be transparent, reliable and accessible to everyone.
Information will be gathered from country registries, insurance and leasing providers, private registers, paid APIs, and certified members alongside other sources. This is supplemented by live information gathered directly from the vehicle. The goal is to allow car buyers access to reliable and accurate information about their potential purchases.
VinChain claims to have identified five major problems in the automobile industry their product hopes to address. These are that all the information about a vehicle, such as its mileage, accident history, and ownership and usage history, can be faked; buyers are unaware of any potential problems with the vehicle, and so may not be maximising the value of their investment; sellers price their vehicles lower as buyers cannot know the true condition of a car, so earn less from sales; existing vehicle information databases are inaccessible and do not share data; and information is often out-of-date and unreliable.
The company says it can solve these problems using hardware that utilises telematics, the long-distance transmission of computerized information and the blockchain. A device is installed in the car and delivers real-time data to the VinChain blockchain. On-board diagnostics (OBD) is also integrated into the device, presenting the user with information about the car, including GPS data, vehicle health and performance errors.
Additionally, statistics on users’ driving styles will be collected, and suggestions for driving more economically by using less fuel and avoiding general wear-and-tear will be offered. This data can then in turn be shared with insurance providers with the goal of reducing premiums, by up to 30%, claims VinChain.
The platform will utilise VinChain tokens to reward users for their data, which can be used to to pay for services, such as car maintenance, refuelling, and washing, and attain discounts on relevant products through their integrated app. There are further plans for the development of open APIs and mobile SDKs that will integrate user vehicle data into developer applications.
The ICO is in the second of six stages of its token sale, and accepts Ethereum, Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Dash.