In the era of booming digital economic growth, the asset formation of data is developing at an unprecedented speed.
On July 22, the National Data Administration emphasized again that the transformation of the data industry from a "single breakthrough" to an "overall development" is an inevitable requirement to accelerate the construction of a digital economic system with data as the key factor and to promote new productive forces and new driving forces.
At the same time, the attention of the capital market to the asset formation of data is constantly growing.
On July 23, the Shanghai Data Exchange held a closed - door professional discussion themed "New Opportunities in the Capital Market: RDA", in which more than a dozen leading Chinese financial institutions participated to discuss timely topics such as RWA (Real - World Assets) and RDA (Real Data Assets). The attention that the RDA concept has attracted not only reflects the combined power of the market and policies but also gives a clear signal for the accelerated deepening of the asset formation of data.
However, the current discussions on RDA mainly focus on data rights determination, asset formation, and the transaction mechanism itself. A more fundamental problem is rarely discussed in depth:
Who can continuously, stably, and reliably provide real data for RDA?
The answer is the Internet of Things (IoT).
The IoT is not only the foundation for the data supply of RDA but also the bridge between the physical world and the digital economy. The ubiquitous IoT devices and the ability for real - time data collection endow RDA with vitality and verifiability, making data assets truly dynamic, timely, and traceable.
Therefore, this article will systematically explain why the IoT is the "engine" for the new value paradigm of RDA and how "IoT + RDA" reshapes the industry logic of data asset formation. It can be said that the real revolution in data asset formation is quietly taking place in the in - depth interaction between the IoT and RDA.
Data Mine and Value Factory: The IoT Starts the "Engine" of RDA
In essence, RDA (Real Data Assets) is an extension of RWA. RWA focuses on the blockchain digitization of physical assets (e.g., real estate, charging stations), while RDA aims more at verifying data authenticity and increasing value. RDA improves the creditworthiness, transparency, and controllability of assets by encapsulating the operating data of physical assets (e.g., steel trading data, logistics data).
The real breakthrough point of RDA lies in the continuously released real - time data of the IoT.
With the support of a large number of devices and sensors, the IoT becomes a natural "data mine" for RDA and a "value factory" for new data assets.
In contrast to traditional data collection and static asset evaluation, the IoT can provide highly reliable, strongly related, and traceable basic data for RDA through real - time perception and dynamic feedback of the physical world, which helps transform data from "resources" into "assets". This is the fundamental guarantee for RDA to transform from a theoretical concept into a market - value - generating phenomenon.
The essence of RDA is that data goes through the entire process of rights determination, value creation, and financialization. Only "data assets" with clearly defined property rights, traceable origins, and continuous circulation can actually participate in transactions, financing, and securitization in the capital market. And the IoT is the starting point and driving force of this chain.
First of all, through ubiquitous sensors and edge devices, the IoT enables real - time data collection of all "things", such as industrial equipment, energy facilities, logistics assets, and medical end - devices. These data not only document the operating status, movement trajectories, and transaction behaviors of assets but can also be stored immutably through technologies such as blockchain, making them the gold standard for verifying the authenticity of assets.
Secondly, the IoT endows data assets with dynamic and traceable viability, making the credit system and value evaluation system of RDA timely and flexible. The data is no longer static "snapshots" but flowing, verifiable, and tradable data streams, which provide a solid foundation for financial innovation and industry transformation.
In specific application scenarios, the synergy between the IoT and RDA is gradually becoming visible.
For example, in the entire life - cycle management of traction batteries, the IoT can perform real - time data collection and rights determination of key parameters such as battery charging and discharging processes, temperature, and cycle number to ensure the dynamic transparency of asset evaluation, traceability, and recycling, thus creating a data basis for the financing of used batteries and green loans.
In the field of offshore wind power operation, the real - time data such as the operating status, abnormal vibration, and energy output of wind turbines are determined by RDA, which not only facilitates remote intelligent maintenance but also enables financing pricing and insurance payment according to the actual availability.
In the case of cold - chain medicines, the temperature, humidity, and position are collected by IoT devices during the entire transportation process. RDA ensures the reliability and regulatory compliance of the data and supports the safety traceability of medicines and the dynamic credit evaluation in the distribution chain.
More modernly, with the improvement of the real - time and dynamic nature of data streams, RDA can build a new dynamic credit and real - time pricing system based on "data streams" to achieve continuous optimization of asset evaluation and risk management.
The in - depth integration of the IoT and RDA will not only open up new growth opportunities for data asset formation but also completely reshape the industry value - creation chain in the digital economy.
Awakening at the Margins: The IoT Enables "Things" to Participate in Global Value Creation
With the deepening of the digital economy, the pricing system for data assets is undergoing a structural change.
The in - depth integration of the IoT, Stablecoins, and RWA/RDA creates a broad space for the machine economy. In particular, the emergence of Stablecoins provides the necessary financial infrastructure for autonomous value settlement between devices, enabling "things" to truly become nodes of value distribution in the digital economy.
In the new paradigm of the "triangular closed - loop" in the above figure, IoT devices are used for data rights determination and asset formation through RDA. They are not only data producers but also become digital subjects that can independently participate in value distribution.
A large amount of "marginal data" that previously lay dormant in various devices and at the margins of industries is awakened and can directly participate in value distribution by being in a legally determinable, circulable, and tradable form. In the future, each IoT enterprise and each edge - device node may be able to independently decide how to apply their data and how to realize the value because they own the property and circulation rights of their own data assets.
For example, a connected industrial robot can not only generate and record its operating data in real - time but also legally determine these data as RDA and then securely and reliably transfer and trade them through technologies such as blockchain. Once these data assets are recognized by the market, they acquire a financial property and can participate in value distribution in scenarios such as supply - chain loans and CO2 asset trading. However, without an effective means of circulation, the realization of the value of data assets remains limited. This is where the inclusion of Stablecoins comes in.
As the "value anchor" in the digital economic system, Stablecoins in the machine economy not only provide a price reference and a settlement means for RDA transactions but also promote autonomous transactions and automatic settlement between devices.
In future intelligent factories, sensors, production equipment, and even automatic transport vehicles can automatically conduct value exchanges with devices or services in the supply chain based on their data assets determined by RDA. The purchase of raw materials, the rental of equipment, capacity planning, and even the trading of CO2 emission quotas can be settled in real - time on the blockchain through Stablecoins. Devices can conduct seamless machine - to - machine (M2M) economic activities without relying on traditional financial intermediaries, which significantly improves the efficiency of industry cooperation and the ability for value discovery.
The entry of RWA/RDA will further enrich this ecosystem.
RWA represents real assets that can be transferred to the blockchain, such as factories, equipment, land, and receivables. RDA, on the other hand, are the digital twin assets generated by these assets driven by IoT real - time data. When the two are connected, the assets can become transparent, circulable, and financeable.
For example, a logistics truck can be legally determined as RWA on the blockchain (to prove its property rights and physical existence) and at the same time continuously generate RDA (such as driving route, freight delivery status, CO2 emissions, etc.). These data will become the new basis for asset evaluation, risk assessment, and creditworthiness evaluation.
The in - depth integration of the IoT, Stablecoins, and RWA/RDA will promote the automatic settlement and value transfer of assets and data, form a closed - loop of "trustworthy assets - real data - automatic settlement", and reshape the industry financing on the blockchain.
This closed - loop will not only significantly improve the efficiency of industries and the ability for financial innovation but also fundamentally change the pricing logic of data assets. IoT enterprises and device manufacturers are no longer just data collectors and providers but could become the leading force in data asset formation and financialization. Every physical node and every intelligent device in the supply chain will have the opportunity in the future to obtain an independent value identity in the "triangular closed - loop" and change from a passive participant to an active price - setter.
The Era of Dynamic Credit: New Value Assessment of IoT Enterprises
In the early stages of the digital economy, the pricing and credit system of data assets was highly dependent on centralized platforms and static models. Platform enterprises dominated the data collection, rights determination, evaluation, and circulation of industry data thanks to their advantages in traffic and computing power. For most IoT enterprises and manufacturers of industry devices, they were only data suppliers and passive participants and stood at the margins of the data value chain.
This model brings two problems: On the one hand, asset evaluation and creditworthiness assessment cannot reflect the actual and dynamic status of assets in real - time, leading to misallocation of resources and a credit premium. On the other hand, it is difficult for enterprises and device manufacturers in the supply chain to control the circulation and value realization of data assets, which severely restricts the innovation ability.
With the maturity of the RDA system and the wide spread of the IoT, this situation will change fundamentally.
IoT end - devices are no longer just simple perception and transmission nodes but become continuous producers of dynamic data streams and active rights - determiners of data assets. Based on real - time data driven by RDA, the pricing of financial services for industry equipment will also undergo a qualitative change.
For example, for an injection - molding machine worth 10 million yuan, in traditional collateral - based financing, due to the lack of dynamic operating data, the financial institution can only set a high risk weighting, resulting in a low collateral ratio and a relatively high annual interest rate of, for example, 9%. After being connected to the IoT, the real - time data such as the operating status, capacity utilization, and maintenance records of the machine are dynamically determined on the blockchain. The financial institution can then reduce the risk weighting to 20%, increase the collateral ratio, and possibly reduce the annual interest rate to about 6%. Dynamic data reduces information asymmetry and default risk and can also directly lead to a reduction in financing costs and an improvement in the efficiency of industry capital.
At the same time, new data - protection technologies such as Privacy Computing and Zero - Knowledge Proof become important guardians for the asset formation of industry data.
In contrast to traditional industrial silos where sensitive industrial data cannot be transferred to the blockchain, Privacy Computing enables the calculation and verification of data without revealing the plain text. Zero - Knowledge Proof allows the verification of the authenticity and compliance of assets without making the detailed data visible. This eliminates enterprises' concerns about data - protection violations and confidentiality.