Selfie drone maker IOT Group today became the latest ASX small cap to get on board the blockchain train.

IOT plans to start a blockchain advisory board with the appointment of blockchain advisor Adam Ritchie as its chairman.

Blockchain — one of the hottest sectors on the ASX — is an encrypted, public ledger of transactions, best known as the basis of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. But it has many other potential applications such as enforcing digital contracts and securing public records.

The move comes after the company agreed to pay celebrity publicist Max Markson just over 1 million shares for PR work and branched out into home delivery startup RUNA.

The shares (ASX:IOT) remained at 0.6c on the news – failing to follow the recent trend of blockchain-based share price spikes enjoyed by stocks such as First Growth Funds (ASX:FGF) and Transcendence Technologies (ASX:TTL).

IOT Group (IOT) shares over the past six months.
IOT Group (IOT) shares over the past six months.

Mr Ritchie and brother Ben Ritchie are behind a blockchain fund for wholesale investors – Digital Capital Management.

“His value-add approach is based on technology analysis and applying an investor mindset across industry verticals, technology stacks, emerging Blockchain use cases and digital asset markets,” IOT said of Mr Ritchie

“Adam aims to bring a network of seasoned professionals to the IOT Blockchain Advisory Board.”

Mr Ritchie’s bio on the Digital Capital Management site positions him as an engineer-turned-tech-innovator.

“His research and networking globally has enabled entry level investment into numerous Cryptocurrency/Blockchain projects (ICOs), many of which are well-established within the top 100 coins by market cap,” it reads.

IOT shares have been in a slump since August, with a slight peak to 1.6c in mid-December following a promotional campaign.

The combination of Internet of Things (IoT) technology and blockchain is something supply chain tech UDT is trialling with its tracking technology.