Blockchains.com, a blockchain incubation and investment firm, announced today the acquisition of slock.it, a German company with roots in the original development of ethereum.

Blockchains was primarily interested in slock.it’s Incubed project which enables human and machines secure participation in the economy of things through the ethereum blockchain. The merger will allow both companies to combine resources and institutional knowledge to work through the security and interoperability issues within existing IoT systems.

“We have the same passion for creating a sharing economy powered by blockchain, and for creating a safe and secure entry point to the third-generation World Wide Web,” said Christoph Jentzsch, co-founder of slock.it, in a statement.

Founded in 2015, slock.it aims to extend blockchain’s intrinsic benefits “transparency, security, and auditability to real-world devices.” The firm was previously behind the failed Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), which sought to codify the rules and governance of an organization without a centralized overhead through eliminating the need for documents and decision makers.

The company is also planning to release a collection of open-source tools for the ethereum developer community over the next several months, according to the statement.

Blockchains’ President David Berns said:

Slock.it’s team of nearly three dozen experienced developers and professionals will allow Blockchains to significantly fast-track its product roadmap and enhance its collaboration efforts.

Christoph and his brother and co-founder Simon Jentzsch will become Blockchains’ vice-president of technology and director of blockchain development, respectively.

Blockchains owns more than 67,000 acres in northern Nevada which it intends to use as a sandbox for showcasing blockchain and other innovative technologies that simplify fundamental aspects of our daily lives.

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