What Is IOTA?
IOTA is a distributed ledger technology (DLT) that features unique architecture and an open-source product suite for individuals, businesses, and institutions to use in Web3. It is built on a directed acyclic graph (DAG) called the Tangle, which can be pictured as a multi-dimensional blockchain. It enables the exchange of data and value on a decentralized platform through direct and secure transfers, executed on and immutably recorded on the network.
To learn more about this project, check out our deep dive into IOTA.
Together with its staging network Shimmer, IOTA aims to offer solutions to establish a secure and permissionless infrastructure that can drive the economy of the future. It enables the development of decentralized applications through automated trust in the form of Ethereum-compatible smart contracts, an advanced consensus algorithm, and thoughtfully balanced incentives.
IOTA delivers tools for creating and managing custom Layer 2 (EVM) chains, deploying smart contracts, minting native tokens and NFTs with distinctive features, and introducing digital identities to users.
Launching in 2024, IOTA 2.0 will be a protocol upgrade that rebuilds IOTA’s architecture to deliver full decentralization. You can find more about it here.
What Is the IOTA Foundation?
Founded in 2017, the IOTA Foundation is a charitable non-profit organization headquartered in Berlin, Germany, making it one of the longest-standing crypto projects. It develops the IOTA protocol and steers open-source governance to bring the technology to production maturity. Its Co-founder and Chairman is Dominik Schiener.
A current initiative of the IOTA Foundation involves developing infrastructure to represent real-world assets in digital tokens. The goal is to connect the physical and digital worlds, making illiquid assets liquid and widely tradable, to enable new economic opportunities.
Two organizations help drive the adoption of IOTA and grow the ecosystem of partners and builders using the technology. The Tangle Ecosystem Association (TEA) is a Swiss-based non-profit that allocates grants and funding to ecosystem projects, alliances, partners, third-party integrations, and builders. The IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation, based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is the first DLT foundation to be registered under the regulator authorities there.
What Makes IOTA Unique?
IOTA distinguishes itself in the DLT landscape through its innovative architecture and features. It operates on the Tangle, a directed acyclic graph (DAG), which facilitates the processing of transactions in parallel, effectively overcoming the common bottlenecks found in standard blockchain architectures. As a result, the Tangle enhances scalability and operational efficiency. The unique capacity of the Tangle to support simultaneous additions of blocks, coupled with its DAG architecture, enables continuous and parallel transaction processing. This optimization of computational resources is essential for handling high volumes of transactions.
Another key characteristic of IOTA is its operation without the need for external validators or miners, removing the necessity for transaction fees based on tokens. This distinctive strategy ensures that transactions on the IOTA platform are not only cost-effective but also safeguarded against possible manipulation, promoting smooth and secure transaction transfers.
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How Many IOTA Coins Are There In Circulation?
The total supply of the IOTA token is 4,600,000,000 IOTAs. The smallest denomination of IOTA is called "micros", with six decimal points, so the total supply amounts to 4,600,000,000,000,000 micros.
How Is the IOTA Network Secured?
A robust validator and committee selection process introduced by the IOTA 2.0 protocol upgrade ensures network integrity and resistance against malicious activities through a staking-based consensus mechanism. IOTA 2.0 will employ committee-based consensus, where committee selection hinges on staked value to deter attackers. State reversion is guarded via conflicting opinion chains and supermajority consensus. For access security, the protocol introduces token-generated Mana and the Scheduler, thwarting spam by requiring tokens for block issuance, but without introducing fees.
Where Can You Buy IOTA (MIOTA)?
IOTA is available on multiple exchanges — many people choose to buy IOTA on Binance, Bitfinex, and OKX. According to the project, a range of trading pairs are available, linking the token with Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, and fiat currencies including the Japanese yen, euro, pound, and dollar. Learn more about fiat on-ramps here."