Summary:
- What is The IOTA Platform and how does it work?
- Advantages of the IOTA exchange.
- IOTA’s past, present and future price positions
The IOTA Platform
The IOTA pl​​atform is a distributed ledger: it isn't actually a blockchain. Instead its proprietary technology is known as Tangle, which is a system of nodes that confirm transactions. The foundation that this platform rests on claims it offers greater speeds than conventional blockchains - a footprint that is ideal, especially in the ever-expanding Internet of Things ecosystem.
Due to the fact that it is not a blockchain, IOTA does not have miners and therefore does not have any fees. Many networks that are established see costs inflate as congestion on the network intensifies, however IOTA aims at providing limitless throughput at minimal expenses.
IOTA plans to become the de facto platform for executing between IoT devices. The IOTA team also believe that potential use cases do not stop there, they also believe that their distributed ledger could: deliver digital identities to all, deliver seamless global trade, result in car insurance policies that are based on actual usage, pave the way for cutting-edge smart cities and prove the authenticity of products.
IOTA’s token, MIOTA has a maximum supply of almost 2.78 billion tokens, 100% of these are currently in circulation. The current market capitalisation is more than $794 million.
Advantages and disadvantages of the IOTA platform
Advantages:
- The IOTA platform's transaction rate is substantially faster than many of its crypto counterparts due to the fact that consensus is unnecessary.
- IOTA is scalable due to its fast transaction time.
- The IOTA coin, MIOTA, facilitates micro-payments, even small amounts are feeless.
- IOTA has low energy consumption, and may be more sustainable than other platforms.
Disadvantages:
- Has, in the past been subject to theft, and MIT found a vulnerability with its hash function.
- Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, has cast doubt on IOTA’s ability to solve scalability issues.
How is IOTA unique?
One of the main features setting IOTA apart from its crypto counterparts is the fact that it is a blockchainless blockchain, which is unusual. IOTAs Tangle which helps to maintain the IOTA network's ability to function as a blockchain and execute secure transactions.
New transactions are validated through approving two previous transactions from another node - using this approach means that the network's speed and size will be directly related to the number of people that are using the platform.
Some cryptocurrencies are run as businesses, however the IOTA foundation claims it is not for profit, just that its sole aim is making the network as prosperous as possible. In addition, IOTA has differentiated itself from many other crypto through establishing high-profile partnerships with the carmaker Volkswagen, and helping the city of Taipei to pursue smart projects.
Although IOTA is not a blockchain, it is still secured through the use of a consensus mechanism through the use of a relatively straightforward Proof-of-Work puzzle which aids in validating transactions on the IOTA network.
Past, present and future prices of The IOTA network (MIOTA)
During the first few months of 2018 the price of MIOTA hit its first peak, reaching up to $4.5, the first peak was followed by a decline which continued all the way until the start of 2021. During the first half of 2021 the MIOTA price began to climb gradually and hit its second peak in May of 2021 and reached a price of around $2.4. The price then declined in a staggered manner, rising again in August of 2021. The price has been declining since.
Over the past few months, the markets have been facing strong investor risk-off sentiment in the wake of the geopolitical tensions, Covid-19 lockdowns in China and supply chain issues. The cryptocurrency market has followed the trends of the greater market during these times, therefore the price of most cryptocurrencies have been falling, MIOTA does fall under this category.
According to some analysts, the future price of The IOTA network (MIOTA) could reach up to $2.06 by 2026 and could see a price of more than $8.12 by 2030. However, it is important to remember that this future price prediction is based solely on data and does not take into account factors such as investor sentiment and the ever changing market conditions, both of which make it difficult to make accurate future price predictions.
MIOTA Price Chart
Sources: coinmarketcap.com, finance.yahoo.com, changelly.com, sofi.com