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The IOTA (MIOTA) token has been witnessing staggering growth (up 137%) to $1.18 this past week, courtesy of its partnership with Intel Corporation and Dell Technologies Inc.
IOTA is a distributed ledger platform designed for the Internet of Things (IoT), a system of interrelated computing devices connected to the Internet.
The surge in MIOTA price is fueled by IOTA re-engineering Dell's Data Confidence Fabric technology using its Streams network, unlike the overall bullish uptrend across the cryptocurrency market.
In this guide, Liquid decided to talk about everything you want to know about IOTA (MIOTA). Furthermore, we will also briefly explore the past, present, and future of IOTA and its influence on the crypto ecosystem.
What is IOTA?
IOTA makes it easy to carry out transactions between IoT devices across a vast network.
Although IOTA is a cryptocurrency, it is different from popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Most importantly, IOTA does not use blockchain technology. Instead, it relies on Tangle, an innovative consensus method to verify and confirm the transactions.
Tangle does not use miners but previous transactions as reference points for the ongoing transactions. On top of this, these transactions also go through the Proof-of-Work method. Throughout these processes, the Tangle ecosystem doesn’t demand any transaction fees from the user whatsoever.
The IOTA platform works in tandem with IoT and aims to become the network's backbone. As this backbone, IOTA will become a standard through which IoT devices can transfer data. IOTA believes that intelligent consumption and collaboration of data have unique possibilities in the future. And the platform creates a safe space where IoT device manufacturers and other marketplace entities can interact with each other.
How does IOTA work?
The IOTA system uses a different data structure compared to traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Litecoin. It contains three major components: Client, IOTA node, and Tangle. The transaction flow on the platform takes place as follows:
- Clients are the users of the IOTA network. These users can send transactions they want to be part of the Tangle to the IOTA nodes.
- Nodes are interconnected devices on the IOTA network. These devices maintain the integrity of the IOTA system.
- Tangle is the public ledger that has its copies present on all IOTA nodes. Like the ledger system in Bitcoin, the Tangle transactions cannot be modified once committed.
Compared to a traditional blockchain, the Tangle infrastructure can confirm more transactions in a shorter period. It is because Tangle follows a multi-transaction system instead of the sequential system used on the Bitcoin blockchain.
What are the major benefits of IOTA?
- It’s very Scalable
Scalability is one of the biggest challenges that the Bitcoin network continues to face. IOTA overcomes this issue via Tangle, a ledger system with enhanced transaction speeds and better performance. More importantly, it has been designed to accommodate the Internet of Things ecosystem, which is massive. So, IOTA inherently has the potential to overcome the typical limitations of a payment-focused cryptocurrency.
- No Transaction Fees
The IOTA platform doesn’t use network miners. Instead, there is a simple Proof-of-Work puzzle that users have to solve. Even this is made to remove spam transactions from the network because the Tangle ecosystem uses a unique methodology to verify transactions. Therefore, users don’t have to pay any kind of transaction fees to use the IOTA platform.
- Data Marketplace
Working closely with the Internet of Things ecosystem, IOTA creates an intuitive marketplace for data. It is a hub where developers can access and sell streams of data. These streams, known as Masked Authenticated Messaging encrypted data, contain information from IoT devices’ sensors. Developers can access such streams and create dynamic applications using specific sensor data.
- Extensive Applications
Due to its inherent scalability, the IOTA platform can expand its horizons to areas never seen before. For instance, the platform has already partnered with automotive giants like Jaguar Land Rover, which offers Land Rover owners a way to receive payment for selling data from sensors and make easy payments for tolls and parking. Likewise, the IOTA platform will keep expanding.
The rise of IOTA (MIOTA)
Like other cryptocurrencies, IOTA is also subject to changes in the market. For instance, the IOTA platform’s collaboration with Dell Technologies Inc. caused a rise in the digital token value. Things may happen in the opposite direction as well.
That said, the IOTA platform takes leverage of an area that is least saturated. Considering that the IoT ecosystem is all set to go, IOTA’s data marketplace possibilities are endless at this point. At the same time, MIOTA, the utility token for the IOTA platform, is available on popular cryptocurrency exchanges and digital wallets.
Compared to other cryptocurrencies, IOTA takes a different approach towards Decentralized Finance. It aims to leverage the void in the IoT data marketplace and paves the way for quicker, more reliable transactions without consuming too much power. It is, hands down, one of the groundbreaking projects you can find in the crypto ecosystem.
Buy IOTA (MIOTA) on Liquid
Sign up for an account on the Liquid website or mobile app. You will be able to buy IOTA online in just a matter of minutes. One of the easiest ways to buy cryptocurrencies is through Liquid’s Quick Exchange feature. Buy with your visa card or swap with any other cryptocurrency listed on Liquid. IOTA is also available to trade against BTC and USD.
