The IOTA cryptocurrency project’s token experienced a significant surge in value following the announcement of a new initiative.
Amidst the overall growth trend in the crypto market driven by the release of U.S. inflation data and the subsequent rise of Bitcoin (BTC), IOTA also saw a price increase after the IOTA Foundation revealed the launch of the IOTA 2.0 public testnet featuring a built-in proof-of-consensus mechanism stake.
Data from CoinMarketCap shows that the coin’s price skyrocketed with the introduction of the public testnet. After a period of stagnation, IOTA saw a 3.8% price hike, reaching $0.2118. The token’s market capitalization also rose by 4.4%, surpassing $692 million.
Traders notably decreased token trading activity in the past 24 hours, with trading volumes declining by 2.8% to $12.8 million at the time of reporting.
The project’s developers aim to establish a more secure, scalable, and environmentally friendly network. The major change in the new version involves the removal of the coordinator responsible for managing consensus, marking a shift to a fully decentralized model as highlighted by the IOTA Foundation.
Furthermore, the consensus mechanism enhances the network’s scalability and stability, allowing users and developers to test it and form their own assessments.
In a separate development, IOTA announced the establishment of a $100 million distributed ledger technology (DLT) foundation regulated by the Abu Dhabi Global Market last November, known as the IOTA Foundation. The assets will be vested for four years with the primary objective of nurturing the IOTA ecosystem.
In a related development, the EU has chosen IOTA to pilot blockchain technology, showcasing the project’s growing recognition and potential in the industry.