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IOTA Foundation Enters Base Layer Race With '2.0' Testnet

IOTA's new testnet addresses the technical feature that nuked the blockchain-like network for nearly two weeks earlier this year.

By Nikhilesh De

Updated Apr 10, 2024, 2:17 a.m. Published Jul 1, 2020, 5:52 p.m.

IOTA is addressing the technical feature that nuked the blockchain-like network for nearly two weeks earlier this year.

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The IOTA Foundation announced Wednesday it is doing away with the “coordinator” that previously validated the blockchain’s transactions.
The new “coordinator-less” network, billed as IOTA 2.0, is meant to rival other smart-contract platforms such as Ethereum, EOS, Tron and Cardano.
IOTA’s MIOTA token currently ranks as the 24th largest cryptocurrency by market cap, according to CoinGecko data, besting zcash (ZEC), cosmos (ATOM) and basic attention token (BAT), among others.
IOTA’s new “Pollen” testnet will serve as a research testbed for a new “fast probabilistic consensus” mechanism.
The IOTA Foundation claims the new network will support decentralized applications (dapps) and smart contracts that can transact without incurring fees.

smart contracts dapps IOTA pollen testnets

Nikhilesh De

Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation, covering regulators, lawmakers and institutions. When he's not reporting on digital assets and policy, he can be found admiring Amtrak or building LEGO trains. He owns < $50 in BTC and < $20 in ETH. He was named the Association of Cryptocurrency Journalists and Researchers' Journalist of the Year in 2020.