Cryptocurrency IOTA (MIOTA) - what it is and why is it needed in simple words

Today, there are already a huge number of blockchain projects that almost every inhabitant of the planet has an idea of. At the same time, it is gaining popularity faster and faster and soon, perhaps, will enter the top ten most popular digital currencies, a new project is the IOTA Coin cryptocurrency . Its work is based on a completely different technology than blockchain. In our article, we will try to consider together with you the possibilities of this project, as well as look into the future of the "Internet of things".

What is IOTA

IOTA (IOTA, MIOTA,) is a cryptocurrency whose work is not based on the blockchain already known to everyone. In this project, a new data structure called "Tangle" is taken as a basis. It does not require chains, blocks, miners to function. The creators of this IOTA technology (a group of German specialists) wanted its most basic use to be related to the Internet of Things (IoT). The Internet of Things (IoT) is an innovative branch of modern technology development, the idea of which is to form a worldwide network consisting of devices equipped with cameras, sensors and sensors. An interesting fact will be that the abbreviation MIOTA, often used when it comes to this cryptocurrency IOTA, stands for "Mega IOTA or Millions of IOTA". The rate of this digital currency, displayed in exchangers, as well as on exchanges, is based on the price of Miota (Mi) (1 million IOTA crypto coins)

According to forecasts made by analysts, the number of such devices will grow rapidly, and will increase by 13 billion by 2022. Thus, their total number will reach 29 billion units. MIOTAs approach to transactions, which is not based on a sequential blockchain, but on Tangle technology (self-confirmation of transfers), has been highly appreciated by users and investors. TANGLE is an innovative data structure based on the Direct Acyclic Graph. Translated from English, its name means "tangle, confusion".

Cryptocurrency IOTA has rapidly begun to gain popularity, and has every chance to enter the top ten very soon. This will be facilitated by the fact that its creators continue to actively work on improving the technology.

IOTA history

Now that you know what IOTA is , it will be interesting to familiarize yourself with the emergence and formation of this cryptocurrency. For the first time they heard about it in 2015 during the ICO (in the period from November 24, 2015 to December 20, 2015) during this time, about 420 million US dollars were raised (this is equivalent to 934 BTC). Of course, this is not a huge achievement these days. However, even a few years ago, such results were truly impressive. This is due to the fact that the ICO culture was just beginning to develop, and only the most "desperate" investors made investments in new unknown crypto projects.

The history of IOTA, or rather the very idea of the project, began back in 2014. It was then that Sergey Ivancheglo created an innovative type of microprocessor called JINN. He worked on the basis of tertiary computing. There is data (and not officially confirmed to this day), according to which it was this technology that was subsequently integrated into IOTA. David Senstebe, Ralph Rotman, Sergey Popov, Dominik Shiner also worked on the project together with Ivancheglo. The very topic of discussion of IOTA arose on Bitcointalk in late fall 2015. After the ICO of this cryptocurrency was over, it was time for beta testing. It was completed only in the winter of 2016.

 And although during this period IOTA was already operating as a platform for making micropayments, coins could only be bought "hand-held". In order to make a listing on exchanges and exchanges, you had to wait until the end of the beta testing period. Only then could we speak of the project as a full-fledged product. And so, it finally happened. In June 2017, ETH / IOTA and BTC / IOTA trading pairs were added to the popular crypto exchange Bitfinex.

Thanks to the efforts of the team, a functioning payment system was presented that allows listing IOTA on many of the most famous cryptocurrency exchanges. But, even despite the popularity of the crypto coin, as well as the growing interest of investors in it, the team continues to work actively to improve the technology.

Distinctive features of IOTA

As we said, IOTA is based on TANGLE technology. For its operation and transactions, the principle of self-regulation is used. It differs from the already well-known sequential blockchain technology, when the corresponding nodes are used to confirm a new operation. To enter the system, each transaction must confirm the two made before it. Accordingly, this transaction will only be accepted and approved when it is confirmed by two subsequent transactions. Thus, the more transactions are performed, the sooner each transaction will be processed.

From the very beginning, the development of such a system was based on the Bitcoin code . The developers faced difficult work related to the adaptation of the TANGLE technology, as well as the elimination of the discovered system vulnerability. But, nevertheless, thanks to their efforts, the IOTA platform was open for the implementation of new developments and technologies.

Since the development of the project was carried out by very competent specialists, today we can talk about the important distinctive features of the IOTA digital currency:

• there is no limit to scaling operations, and the number of transactions that can be processed per second is in the thousands;
• to process operations, you do not need user support in the form of mining. Thanks to this, there is no need to create pools, and there is no need to centralize the release within the boundaries of their work;
• from the previous paragraph it follows that since there is no mining, there are no commissions for making transfers. This means that it becomes possible to carry out micropayments.

In a language that is understandable for users, these aspects can be represented as follows:

• there are no additional costs - no need to pay commissions, the support of the IOTA network is due to each transfer;
• to complete the operation, you do not need to synchronize with the network. It is also not required to verify the entire blockchain. Translations are also available offline;
• no matter how much the payment is made - the absence of a commission contributes to the quick execution of any of them;
• the enormous computing power that has always been required in other cases to process operations is not needed here. Thanks to the self-regulation system, autonomous support for transfers of this cryptocurrency is carried out, regardless of the amount and quantity.

The cryptocurrency was created to carry out settlements between devices of the "Internet of Things". In this case, the participation of the user is completely optional.

How IOTA works

As we have already discussed, in order to make a transaction with IOTA, each of the network participants must take an active part in its work. He must approve two transactions (what a transaction is and we talked about transactions on the Bitcoin network here ) that were made earlier. This validation of the validity of the previous 2 transactions confirms that there will be a consensus across the entire network regarding the current status of approved transfers. Also thanks to this, you can use the large number of special functions existing in IOTA. We are talking about a significant throughput of transactions, which is achieved thanks to parallel verification without restrictions on their number. Also, important functions are the absence of the transfer commission, which was mentioned earlier; high level of security and much greater (when compared to blockchain) decentralization.

Thanks to all of the above, even the weakest computing devices can work with this digital currency. It is enough that they are equipped with at least 16 KB of RAM. It is also worth noting that although transactions with IOTA are carried out with the help of all network participants, the device that uses these cryptocoins in the calculations can simply connect to the Internet periodically. It is possible to carry out transfers using only a local cluster that connects devices to each other. It is also possible to perform them in general offline. Synchronization with the general network should only be done from time to time.

Advantages and Disadvantages of IOTA

There is no doubt that IOTA is one of the most promising cryptocurrencies. The main advantage is that IOTA can be used to carry out daily transactions. In addition, this digital currency has other advantages over the others:

• a serious and responsible team that is constantly working to improve its project;
• huge prospects for the Internet of Things market. This cryptocurrency was created just for use on the Internet of Things market, which, according to experts, will develop more and more actively in the near future;
• the uniqueness of the project. Thanks to the use of Tangle technology in it, it is completely different from the rest. All this makes the cryptocurrency very attractive for both investors and large corporations;
• there is no connection to the Internet. In order to manage certain networks of "smart" devices, it will be possible to connect to the World Wide Web only once a month (or in several months);
• resistance to quantum attacks. According to the developers of this cryptocurrency, it is 51% resistant to attack. The possibility of such an attack exists in the case of using quantum computers, since a system of balanced ternary computing was used to create IOTA (and not the traditional binary ones used by modern computers);
• a fixed number of coins.

Of course, speaking about the advantages of this digital currency, we cannot remain silent about its disadvantages:

• there are a number of difficulties that arise due to the fact that not binary, but ternary computations are used. In addition to requiring additional capacity to store data, the use of ternary computations leads to programming errors in Curl (IOTA hash function);
• the existence of a “coordinator” built into the cryptocurrency system, which is needed to counter cyber attacks. It is also used to control the confirmation of transfers and to help keep the network up and running. All this is in conflict with the very rules of decentralized digital currencies, since the coordinator code is centralized and closed. It should be noted that in the future, the "coordinator" is planned to be removed from the system;
• the original wallet, which was created specifically for this cryptocurrency, has not been finalized. It is possible to download it to a PC, but only beta versions are available for mobile devices. Therefore, most of the users prefer to store IOTA on crypto exchanges in built-in wallets;
• the ability to carry out an attack 51%. In theory, one node can create a transaction that collects 51% of the total network capacity. Thus, such a host can carry out a double-spending attack;
• there is no smart contract technology (which most popular digital currencies have). But the developers are actively working to eliminate this deficiency.

 Does IOTA mining exist?

Probably you, like many users, are interested in the question - is there IOTA mining? And most likely, you will be upset when you hear a negative answer. This cryptocurrency cannot be mined. The reason for this lies in the use of a decentralized platform, where users themselves manage the system. For example, 65% of Ripple coins are kept by the project managers, as for Bitcoin, it is, by and large, managed by large miners.

Unlike Ethereum or Bitcoin cryptocurrencies, the entire volume of IOTA tokens (information about tokens ) was issued once, at the time of creation. The total issue of IOTA amounted to 2.779 quadrillion crypto-coins, while the production of new ones or an increase in the number of coins in other ways is not provided for by the project developers. Hence, IOTA mining is not currently possible. And therefore, when performing operations with IOTA, you are not engaged in the creation of new tokens, but in the usual confirmation of previous operations.

We hasten to inform you that there is no need to get upset and consider the impossibility of mining these coins as a serious drawback of IOTA, because it is thanks to this factor that transactions in the system are carried out without commission. If you want to buy MIOTA cryptocurrency, you can do it on the popular Binance crypto exchange, as well as on other major trading platforms.

How do I buy or sell IOTA?

As it is already known, the IOTA cryptocurrency is officially on the exchanges, respectively, any participant in the crypto market has the opportunity to purchase it. It is also possible to exchange IOTA for other cryptocurrencies. In our article we will try to explain in simple words how you can profitably and quickly acquire IOTU. If you are eager to buy this cryptocurrency, and then pay with it or receive income after its price increase, you will be interested in reading the instructions we have developed. It is quite simple and easy to understand for any user.

First of all, lets immediately note that there is no better crypto exchange for acquiring IOTA this year than the Chinese Binance. It is here that you can buy digital currency as quickly, simply, and profitably as possible. Beginners will especially like working here, since Binance, in addition to making transactions safely, also boasts an intuitive interface, multilingual support, and easy-to-use tools. In addition, there is a Russian-language online chat, whose specialists are ready to help in solving any problem that appears and answer all questions. All this makes Binance crypto exchange truly the best place to buy IOTA for both beginners and experienced users.

Note also that the opportunity to buy YOTU for RUR or USD on Binance is not possible: you can receive this digital currency on a crypto exchange only by exchanging it for another. It is easier and more profitable if it can be exchanged for BTC. And therefore, first you will need to buy Bitcoin crypto coins for fiat money, bring them to the Binance crypto exchange, and only then exchange BTC for IOT. Other digital currencies (ETH and BNB) can be used in the same way.

The whole process can be represented as several stages:

• first of all, you need to register on Binance and get a personal account;
• you need to receive a letter that the exchange will send to your email;
• now you need to complete the registration by clicking on the link in the letter. Please note that when you first log in, Binance offers to connect confirmation via SMS or two-factor authentication. You can agree or refuse this by selecting the desired option in the profile settings. However, it is better not to neglect these additional security measures;
• replenish your account on the exchange, for this, transfer the required amount of Ethereums and Bitcoins to it. If you do not have this cryptocurrency, you can purchase it on the trading platform (for example - Bestchange.ru will be clearly prompted by the cryptocurrency exchanger );
• when there is already BTC or ETH on the crypto exchange account, you can proceed directly to the purchase of IOTA. You will need to choose which cryptocurrency you will buy IOT for (Bitcoin or Ethereum), as well as indicate the required amount. The entire purchase process takes no more than ten seconds, after which you will see the amount of IOTA that you have purchased on your account.

You can also buy IOTA on the Bitfinex exchange. The scheme of work in this case will be similar to that already discussed. First you need to register here to get a personal account. It should be noted that you can buy IOT on this crypto exchange only for Bitcoins. Therefore, first you need to replenish your account with a certain amount of BTC, and then exchange them for IOTA.

After purchasing the IOTA, you can leave it stored on the crypto exchange, but lets say right away - this is not the best idea. First of all, because you will not be able to use this cryptocurrency as a means of payment. In addition, no one can know how the rules for its storage or withdrawal will change in the near future. do not forget that even if it is minimal, there is always a risk of exchange hacking, and therefore the safety of your funds, as well as their safety, will be in question. If you store IOTA on a wallet that can be accessed even from mobile devices, you wont have to worry about its security, and access to it will become much easier. Experts recommend using IOTA Wallet for this on a PC or smartphone.

To withdraw IOTA from the Binance exchange, you will need:

• on the home page, click "Active", and then "Withdraw cash";
• select "Select Withdrawal Coin" and then "TRX";
• write the address of the IOTA crypto wallet (first you need to download it, and then install it on the selected device);
• specify in the required field how many coins will be displayed;
• the final cost is calculated automatically by the system. In this case, the commission of the trading platform is charged;
• if you activate two-factor verification for additional protection, you will need to enter a six-digit code. It will be generated on your mobile device;
• you will receive an email with an activation link. You will need to follow it and confirm the operation.

Now you can wait for the receipt of funds to your online wallet. On average, this happens within a few hours at the most (although often the money is credited in 20-30 minutes).

IOTA rate to the ruble.

As of the middle of the day on August 10, 2019, the IOTA rate to the ruble is 16.59 RUR per 1 MIOT. In general, during the day, there was a decrease of 2.09%. The market capitalization of this cryptocurrency on the specified date is ₽46,102,829,015 . 

IOTA rate to dollar

As for the IOTA rate against the dollar, according to https://coinmarketcap.com/ru/, as of 08/10/2019, it was USD 3.92 per 1 MIOT. Over the past 24 hours, it has decreased by 0.10%. In general, the value of the market capitalization of this digital currency at this date reached the figure of 3 635 315 557 US dollars.    

IOTA to EUR rate

Now lets look at how the IOTA rate to EUR changed on 08/10/2019. As of the middle of the day, it amounted to 3.48 EUR per 1 MIOT. Over the past day, it has decreased by 0.10%. Market capitalization as at the date indicated was € 3,222,656,347. 

Where to store IOTA

As we noted in the previous sections, it is best to store IOTA on a cryptocurrency wallet designed to store this cryptocurrency. The easiest way is to download it on the official website (iota.org), once on which you need to select the "Wallet" section. It is worth noting once again that you will not be able to store any other digital currency other than YOTA on such a crypto wallet. After that, you will need to go to the trinity.iota.org website and download the version of IOTA Wallet specifically for your device. After downloading the installation file, you can proceed directly to the installation, which will take only a few minutes. From this mobile wallet you can easily manage your own funds, you can also use the QR code to encrypt the wallet number.

There are also other types of wallets where you can store your IOTA coins:

• a desktop wallet that is a convenient and secure way to store digital currency. In this case, the private keys are stored on the users computer, but they can only be accessed using specialized programs;
• a web wallet considered to be the safest way to store your digital currency funds. You can get access to them thanks to an Internet connection with a specialized service. If you need to make fast transactions, as well as have round-the-clock access - this wallet is for you;
• thanks to a hardware wallet, you can store your private keys on an offline device. This does not require access to the worldwide network. This ensures high reliability of the protection system. To connect and complete a transaction, you will need to enter a PIN;
• a paper wallet is another secure way to store private keys offline. In this case, it is mandatory to print the private key on paper.

How much IOTA total

Of course, you are wondering how much IOTA has been issued in total since the inception of the project? We inform you that their total number is 2,779,530,283,277,761 coins. During the crowdsale from November 24, 2015 to December 20, 2015, all 100 percent of the tokens were sold. The volume of these cryptocoins remained fixed, and their emission was absent. All IOTA tokens were created in the genesis block from the very beginning. This means that their number will forever remain the same. It can neither increase nor contract. As we mentioned earlier, it is impossible to mine YOTU - it can only be obtained by purchasing from other participants in the crypto market.

IOTA emission

The developers of this project used a new, previously unused emission scheme. The entire mass of IOTA cryptocurrency was issued at the start of the project. As already mentioned, its total amount was 2,779x1015 IOTA. From the very beginning, the funds were accumulated on the account of the project developers, then, after the end of the ICO, they were distributed among its participants.

What is provided with IOTA

The success of the IOTA project is mainly due to the Tangle platform. It is an affordable distributed ledger with zero fees. Tangle is focused on the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) market and could become its leading protocol in the future. Under the Internet of Things, it is customary to understand a network in which physical objects can interact with each other thanks to embedded technologies. To date, there is still no global network - we can only see some autonomous foci. As an example, we can cite “smart houses”, in which heating and electricity are switched on and off automatically. But it is quite possible to combine such houses into cities, and them into a global network. Thanks to the Internet of Things, it will be possible to influence most of the social and economic processes, making them more rational.

With IOTA, it is possible to connect almost all processes in the Internet of Things ecosystem by customizing transaction chains. It also becomes possible due to the ability to quickly carry out huge amounts of micropayments. In addition, Tangle, unlike Blockchain, has no scalability issues. This platform works in such a way that in order to interact with other nodes, the device does not need to always be connected to the worldwide network. The connection can be made every few days or even months.

The difference between Tangle and Blockchain is that TANGL can contain conflicting transactions. In addition, the total number of hosts need not necessarily have an identical copy of Tangle. The main tasks of a complete network node include:

• broadcasting payments with correct PoW and digital signature;
• correct selection of transactions for confirmation in the process of creating a new payment (tip selection algorithm);
• establishment of payment confirmation (a transaction can be considered confirmed if it is indirectly confirmed by new transactions). This can be verified by running the tip selection algorithm again.

The future of IOTA

In a few years, IOTA will give companies the opportunity to use innovative b2b models. At the same time, any technological resource will be able to work as a potential service available for purchase online in the open market. You dont have to pay any commissions or other fees. Thanks to Tangle, it will be possible to create reliable, authenticated and secure channels of communication between devices.

According to forecasts given by experts, over time, each of the physical resources connected to a single network can be rented online. It can be both equipment and volumes for storing information, and computing power of a PC. In addition, thanks to the use of Tangle, an innovative opportunity will appear: it will be possible to safely transfer information to eGovernance (including for electronic voting). Nowadays there are already companies doing research on this issue.

The largest technology giants (Microsoft, Google, Samsung, IBM, etc.) are working on the development of the Internet of Things (IoT for short). The IOTA project is already working with some of these companies, while others are discussing the possibilities of implementing the ideas of the Internet of Things jointly. The very fact that global giants are involved in the development of the IoT suggests that this project will be in great demand among consumers. It is unlikely that the large companies listed by us would be engaged in something unpromising or "unrealistic."

It is difficult to overestimate the possibilities of using IOTA technologies. In fact, thanks to them, a full-fledged replacement for the sequential blockchain appears, on the basis of which most cryptocurrencies work. The developers themselves put the Internet of Things as a development priority. This concept includes the interaction of all devices that surround a person in everyday life. The developers believe that over time, all such gadgets can be combined into a single local network. It can exchange data between devices for the most efficient use of them. Tangle technology is being improved taking into account all of the above, so the digital currency IOTA, working on its basis, turns into a kind of platform for testing and improvement.

Users of the IOTA cryptocurrency can appreciate its simple functionality. There are no transaction fees here, nor do you need to create heavy wallets. At the same time, thanks to self-sufficiency, it is possible to quickly send any micropayments, and this is quite important at the household level of purchases.

Thus, you yourself can see all the benefits of using the IOTA cryptocurrency. This means that we can talk about its prospects for investment, based on the growing popularity of this platform. This cryptocurrency is growing in value, analysts predict that the future of IOTA may be quite prosperous. It is worth noting that experts recommend long-term investment, in which you need to focus on improving the existing technology.

 Projects on the IOTA Network

It is still impossible to determine exactly when the Internet of Things will finally enter the active phase of its own development. Taking into account the fact that the population of the planet has recently begun to realize all the advantages of blockchain technology and gradually introduce it into various spheres of life, the heyday of the IoT will definitely not come in the next year. According to experts, the popularization of the Internet of Things can be expected only when the use of blockchain technology is common. Together with the automation of processes, as well as the popularization of the blockchain, the world will become as computerized as possible, respectively, the field for the development of the IOTA digital currency and the Internet of Things will expand.

The most optimistic projections suggest that it will take another five years or so before that happens. And only then will the Internet of Things technology have an opportunity for further development. Based on this, there are grounds to say that the most important stage in the development and application of IOTA will take place in 2022-2025. At the same time, it should be noted that for another 2-3 years there will be a phase of active revision of the project, which means - you can expect a jump in prices for these crypto coins.

Today IOTA, due to the use of a unique technology, is the most interesting project for companies wishing to work with the Internet of Things (or already working). Today IOTA cooperates with a number of similar companies:

• Bosch, which invested a large sum in the project back in 2017. With the help of IOTA, Bosch wants to achieve absolute autonomy of the manufactured machines;
• Volkswagen, which began cooperation in June 2018;
• DNB is a Norwegian bank that wants to work with IOTA to improve distributed ledger technologies used in the financial sector;
• with Innogy SE, an energy company from Germany.  

Thus, you can see that although IOTA is still a young and “special” cryptocurrency today, the “Internet of Things” will evolve over time. Of course, this will not happen in the coming years, so investors can not expect super-profits yet. But in the long run, things can change dramatically.