IOTA Foundation Departs from IoT-Centric Goals in Favor of Tokenization

Dominik Schiener, IOTA Foundation's Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors, recently explained the reason for their move.

IOTA began its journey closely intertwined with the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT). This network of interconnected physical devices, known as IoT, is a vast tapestry woven together by sensors, software, the cloud, and a multitude of technologies.

In contrast to the original vision of IoT, IOTA harnesses the capabilities of its Tangle Web3 platform, which is underpinned by a directed acyclic graph (DAG) infrastructure. This architecture provides a conduit for tamper-proof data, feeless transactions, and minimal resource consumption.

Yet, those following the trajectory of the IOTA Foundation may have discerned a gradual shift from its IoT-centric endeavors towards a greater focus on tokenization. Recently, Dominik Schiener, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors at the IOTA Foundation, elaborated on the rationale behind this transition.

A Departure from IoT and a Focus on Tokenization

In an interview, Schiener noted that while the Internet of Things remains relevant, "the world has moved on" from it, at least in their view.

This realization prompted the IOTA Foundation to slowly pivot away from its initial emphasis on "IoT." For Schiener, digitization and automation have become more pervasive than ever before. In light of this shift, tokenization has taken center stage in these endeavors.

Schiener described tokenization as the "silver bullet of cryptocurrencies" due to its ability to transform assets into an immutable and self-sovereign entity, eliminating the need for intermediaries. He sees this as a crucial ingredient missing from industries in the digital age.

The IOTA representative highlighted that tokenization remains "the biggest untapped market" as the majority of value in the world is still locked within dormant, analog assets. To this end, their aspiration is to integrate these real-world assets (RWAs) with Web3 to unleash their unrealized potential.

The @iota Foundation joins the #AIMCongress2024 in #AbuDhabi as an Official Strategic Partner.

The event will showcase the various real-world assets (#RWA) #tokenization projects of the organization and their real-world use cases.

👉https://t.co/pjgEKDe27b

IOTA and Regulatory Compliance

The IOTA Foundation is a non-profit foundation registered in Germany, enabling it to collaborate with government entities, other non-profit organizations, and legitimate enterprises across Europe and beyond. This focus on regulatory compliance was further evidenced by the organization's strategic expansion into Abu Dhabi, strengthening its presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Its flagship project in MENA is the Trade Logistics Information Pipeline (TLIP). In essence, the platform facilitates the tokenization of trade documents to expedite their processing, transfer, monitoring, and verification, all while ensuring their security and maintaining trust between transacting parties. Currently, TLIP is being piloted in the cross-border exchange of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) trade documents within the East African Community (EAC).

Real world adoption, with real impact across Africa👇

#IOTA https://t.co/fWWkdrOyET

IOTA: Operating Beyond the Norm

Schiener emphasized that IOTA goes "beyond the typical crypto casino," unlike others, showcasing the tangible application of blockchain technology through their signature DAG architecture.

The IOTA Foundation co-founder highlighted that there's more to blockchain and crypto than just trading and investing. With that, they've successfully demonstrated its use cases in trade finance, logistics tracking, digital product passports, and regional vouchers.