IOTA Foundation Releases Long-Awaited Rebase Upgrade, Introducing DPoS, Staking and EVM Compatibility

The IOTA Foundation has confirmed its long-awaited Rebase upgrade will go live on May 5, introducing a fully decentralised network architecture

The IOTA Foundation has confirmed that its long-awaited Rebase upgrade will go live on May 5, introducing a fully decentralised network architecture, staking functionality, and smart contract support at Layer-1.

The transition will see IOTA’s current Stardust protocol replaced by a delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) model, marking the first time the network will operate with community-run consensus. This will see IOTA adopt a validator-based governance model, replacing the coordinator system with 150 permissionless validators.

According to IOTA, this shift will enable sub-second finality and throughput exceeding 50,000 transactions per second, a notable step for a network that has often been criticised for its lack of decentralisation.

It will also see IOTA holders receive staking rewards, ranging from 10% to 15% APY, funded by inflation and the new fee burn. Validators in the genesis include the IOTA Foundation itself, Luganodes, Stakin, Nansen, and a smattering of early community picks.

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The upgrade will also include full EVM compatibility, enabling Ethereum-based smart contracts and decentralised applications (dApps) to operate on the IOTA network.

According to the IOTA Foundation, this integration will expand possibilities for developers and entrepreneurs to build a diverse range of decentralised solutions on the IOTA ecosystem.

The move comes as investor sentiment towards IOTA has improved in anticipation of the upgrade. The IOTA price is currently trading at around US$0.183 (AU$029), up more than 8.5% in the past 24 hours.

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