Iota (MIOTA): cryptocurrency analysis and value | Bullbear Analytics

Currency name(s):  Iota (MIOTA)
Genesis Block:  June 2016
Total Supply:  Currently, there are around 2.7 billion Iota tokens in circulation, and that is their maximum supply as well
Algorithm: Proof-of-work algorithm using a sha3 version (Kerl), Winternitz One-Time Signature
Features:  decentralized, peer-to-peer transactions, scalable, fast process of transactions
Website:  https://www.iota.org/

What is Iota?

This blockchain network is in the top 20 most-watched networks for a reason: it wants to bridge the gap between blockchain and the internet of things. That is also where the name Iota comes from, it is a world play between Iota, the ancient Greek letter and IoT abbreviation for the Internet of Things – the full name of this network is the Internet Of Things Application. The team behind the Iota network wants to connect two very complex technologies, the blockchain and the internet of things. Both of these technologies operate in their own unique way: while the blockchain is designed to develop unique blocks of information that can be tied to a user, the internet of things is trying to establish communication channels between machines. The internet of things can easily be illustrated with the concept of a smart home – a person enters the driveway of the house, and the house’s wireless router registers the person’s devices connect to it which have a unique signature; once the house ‘understands’ that the owner has approached the front door, it can unlock it. This is all made possible by implementing the internet of things and is possible with the development of 5G networks (because 5G networks send and receive a beam of electricity as data instead of creating a field of electricity then waiting for the device to connect to it).

For the time being, this kind of approach to technology is still in its infancy. However, it is being developed and we are heading in that direction where most if not all devices would be able to connect to each other and function without prolonged human interaction.

Technology

Although seen as a true cryptocurrency on the surface, Iota is not actually a network that is based on any established blockchain technology. The team has decided to create its own type of technology, and they named it Tangle. This new technology is said to be a step further from blockchain technology in several ways: firstly, it can provide services without any fees; secondly, the more devices that start to use this network, the more stable and faster it becomes. Thirdly, it allows complete machine-to-machine communication and transaction completion. Finally, the Tangle protocol is said to be quantum attack-proof, but that this has yet to be tested and confirmed on a larger scale.

The goal of this approach is that the users do not pay any regular fees, but confirm transactions instead (as there can potentially be a huge number of transactions per second). By confirming the previous two transactions, the user’s fee is paid. This is consequentially connected to the second way the Tangle network is faster than blockchain: the more devices are connected to the network, the more transactions occur, therefore the number of transaction verifiers grows. And as the internet of things brings potentially over 10 billion devices connected to the whole internet, Iota could potentially become lightning fast.

The algorithm used to verify blocks is a variant of the proof-of-work sha3 algorithm, known as Kerl. This algorithm is used to verify the whole chain in order for the users to be convinced that the network is secure. However, as the whole network grows, there is a chance for the verification process to drastically slow down, and the team behind Iota is working on the method to prevent this issue from happening.

Iota Markets

Our Iota network market analysis has revealed that even though this token is young, it has gone through the major fluctuations at the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019. Currently, the price for one Iota token is in the range of $0.46, and the market cap is around $1.3 billion. The highest price per token ever recorded was $5.69 and was seen a peak in December 2017. On the other hand, the lowest price ever recorded was in July 2017, and the price per token then was only $0.14.

For the time being, those interested in Iota trading can find trading pairs on Binance, Huobi Global, HitBTC, and Bitfinex. Cryptocurrency holders can buy and sell Iota for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether, but fiat currency trading pairs are supported on selected markets as well, most notable being Bitfinex where traders can buy and sell Iota for US dollars.