What is IOTA (MIOTA)?
Until recently, IOTA (MIOTA) was one of the 10 largest crypto currencies in terms of market capitalization.
The company offers a block chain-based solution for the management of smart devices. In doing so, it relies on its own unique way and further development of block chain technology, which differs significantly in its architecture from other projects.
The Technology behind the IOTA Platform
The company describes itself as the “backbone” of the “New Autonomous Machine Economy”. The key technology is the Tangle-Ledger. The Tangle is a direct acyclic graph. The ledger is fed by a set of algorithms that belong to the family of Markov-Chain-Monte-Carlo algorithms. These algorithms each select a binding point on the Tangle Ledger for a transaction.
The Tangle Ledger differs considerably in its structure and mode of operation from Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc. The first difference is that the system works completely without blocks. The transactions are confirmed by two higher-level transactions or nodes in the network. This makes the system very scalable and eliminates the need to generate blocks. All this allows sending micropayments between computers without the associated fees.
Another difference is that the consensus is an essential part of this new system, no longer being decoupled as with blockchain systems. This leads to a self-regulated, decentralized and p2p network. This allows devices to trade exact amounts of resources on demand, while at the same time data can be securely stored and verified on the ledger.
The Tangle Ledger can also work offline using “subtangles”. These subtangles work offline within their defined environment and are then connected to the entire network and updated as soon as an Internet connection is available. This application is useful for companies, for example, when managing their warehouse and supply chains.
The current price development of IOTA’s cryptocurrency MIOTA is monitored by coinmarketcap.com:
https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/iota/
Practical Application Possibilities of the IOTA Blockchain
IOTA’s primary role is to help manage and use smart devices more effectively. In addition to this core task, IOTA can do much more:
Micro-Payments
Micro- and even nano-transactions become easier with IOTA’s tangle architecture. This creates entirely new payment opportunities for businesses where high transaction fees have made it impossible or unprofitable to use.
Secure data transfer
An IOTA key feature is that it can transfer data via the tangle ledger. With IOTA, users can establish secure authenticated channels between different devices. The data transmitted over the tangle is tamper-proof and an external attack is virtually impossible
eGovernance and elections
Secure data transmission can not only be used for the Internet of Things, but also for eGovernance functions. Online voting would thus be easy to conduct with maximum security
Masked Messaging (MAM)
The nodes within the Tangle network can exchange encrypted data. So in practice the user can exchange data between their intelligent devices. This often sensitive data would be absolutely safe because of the encryption. He can also decide whether certain people within the network may have access and share the data with them
Unlimited Possibilities for Service Offerings
With IOTA theoretically everything can be offered or rented as a service. The only criterion is that the device has an integrated chip. So it would be possible to rent devices in real time that are not in use. These could be whole devices or the use of computer memory, computing power, internet bandwidth and much more.
A Forecast on the further Development of IOTA
Eventually, the Internet of Things will find its way into more and more areas of life. From smart cars to smart household appliances and even smart weapons, almost anything is possible today. The market for such devices is thus growing continuously. Therefore, society will not be able to avoid finding a solution for managing all these smart devices. IOTA could be just that solution.
While IOTA’s primary goal is to manage and optimize the Internet of Things, its full potential reaches far beyond that and could be used in many other areas. The ledger promises to be scalable, decentralized and suitable for a variety of applications. Since it gets along completely without transaction fees, it solves the problem of not profitable micro transactions of crypto currencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin or Ether.
The outlook for IOTA is therefore promising. A look at the list of partner companies shows this all the more. Many large companies such as Cisco, Samsung and Fujitsu, to name but a few, participate in the IOTA data marketplace or show interest in using it.
The German company Bosch has recently invested a large sum in the company and hopes for a high increase in value. In this regard, we have also written an IOTA purchasing guide, which is intended to provide interested parties with all important information regarding the purchase.
IOTA’s primary goal is to manage and optimize the Internet of Things
News: How to protect your wallet
As already mentioned, IOTA differs significantly from traditional block chain projects. At irregular intervals the community agrees on a date for a so-called snapshot. Here a kind of snapshot is taken, a “snapshot” of the tangles. This serves then as a new beginning (Genesis) and the transaction history before this time is deleted. This is to prevent the amount of data from becoming too large and growing into infinity.
In this context it can happen that a wallet after the snapshot suddenly shows the value 0. This does not mean that the coins are lost, but the recovery after the snapshot can be complicated and lengthy. It is therefore recommended to take the following precautions:
Before the snapshot: Find the addresses of the first and the last and the total number of transactions made via the wallet and note them down
After the snapshot: If the account balance of the Wallet is correct, nothing else needs to be done. However, if the balance is set to 0, the address can be reconnected to the Tangle network via the sub-items “Receive” and then “Attach to Tangle
In the future, such incidents should no longer occur, as the IOTA development team is currently working on a new and improved wallet. The IOTA wallet was considered to be the platform’s biggest problem, and work on the revised Trinity IOTA wallet is underway.