2017 has been an incredible year for IOTA. After spending its early months hanging around the $ 0.50 mark, it has skyrocketed to its current value of about $3.50. In a topsy-turvy month where many altcoins have taken a hit or stalled in growth, IOTA stands out with a continued rise, comparatively. Much of the reason it has grown is the promise of its technology, which offers zero transaction fees, offline transactions and an infinitely scalable network.
If you’re wondering what is IOTA, in a nutshell it’s a system that allows machines to communicate with each other at no cost whatsoever.
There’s more good news around the corner for IOTA as it plans to revolutionize the Internet of Things industry. In the past week alone, numerous companies and governments have shown interest in IOTA’s technology. Here’s a roundup of IOTA’s recent progress:
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Selects IOTA for its Accelerator Program
In a bid to revolutionize the local economy, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government runs an accelerator program to help integrate foreign technologies into their industry. In the past, companies like Clare.AI and Shift Technology have been selected for the program, receiving funding and advice from experts on how to implement their services for the benefit of Tokyo’s residents and economy.
This year, it’s IOTA’s turn. The coin will now have the chance to connect with local companies to bolster financial services and better IoT infrastructure. This is an excellent opportunity to get a foothold in the Asian market.
Furthermore, most cryptocurrencies have seen their growth limited to the American and European markets. Asia holds some of the fastest growing economies in the world, and there’s a frenzied urgency with which coins are trying to break into enterprise services in these markets. For two months, the IOTA Foundation will be mentored by local companies to help bring IOTA into the local ecosystem. Partnerships will include Sony, Honda and Toyota.
Japan is a country where the Internet of Things has colossal potential. Working with automobile giants like Toyota and Honda will only further cement IOTA’s advantage as a first mover in this industry.
IOTA is Making Moves in Asia and Europe
In addition to entering the Japanese market, IOTA has laid the groundwork for deeper expansion into the European market and other Asian countries.
IOTA is headquartered in Germany and it is sensible for them to begin their growth in their native EU market. Many EU countries, like IOTA founder Sergey Ivancheglo’s home country Belarus, are developing legal frameworks for adoption and use of cryptocurrency. Ivancheglo has stated that he will collaborate with the Belarusian government to integrate cryptocurrency into the national economy.
The president of Belarus has already signed a decree legalizing cryptocurrency, ICOs and smart contracts, paving the way for rapid adoption. The country will also make the industry tax free for the next five years which should greatly encourage investors and companies.
The president has said that “the main goal of the document is to create such conditions that global IT companies would come to Belarus, open their representative offices, development centers, and create popular products in the world.”
It’s good to see that developing economies are seeing the value in cryptocurrency and the potential for it to radically improve an economy. The more governments can fairly implement this emerging technology, the quicker cryptocurrency will become a global system.
Bosch Invests in IOTA and Has Plans for the Tech
Bosch (also known as Robert Bosch GmBH) is a major player in the industrial world. The company has a revenue of about $87 billion – and IOTA has the backing of its CEO, Volkmar Denner.
Denner has revealed that he has purchased a significant number of MIOTA tokens and has strong conviction about the coin’s potential. This partnership between IOTA and Bosch is perfect for the coin, as Bosch is the world’s largest manufacturer of automotive components. IOTA’s focus on facilitating IoT services and the rise of smart self-driving cars make this a venture both companies stand to gain significantly from. Hongquan Jiang, a partner at Robert Bosch, will join the advisory board of IOTA as a part of this deal.
Jiang has stated that IOTA’s technology could be used for security purposes, among other applications. Whatever the case, by joining an industry giant, IOTA is in a prime position to break into an enterprise section market that has significant influence on the automobile industry.
It’s been a busy week for IOTA, and 2018 is expected to be an even more eventful year. The Internet of Things industry is just beginning to spread across the world and IOTA’s inter-machine communications and transactions will help IoT insiders deliver better services to customers.
The real gem in IOTA’s repertoire is Tangle, their Directed Acyclic Graph system that works differently from traditional blockchain ledgers.There’s a lot of buzz about this technology, as it promises to scale infinitely and offer no cost transactions.
IOTA has taken a clever strategic position by being the only main player in an emerging industry like IoT. It is certainly a coin that is going to see wide-scale adoption and revenue generating partnerships in the upcoming years. For this reason, it remains one of our analysts top cryptocurrencies for 2018.
Do you have any thoughts about IOTA’s recent successes? Let us know in the comments below.
