Have we piqued your interest? The migration phase on mainnet will soon start and end on May 5th, 2025. On this date, IOTA will perform its largest mainnet upgrade to date and transition to the Rebased Protocol. The May update will unlock smart contracts via MoveVM. This creates unprecedented potential in decentralized finance, NFT exchanges, play-to-earn games, and tokenized asset universes. This upgrade is a paradigm shift, making IOTA a fully decentralized, scalable blockchain platform.
The Rebased Protocol was created to overcome IOTA’s initial design shortcomings, such as relying on a Coordinator node that is controlled centrally. IOTA’s throughput on the network is predicted to reach over 50,000 TPS. Additionally, IOTA will support fungible and non-fungible multi-asset token standards and introduce cross-chain interoperability solutions in the coming months.
Transition to Rebased Protocol
The move to the Rebased Protocol is an important step for IOTA. Specifically, the upgrade is intended to improve the decentralization, security, and scalability of the network. IOTA bridges that gap by removing the requirement for a central Coordinator node. We’re excited that this move further improves the resilience of the platform and the security of its users.
The Rebased Protocol discovered a new architecture that vastly increases scalability and efficiency. This flexible protocol can power everything from decentralized finance (DeFi) apps to supply chain management. The upgrade is touted to make foundational improvements to the overall performance of the IOTA network.
IOTA token holders will be able to stake their tokens through official wallets, which will be available during the migration phase. Plus, validator candidates can register and set up their infrastructure before the upgrade.
Integration of MoveVM
A central part of the upgrade is the adoption of MoveVM. This virtual machine, built around the Move language, was first created for Meta’s Diem project. MoveVM has already been adopted by several smart contract blockchains including Aptos and Sui. With the integration of MoveVM, we will enable smart contracts to be natively deployed on the IOTA network.
This integration makes it easier and more efficient for developers to build and deploy decentralized applications (dApps) on the blockchain. The Move language purposefully disallows several common smart contract vulnerabilities. This increases the security and reliability of any dApps that are built on IOTA. The addition of MoveVM will surely usher in a new class of developers to the IOTA ecosystem, looking to create the next big decentralized innovation.
The May update will enable a variety of new use cases, including decentralized finance (DeFi), NFT marketplaces, gaming, and tokenized asset systems. These new applications will greatly benefit from the high throughput and low latency of the IOTA network.
Decentralized Validation and Future Enhancements
IOTA will start with 50 permissionless validators to begin with, increasing to 150 as adoption increases. That decentralized system of validation is meant to keep the entire network’s data safe and accurate. Like miners now, the validators will be incentivized for ensuring that transactions are valid and keeping the blockchain’s consensus.
Having more validators will make the network more resilient and secure. This decentralized effect is one of the Rebased Protocol’s most vital and compelling features.
Looking ahead, IOTA aims to support various multi-asset token standards and implement cross-chain interoperability solutions. From tokenization to proof of reserves, these enhancements will continue to broaden the reach and potential of the IOTA network. The standards give users support to create an assortment of digital assets that bridge many asset classes. You can conveniently control these assets on the IOTA blockchain. Cross-chain interoperability solutions would interact in real-time to facilitate cross-chain communication and asset transfer between IOTA and other blockchain networks.
