IOTA 2.0: All You Need to Know

An Index of All Introductory Content for IOTA 2.0

TL;DR:

This page lists all content released since October 2023 as part of the introduction to the upcoming IOTA 2.0 protocol upgrade.

Taking place in 2024, the IOTA 2.0 protocol upgrade is a groundbreaking improvement for the IOTA network. First as a testnet in Q1 before moving onto Shimmer and finally IOTA mainnet, its enhancements include uninterrupted transaction processing during disruptions, swift and democratic consensus, increased decentralization, and robust security features. IOTA 2.0 also introduces diverse output types, sustainable tokenomics, feeless transactions for token holders, and advanced protection against MEV manipulation. Beyond technicalities, IOTA 2.0 encourages active and long-term engagement, offering rewards through staking or delegating tokens. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Over the past few months, we’ve introduced all aspects of IOA 2.0 across blog posts, Wiki articles, videos, presentations, and more. Together they are blueprints for a future where everyone can enjoy digital autonomy. We’ve listed them here as a convenient starting point for your exploration of IOTA 2.0.

Blog posts

The starting point for your journey into IOTA 2.0, our series of blog posts starts with the general vision behind IOTA 2.0 before addressing the architecture, consensus, and tokenomics of the protocol upgrade.

Part 1: Digital Autonomy for Everyone: The Future of IOTA.

Part 2: Five Principles: The Fundamentals That Every DLT Needs.

Part 3: Data Flow Explained: How Nodes Process Blocks.

Part 4: Data Structures Explained: The Building Blocks that Make the Tangle.

Part 5: Accounts, Tokens, Mana and Staking.

Part 6: A New Consensus Model: Nakamoto Consensus on a DAG:

Part 7: Confirming Blocks: How Validators Operate.

Part 8: Congestion Control: Regulating Access in a Permissionless System.

Part 9: Finality Explained: How Nodes Sync the Ledger.

Part 10: An Obvious Choice: Why DAGs Over Blockchains?

Part 11: What Makes IOTA 2.0 Secure?

Part 12: Dynamic Availability: Protocol-Based Assurances.

Part 13: Fair Tokenomics for all Token Holders.

Part 14: UTXO vs Accounts: Merging the Best of Both Worlds.

Part 15: No Mempool, No MEV: Protecting Users Against Value Extraction.

Part 16: Accessible Writing: Lowering the Barriers to Entry.

Wiki articles

The ideas presented in the blog posts and videos can be explored in more detail on the IOTA Wiki.

1. Digital Autonomy for Everyone and Five Principles
2. Data Flow
3. Data Structures
4. Tokenomics: Mana, Accounts, Staking and Delegating
5. Mana Calculator
6. Consensus
   – Consensus on a DAG
   – Preliminaries
   – Tip Selection Algorithm
   – Consensus Flags
   – Chain Switching Rule
   – Relevant Algorithms
7. Validators, Their Selection, and Rotation
8. Communication layer: Congestion control, block creation, and processing

Videos

Taking their cues from the blog posts, short, sharp videos deliver IOTA 2.0 ideas in a nutshell:

1. Digital Autonomy for Everyone
2. Five DLT Principles of IOTA 2.0
3. Mana on IOTA 2.0
4. Revolutionizing Consensus with IOTA 2.0
5. Securing Consensus with Slot Commitment Chains on IOTA 2.0
6. Confirmation and Finality on IOTA 2.0
7. Delegating and Validating on IOTA 2.0
8. IOTA 2.0's Sustainable Tokenomics
9. Powerful Transactions on IOTA 2.0
10. Better Processing with IOTA 2.0

Q&As and presentations

With much of the introduction campaign out in front of the public, Billy Sanders, our Director of Research, took time out to explain how IOTA 2.0 will work live on our Discord channel – you can re-watch the video on our YouTube channel.

In a follow-up online Q&A session, also held on Discord, community members asked several questions to Billy as well as Andrew Cullen, Andrea Villa, Darcy Camargo, Nikita Polianskii, and Piotr Macek from our team of researchers and engineers. You can watch the video here or read the transcript here.

Finally, Dr. Olivia Saa, Senior Research scientist at the IOTA Foundation gives an overview of the incentives and tokenomics behind IOTA 2.0. You can follow up by looking through the Incentives and Tokenomics whitepaper itself here.

IOTA 2.0 in 2024