IOTA’s Focus on Government Adoption, EVM Launch, and Staking Drives Accelerated Growth

• IOTA has scheduled its EVM launch for March this year to introduce smart contracts and staking rewards on the Shimmer network to revitalize growth and adoption.
• It will expand IOTA’s Layer 1 capabilities, boosting liquidity by integrating with EVM-compatible dApps and creating a robust and interoperable ecosystem.

In one of the anticipated developments in the blockchain world, IOTA is set to release its Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) integration in March, marking the network’s integration with the largest ecosystem of decentralized applications in the world.

IOTA Foundation chairman Dominik Schiener made the announcement a week ago, sparking excitement in the IOTA world and beyond. While the EVM integration will significantly impact the entire ecosystem, it will impact the Shimmer network the most.

The integration expands IOTA’s capabilities as a Layer 1 protocol, and by integrating with Ethereum, it unlocks access to thousands of decentralized applications compatible with EVM. Ethereum is the undisputed dApp leader; for context, in the past 30 days, 18 of the top 20 dApps were running on Ethereum and processed $2.4 billion. With the EVM integration, IOTA can now tap into this rich ecosystem, boosting the liquidity and interoperability of the network.

While announcing the launch, Schiener called on users to stake their IOTA tokens to be eligible for airdrops. Staking directly benefits the holders as they earn rewards and boost the entire ecosystem’s security.

IOTA 2.0 Testnet Launching in Q2

With the EVM integration set to steal the show in the first quarter, the focus in Q2 will be moving closer to the release of IOTA 2.0. Schiener revealed that the Foundation plans on releasing the testnet in the second quarter.

IOTA 2.0 is a protocol upgrade that will introduce new features, such as increased decentralization, more democratic consensus and more robust security, including better protection against maximal extractable value (MEV) manipulation. Token holders will also enjoy feeless transactions while new models in staking rewards will set the network up for long-term success.

It starts with the testnet to weed out bugs and make improvements. It will then proceed to the test network, Shimmer, before finally launching on the main IOTA network.

All these developments are geared towards sparking the adoption of IOTA in the real world. One of the main areas of target is tokenization. According to some estimates, the market value of tokenized assets will exceed $10 trillion by 2030, making it the sector with the highest potential in the blockchain world.

IOTA is targeting the tokenization of real-world assets, and with partners like Fireblocks, it offers an all-in-one token custody solution.

Meanwhile, IOTA’s token has shot up in the past week, gaining 25% to surge from $0.203 to change hands at $0.25 at press time. This momentum has slowed down in the past day, where it has traded within a 1% range while the volume dipped a staggering 38%.