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The Iota (MIOTA) protocol is currently in the headlines today after it revealed its plans to upgrade its mainnet. The upgrade announcement was shared on its official X account, coming as one of the few moves from the protocol to advance the overall functionality and usability of its protocol in recent times.
IOTA Mainnet Upgrade! With the upcoming #Stardust upgrade on #IOTA, the coordinator will be replaced by a Validator Committee. The committee was rigorously tested on @shimmernet & will be deployed on the mainnet as an interim improvement until #Coordicide. https://t.co/B5HQJBdOMw pic.twitter.com/AYW3tq1OGX
— IOTA (@iota) September 12, 2023
The upcoming upgrade is dubbed Stardust, and per its design, it is billed to stir a number of foundational changes on IOTA, including the replacement of the Coordinator with the Validator Committee. In a bid to guarantee the proper deployment and functionality of the Validator Committee, the IOTA protocol confirmed that it has deployed and tested the new protocol on the ShimmerNet prior to this time.
It is worth noting that the immediate destination, which is the mainnet, is not the permanent home for the Validator Committee, which is properly built for Coordicide.
Notably, the upgrade with the Validator Committee at the center will have a more decentralized leaning with members of the public. At its core, the newly rebranded IOTA will also contribute to the increment in network uptime and stability, while also bolstering censorship resistance through the role that will be played by the external entities that will be part of the Validator Committee.
New dawn for IOTA?
The role of IOTA is still not fully appreciated as its core smart contract network, ShimmerNet, is still under heavy construction.
However, there is evidence that IOTA, with these upgrade moves, is doing all it can to enhance its market share in a Web3.0 ecosystem that is fully dominated by the likes of Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), BNB Chain and Cardano (ADA), among others.
The opportunities apparent in the IOTA network at this time have helped sustain its price, which is trading at $0.1628, atop a mild surge of 0.50% at the time of writing.