IOTA Foundation’s Q4 2023 Achievements: Significant Progress Made in IOTA 2.0 Development and Regulatory Compliance

The IOTA ecosystem experienced significant progress in the fourth quarter of 2023, marked by the finalization of the tokenomics whitepaper and consensus protocol, as well as the introduction of the implicit account mechanism. Firefly IOTA 2.0.0 was also released during this period, advancing the development of the Firefly Wallet. Notably, ShimmerEVM achieved over 1.5 million transactions and deployed more than 2,600 smart contracts, further establishing its presence in the community.
Throughout the quarter, the IOTA Foundation and its individual teams achieved noteworthy milestones, while the broader ecosystem continued to benefit from existing and newly introduced tools. In its Q4 report, the Foundation highlighted its progress towards IOTA 2.0 and outlined major plans for the first quarter of the following year.
The report acknowledged significant advancements, including the launch of the IOTA 2.0 introduction campaign, the establishment of the first-ever distributed ledger technology (DLT) foundation under UAE regulations, and the introduction of ShimmerEVM. These achievements were followed by multiple exchange listings, enhancing accessibility for users.
One of the key milestones was the launch of ShimmerEVM, which occurred in the last week of the third quarter but had a substantial impact in the fourth quarter. The Foundation revealed that the community embraced ShimmerEVM from the beginning and it continued to gain traction in terms of transaction volume and user numbers. In fact, ShimmerEVM became one of the top five growing EVM chains based on the total volume locked within its first month.
The Foundation stated:
“With ShimmerEVM now operational, the community has shown its enthusiasm in this short period through the impressive achievement of 7,500 active accounts, over 1.5 million completed transactions, and the deployment of over 2,600 smart contracts on the chain.”
As previously reported, ShimmerEVM enables seamless integration between the Ethereum ecosystem and IOTA’s sister network, Shimmer, acting as a bridge between the two ecosystems.
In terms of wallet development, Firefly IOTA 2.0.0 was launched during Q4, contributing to the ongoing progress of the Firefly Wallet. This release included support for the Mainnet Stardust upgrade, as well as the integration of NFTs, native tokens, and other developer tools.
Significant achievements were also made in core protocol research during the quarter. The Incentives Working Group finalized the Tokenomics Whitepaper, which explores new incentive mechanisms and conducts research on game theory and tokenomics. Additionally, the group released the Mana Calculator, providing users with the ability to simulate Mana generation, delegation, and staking scenarios.
The Congestion Control Working Group optimized the Mana Cost parameters and implemented a secondary buffer to enhance validation block rules. Furthermore, the Parameter Taskforce merged with the Tangle Dynamics Research Working Group, leading to the development of a data metric plugin for iota-core. The groups are currently focused on consensus-related aspects, such as validation blocks.
Other notable developments included the adaptation of ISC to the IOTA 2.0 upgrade and the integration of Move VM and RISC Zero.
On the regulatory front, the IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation achieved registration in the UAE with the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), becoming the first foundation to attain such registration under the country’s new regulatory regime. With $160 million in funding, the Foundation is mandated to expand IOTA’s ecosystem in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
In summary, the fourth quarter of 2023 witnessed significant progress in the IOTA ecosystem, with advancements in tokenomics, consensus protocols, and the introduction of the implicit account mechanism. The launch of ShimmerEVM and Firefly IOTA 2.0.0 further bolstered the ecosystem’s development. The IOTA Foundation also achieved notable milestones, while the regulatory registration of the IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation in the UAE marked a significant step forward.