IOTA

IOTA cryptocurrency guide advises where to buy and how to buy IOTA. This guide also contains the markets, value, trading, investing, buying, selling, transactions, blockchain, mining, technology, advantages, risks, history, legislation, regulation, security, payment, networks and many other interesting facts about IOTA as well its status in the world of cryptocurrencies.

IOTA, Tuesday, 2023-05-09

IOTA (MIOTA)

1 What Is IOTA?
2 Beginner's Guide to IOTA
3 Where and How to Buy IOTA?
4 IOTA Markets
- 4.1 Value of IOTA
- 4.2 Is It Profitable to Invest in IOTA?
5 Where to Spend or Use IOTA?
- 5.1 Can IOTA Grow to Become a Major Payment Network?
6 How Does IOTA Work?
7 IOTA Regulation
8 Is IOTA Secure?
9 History of IOTA
- 9.1 Who Created IOTA?
10 IOTA Videos and Tutorials
11 See Also

What Is IOTA?

IOTA is a new sort of cryptocurrency commonly referred as open source distributed ledger designed to focus on reliable transaction whether money or microtransactions occurring between machines on the internet. IOTA forms a sustainable economy which is clearly based on demand and supply principle. IOTA transactions are primarily free of cost, secure and fast. Its system conveniently manages a large number of transactions without any issues. The primary goal of IOTA technology is to permit a different kind of devices to involve in money transfer or microtransaction free of cost. It is believed that in coming times there will be more than 50 million internet enable devices which will completely revolutionize the financial world.

Beginner's Guide to IOTA

Internet of things (IoT) is making the world go crazy. This is considered to be the 4th industry revolution and technology has completely transferred the business world. In the coming years, there will be improvements in every sector as smart houses, smart finance, and smart plants will become the reality.

As of now, there are only a few electronic devices which are able to take part in the transaction. However, this thing is bound to be changed in future as more number of devices will become ready to take part in the transaction or microtransaction. There will be more machines than a human being. IOTA has created an ecosystem for the machines where machines will participate in the microtransaction. The common household electronic devices such as refrigerator, washing machine and oven will be able to do the microtransaction. This interconnectivity is going to become the new key to the economy. With interconnectivity, a large number of devices will become capable of sending and receiving data in large quantity. Nowadays, we are solely dependent upon the internet and if it goes down for a day, it can be catastrophic as everything will come to halt. However, it is not a great thing to solely depend upon a single channel. Therefore, developing IOTA that enables machines to communicate with different channels such as Bluetooth, internet ZigBee or LoRa will not let human being dependent upon a single channel.

Where and How to Buy IOTA?

There are plethoras of ways to buy IOTA. One can purchase IOTA for Dollars, Bitcoins (BTC) and Bitfinex. However, currently, Bitfinex is considered to be the best choice to purchase IOTA as it offers the greatest liquidity. People who are residing in the US and purchase the IOTA with Bitfinex should replace it as Bitfinex as it is not currently verified in the country.

Those who want to withdraw IOTA can use paper wallet as it is considered to be the easiest way to store the cryptocurrency for the longest period. Those people who are well-versed with technology can install a desktop wallet.

IOTA Wallet

Being an entirely new project, there is the unavailability of a trusted or reliable wallet to store the coins. The available options have not gained enough trust and popularity; therefore, people are storing their coins in an exchange which is a good way to secure their coins. Especially, people who don't have sound technical knowledge are opting for exchanges. Therefore, it is being advised that if you have good knowledge of computers or mobile, then you should opt for desktop wallet or paper wallet to guard your coins. Some of the wallets where IOTA currency can be stored include:-

Desktop Wallet: You can use desktop IOTA wallet to store your coins. To download IOTA, you can refer to official IOTA site and download the desktop version of IOTA wallet. The desktop wallet version is available for Windows, Mac or Linux. While downloading the wallet go to the light node and a host. When you will download and install IOTA wallet on your desktop, you can generate 81 character seed that will contain uppercase letters and number 9. This is significantly confidential and critical; therefore, keep it in a secure place.

IOTA Web Wallet: It is suggested currently to not opt out of the web wallet. Since it is not totally developed and still under the testing.

IOTA Mobile Wallet: IOTA mobile wallet is available for both Android and iOS operating system. The beta version of the Android is available for the download but it is available with a disclaimer to use it at your own risk. According to users, IOTA mobile version works well but it is not ready yet as it has not been officially released.

IOTA Paper Wallet: It is supposed to be the most secure option available to store the coins. Similar to the desktop wallet, a paper wallet also has 81 character seed including all uppercase letters and number 9. This paper wallet can be generated and printed to keep it for the future usage purpose.

Where to Buy IOTA with Credit Card?

Although IOTA is a hot cryptocurrency these days, it is not easy to procure it as various exchanges don’t directly facilitate the exchange of IOTA with fiat currency. There has not been any platform that provides the IOTA coins with credit or debit cards. If still, one desires to buy the IOTA with credit cards, then it is feasible only in U.S. or U.K. But there also, one is required to submit the ton of official documents which consumes a lot of time. Therefore, the following way is the best alternative to surpass the time-taken in the whole procedure.

To get IOTA coins, one needs to prior have Bitcoins or Ethereum which can be easily obtainable through several exchange platforms i.e. Kraken, CEX, and Coinbase etc. Also, these coins can be bought by credit card, debit card, bank account, and PayPal. Then the individuals have two alternatives i.e. either Bitfinex or Binance. Both the exchange platform provides the IOTA coins in exchange for other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, or Ethereum. Bitfinex is the platform which is only accessible to non-US citizens whereas Binance is accessible to all citizens across the globe. Thus, to acquire the IOTA cryptocurrency, one needs to create an account on two exchange platforms i.e. one on the exchange to get the Bitcoins or Ethereum and the other one on either Bitfinex or Binance.

Where to Buy IOTA with PayPal?

PayPal is a digital platform that enables the online transfer of money. It also facilitates the exchange of cryptocurrencies with the fiat currency. Here, one can obtain Bitcoins, Litecoins, and Ethereum in exchange for USD or EUR. But to acquire the IOTA is seems pretty difficult as the first-hand conversion is not available. One can go for the other alternative i.e. buying the other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum through PayPal and then going for conversion into IOTA via two platforms, Binance and Bitfinex. Both the exchange platforms particularly deal with the exchange of IOTA for other cryptocurrencies. Moreover, they provide an immediate conversion and the user can easily store his money in the account until the time he wants to. Also, user is eligible to trade in IOTA on any other platform whenever he desires.

Although, using PayPal the peer-to-peer exchange transactions are enabled which says that if one user is having IOTA and wants to sell, then he can directly market it to the one who wishes to buy.

How to Buy IOTA with Wire Transfer?

Wire Transfers are analogous to the bank transfers i.e. transferring the money from one account to another account. Although, it also doesn’t enable the direct exchange of IOTA for USD or EUR yet the Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies can be exchanged incurring a negligible fee. The minimum amount they charge is $20 and 0.1% of the total sum. Even the express wire transfers charge only 1% of the whole sum and also complete the transaction within 24 hours on working days. They also cost minimum $20 for the transactions. So, the IOTA is exchangeable via Bitcoins through Binance or Bitfinex exchange platform and wire transfers are only usable for the conversion of fiat currency to Bitcoins or Ethereum.

Where to Sell and Trade IOTA?

Despite being one of the most talked and largest cryptocurrency there are only a limited number of exchanges available from where you can buy or trade the IOTA coins.

There are only two established exchanges available at the moment to trade IOTA. As of now, you can't buy IOTA coins with the exchange of IOTA. Currently, if you want to purchase IOTA, then you first need to buy Ethereum or Bitcoin. After having sufficient cryptocurrencies, you can send it to the available exchanges to buy or trade it for IOTA.

Bitfinex: Bitfinex is currently considered to be the ideal exchange to trade IOTA cryptocurrency. Based out of Hong Kong, this exchange unit is receiving a large number of cryptocurrency to process IOTA on daily basis. However, if you are based in the US, then, unfortunately, you can't use Bitfinex as the company has discontinued its service in this region.

The process of buying IOTA from Bitfinex is extremely simple. One can follow the below given steps to buy IOTA:-

Step One: First of all, to buy or trade IOTA coins, you need to sign up for the system. Without registration, you are not allowed to take part in the transaction. It is easy and fast to register yourself on this website. To do so, you need to create your account and verify it.

Step Two: To make your account more secure, you can add 2FA security layer on the website.

Deposit the Cryptocurrency in your account: As mentioned above, IOTA coin can be bought either using Bitcoins or Ethereum. Therefore, one needs to deposit cryptocurrency in their account before being ready to purchase the IOTA coins. After login into Bitfinex, you can scroll through various available options and can click on the deposit tab and deposit the Bitcoin or Ethereum.

How Much Are the Transaction Fees of IOTA?

Good news for crypto traders or those searching for IOTA transaction fees will find themselves having some relief as IOTA has zero transaction fees. Yes! It’s true, as there is no need to waste large quantities of energy on mining of IOTA coins or risk inevitable validation centralization.

An IOTA transaction takes place when user’s device simple confirms two transactions on the network. Further to approve these transactions, both the devices go through the process i.e. the proof of work which is essentially a series of math problems. These problems are so simple that it can be easily solved by any modern device including smartphones or laptops.

As the network eliminates the need for stakers/miners, newly minted units of currency and transaction fees do not need to be extracted from the system to pay validation fees. All this results in zero transaction fees in IOTA.

IOTA Markets

IOTA has succeeded in changing the equations. A large number of people are shifting their attention toward this technology. IOTA recently also broke the record by receiving more than 1.5 billion USD in the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange platform. On the very first day, it jumped in the top 10 cryptocurrencies available in the market. The future of the IOTA market looks exciting as big companies and corporate houses are started investing their money in this cryptocurrency. Seeing the current trade, it would be no exaggeration to say that decentralized is going to be the new buzz in the world. Here it is also important to mention that by the end of 2016, IOTA received more than 3 millions of transaction making it one of the most sought and popular technology.

Value of IOTA

In the beginning of 2018 IOTA ranks at top 10 among other cryptocurrencies such as Ripple, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin that are available in the crypto market. Starting from just $0.6385 USD in the beginning (June 2017) the currency has shown growth and now reached a good position of around $2 USD. Though some other currencies have done exceptionally well but still considering its popularity IOTA has managed to keep crypto traders busy at some point.

The value of IOTA reached an all time high of $5.69 USD, with highest market cap of $14,929,000,000 in December 2018. Since then the cryptocurrency has seen a certain decline but still those who are holding the IOTA currency will not think much about this decline as in the initial stage IOTA value was nowhere in the league of cryptocurrencies.

With zero fee involved in the transaction of IOTA, it is expected that the currency will once again benefit the interested crypto traders in the year 2018. For those who have already invested in other cryptocurrencies such as Dash, Litecoin, Ripple, Ethereum, etc., it is suggested to not to place all eggs in one basket, IOTA can be considered as equally good option for making good amount of returns.

Is It Profitable to Invest in IOTA?

As of now, the experts are already analyzing the future of this technology and whether one should invest in it or not is still not cleared. However, some of the experts are claiming that IOTA is going to be the next thing and one should invest their money in this system. On the other hand, there are several experts who have doubts about the success of this system. They often display their apprehension citing the reason that this project is currently under development and in recent times, its value has not increased and they claim that the success or failure of this technology is entirely dependent on funding of this digital currency.

Some people say that it is a new project, therefore, it requires adequate time to nurture, whereas, it is not true at all because this technology is present since 2015 and several big companies such as TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Forbes, Cointelegraph, CIO have already invested some amount in it. However, it's been more than two years now and still, there is no sufficient development being recorded for the currency. Despite this slow progress, many people still believe that future belongs to this technology and by 2020 Internet of Things (IoT) connections will reach near to 1 billion.

However, emphasizing the overall experts' advice it is the right time to invest in the IOTA as some momentum has been seen in the technology in 2017. With more companies making their plans to invest in this technology it means that it is the right time to put your money in this technology. Day by day, the IOTA is gaining more and more attention. A lot of people are drifting toward the IOTA system especially those who are no longer interested in the Bitcoin and blockchain and want some change from their regular investments. Therefore, it is the right time to invest your money in this technology.

Where to Spend or Use IOTA?

IOTA makes use of the Tangle to perform transactions in a secure and reliable manner. The reason what makes IOTA different from other currencies is its scalability and zero transaction fees as miners are eliminated within the network. The success of any currency in the crypto market depends upon the usage and purchasing power of that particular currency. Thus for IOTA, if you are looking for similar question like where to spend IOTA or where to use IOTA then here is what you should know:-

Transferring of data – IOTA technology can be used to boost seamlessly sharing processing power between phones, computers, and other devices.
Locating lost data – IOTA developers are now stepping ahead to partner with different organizations and sharing their distributed ledger system to focus on technology that will help to find the lost data.
E-Governance – It could be a secure, low-cost and tamper-proof way for populations to vote and participate in government.
Communication – IOTA technology can be helpful for promoting secured and cost-effective way of communication through computers, phones or other similar devices.

It is hard to predict IOTA coins future role within the Tangle network as the technology is built as an instrument to help machines speak with other machines. The uniqueness of the technology makes it hard to predict what should be the end usage of IOTA or where it should be spent.

Can IOTA Grow to Become a Major Payment Network?

IOTA is cryptocurrency that focuses on the machine to machine transaction. As of now, it would be difficult to predict that whether IOTA will grow into a major business network or not. Several experts have shown their support to this cryptocurrency but they also have apprehensions related to this technology. Various big companies or corporate houses are investing their money in this cryptocurrency. Hence, it could be estimated that IOTA is noble cryptocurrency to invest in as of now and it could become a major payment in the network.

How Does IOTA Work?

IOTA is commonly referred to be the ledger of things. It is open source distributed model where participants can participate to carry out the microtransaction. The IOTA utilizes a new invention model which is called "Tangle." Tangle is basically a new kind of data structure based on a Directed Acyclic Graph which is hugely different from the blocks or chain. There is no requirement for blocks, chains or minors to carry out the transaction. All transactions are conducted without any charges. It is completely free of costs to participate in this network. The distributed ledger works on a simple architecture that eliminates the occurrence of discrepancies. The main advantage of the tangle ledger is that it provides an entirely secure ecosystem to transfer data or microtransaction from one device to another. Moreover, only the authorized participants have the authority to transfer the data, therefore, it is hard to hack or exploit the system.

Another problem that is being solved by the introduction of this technology is to transfer the messages between two systems without worrying about getting it hacked or decrypted. With this technology, you can transfer the data between two devices which are fully authenticated and encrypted channels.

This technology is going to prove considerably beneficial for the elections. Unlike today where chances are high of vote tampering, it completely washes out any chances of violation. The IOTA technology promises to record and count each vote without any fault. Additionally, IOTA opens a door to a lot of business opportunity as it is secure and economical to carry out microtransaction.

As of now, there are only limited devices that are being used for transactions of any sort. However, with the commencement of this technology device such as refrigerator, washing machine, and many other devices can indulge in microtransaction too.

Does IOTA Use Blockchain Technology?

IOTA does not use blockchain technology. It is, in fact, a blockless technology. It goes beyond the blockchain technology. IOTA is basically first of its type of cryptocurrency that works on tangle rather than on blockchain. It is significantly lightweight, secure and ready to perform microtransactions without any fees. This is completely decentralized open-source cryptocurrency customized especially for the Internet of Things. IOTA is an extension of the blockchain technology, despite using the blocks for the transaction it uses tangle that uses directed acyclic graph. The IOTA technology works on enabling Machine to Machine transaction. The purpose of developing this technology is to utilize numerous electronic devices which are being used in our day to day life in microtransaction.

As of now, there are only a few devices which are being used for this purpose, but in coming years everything will almost indulge in this technology. For example, recently your alarm rings at 7.00 am and you get up and then prepare your breakfast and rush for the office for the fear of getting late for office but unfortunately forget to lock of the apartment. Moreover, you confront a serious traffic jam that can ruin your entire day. However, do you know this situation can totally overrule with the use of IOTA technology. Suppose IOTA technology is being implemented successfully and your alarm automatically rings at 7:10 analyzing the traffic which saves you from getting stuck in the traffic jam. Moreover, you forgot to lock the apartment and you give a notification to your phone and can lock your apartment with just a click, this is the magic of IOTA technology. This technology is a groundbreaking evolution and in upcoming years, it will entirely change the way things are happening around us.

Mining IOTA

There is no obligation for mining as there is already enough number of IOTA coins being generated. This new groundbreaking technology completely eradicates the necessity of wasting money in mining the coins. All of the IOTA coins that will ever survive in the system were already created in the genesis block. The number of coins will never increase or decrease. The cumulative money supply of 2,779,530,283,277,761 is provided for ternary computation and notation ease of use utilizing SI units (International System of Units). ((3^33-1)/2) = 2.779 x 10^15. So it is not mandatory to invest money and other useful resources in mining the coins.

What Are the Advantages of IOTA?

There are numerous advantages of IOTA technology. Some of them are listed as follows:-

Solves Scalability issues: The current problem of blockchain technology is the problem of scalability. Scalability means thousands of transactions are executed per second which is as of now not possible with the blockchain technology. It is expensive and requires a lot of time to carry out the transaction. Participants have to wait in order to get their chance for the transaction. IOTA based on tangles technology eliminates this issue effectively as it allows the user to carry out thousands of the transactions at the same time. The current blockchain system requires paying a fee to miners in order to keep the network running and growing. However, the need for payment becomes difficult when a large number of transactions are involved. Moreover, there is also scaling issue which means that how many transactions can be performed per second. Seeing the current trend, digital currency will become the future and a large number of businesses will prefer to switch for the digital transactions and processing. Therefore, technology needs to be upgraded and the Internet of Things serves this purpose completely as it permits a large number of transactions to be carried out at a time.

Zero Fees: There is minimal or no fees required to be paid out in order to perform the transactions. Unlike blockchain network where an excessive amount is needed to be paid to miners or validator to execute the transaction and maintain the system with IOTA technology, there is no role of miners or validators. A participant is allowed to use his/her own computer and electricity to perform the transaction along with conceding their computer to be utilized for two other transactions. This is all required to participate in this network.

Fast: IOTA technology is based on the Tangle technology which is comparatively faster than blockchain technology. It uses the open source distributed ledger that enhances the speed of the lightweight transactions. Also, all transactions are being executed instantly without any delay.

Secure: It is impossible to violate and interfere with the Tangle technology. The tangle architecture is designed in such a manner that it becomes almost impossible to hack the system. The security system of the IOTA technology is better than the blockchain. Blockchain network works on 51% of the consensus therefore, it is slightly easy to hack the network if you can infect the 51% of the network then chances are extremely high to hack the system. Whereas, in Tangle it is extremely hard to hack the system as this system requires you to select the two random transactions which will be referenced by your transaction.

What Are the Risks of IOTA?

Several experts have shown their apprehensions regarding this technology. The core developer of Ethereum technology Nick Johnson said that IOTA technology is based on the sound mathematical model, however, it does not work well with the current set of hardware. The IOTA system is built on the ternary counting system instead of the binary coding system. He further added the hashing algorithm used by the IOTA technology curl has several vulnerabilities which need to be addressed. The current hashing function used by the IOTA technology is breaking the ideal principals of the good cryptocurrency. Apart from Nick Johnson, there are various other prodigious that have shown their concern about the IOTA system. They have collaboratively said that the intention behind the IOTA technology is noble but diligence hard work is required to make this technology perfect.

It is yet to be tested that how many transactions can be carried out in a second. Still, there is doubt whether IOTA technology is faster or slower because it is being propagated that this technology is faster than blockchain, but still, it has to Reddit that how many transactions can be executed with this technology.

What Happens if IOTA Gets Lost?

One should not worry much about the situation in case if someone finds his/her IOTA currency lost or misplaces as this currency can be easily retrieved. This problem is arising because IOTA network has just experienced first public Snapshot after the exchange launch. Recently the IOTA system has been upgraded to KERL. Therefore, a lot of people are complaining that they have lost their seeds or coins, however, they have not lost it actually, they are only required to transition from the old to new system. By doing this, one will be able to send his/her old balance of seeds into the new seeds adding an extra security layer. There are python and NodeJS scripts that will help you to obtain your lost seeds.

First of all, when you will enter into GUI you will be redirected to Login screen that notifies you about the transition period. To do so, you can go to tools section and choose a transition.

After doing so, you will be redirected to a new screen. Now on the currency screen, you have to enter the current seed and then click on the search address bar. Thereafter the system will search the 50 addresses to find out whether the balance is available or not. After the process is accomplished, you will see a screen that would show the available balance that was generated from the 50 addresses.

Once you do it the chances are high that you would obtain your lost seeds or coins, but in case if you don't retrieve the complete balance then don't worry, you can widen your search until you get your all seeds.

Once you have done this, then you would be redirected to a new screen where you are asked to enter your new seed, it means that you have to move from the old seeds to the new seeds. After this is completed, you can log in with your new seed and your balance will be updated in a few seconds.

It is mandatory for everyone to participate in this new transition. It is being suggested by the officials to go for this up gradation as swiftly as possible because it will ensure the security of the system. Moreover, don't only confine yourself to upgrading the system, but also generate a new seed as it will boost the security of your system.

IOTA Regulation

Since the debut of cryptocurrencies, the government of different nations has opposed the new technology as it was believed that the new currency will serve as an avenue for fraud, illegal activities and even for funding terror. Even in many countries profits made from trading of cryptocurrencies were considered as an illegal move and thus to avoid that high taxes were imposed on such movements.

However, the situation in case of IOTA is different. IOTA concept is totally based on blockless blockchain that focuses on machine-2-machine transactions. Another thing that makes it different from other cryptocurrencies is the Tangle which makes this technology more secure and free as miners within the network are eliminated.

IOTA became the first fully regulated not-for-profit foundation in Germany that was capitalized with a cryptocurrency (IOTA tokens). Government organization of different nation has also shown a positive approach towards IOTA technology. In Netherlands, IOTA technology was approached by the government for administering legal documents. In Japan too, Tokyo Metropolitan Government helped the IOTA foundation so that the team can accelerate their program and diversify its roots in the nation.

Though government agencies of different nations are showing positive approach towards IOTA technology but the official regulation in many of the nation has still not passed.

Reasons that can lead to IOTA regulation

Focuses on Internet of Things (IoT) – IOTA technology is a future based crypto technology that focuses on the Internet of Things. As we all know that we all are surrounded by technology in the form of smart devices, gadgets and other smart appliances. With the IOTA technology, one can transfer information in a secured manner.

Charge Zero Free – Since within the tangle, the miners are eliminated by the proof-of-work system and the users within both the sides validate the transactions randomly. All this lead to the zero transactions cost within the network.

Fast and secured network – The Tangle in IOTA makes the network infinitely scalable, thereby making the whole process faster and secured as compared to other cryptocurrencies that are available in the market.

Is IOTA Legal?

IOTA technology first came into limelight in the early days of 2015. Since then no country has ever passed any piece of legislation to control its power or to limit its benefits among its users. This simply means that you can trade IOTA currency from any part of the world without worrying about the wrong side of the law. The Tangle used in the IOTA technology can be used by the government in different sectors in order to upgrade the security level. Recently IOTA also becomes the first fully regulated not-for-profit foundation in Germany.

Let us see what other countries think about this amazing technology:-

Netherlands

IOTA is legal in Netherland. As per recent update, the government of Netherlands will soon start implementing IOTA for the administration of legal documents. Haarlem municipality has developed an IOTA based “Block” solution for administering legal documents.

The US

The US government is also very much flexible with IOTA technology. Till now, there was no piece of legislation passed by the US to guide the use of IOTA. Also, those who are interested in investing in this technology have to submit certain documents as a part of validation process on different exchanges where the trade of IOTA is possible.

Japan

IOTA is legal in Japan. IOTA Foundation has been helped by Tokyo Metropolitan Government so that the team can accelerate their program and establish in Japan.

Russia

Russia is quite flexible with purchase of different currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Dash etc. Though the government has clearly told that the trade of currencies in the country is subjected to taxes, therefore, IOTA still remains legal in Russia.

The UK

Unlike other countries, trading IOTA is considered as legal in the country. UK Government till now has not made any statement regarding banning of similar currencies in the nation. However, the profits made through the trading of cryptocurrencies are to be taxed so as to stop uncertain moves such as money laundering.

IOTA and Taxes

IOTA technology is valid and legal. However, law enforcement agencies, governments, and tax authorities are still putting their efforts to understand this digital currency. They are busy in determining how to fit digital currency into their existing framework. The legality of your IOTA coin or another type of coin solely depends upon where you live; who you are and what you do. It is a serious matter and requires extensive research but as of now cryptocurrency has totally confused the establishments and law enforcement authorities as they want to completely control it but it is not possible at all.

Does IOTA Have a Consumer Protection?

Similar to blockchain cryptocurrency, IOTA also protects the consumer interest. Unlike smart contract among the participants of the network, a special program is run that assures the security of all participants in the network. IOTA uses proprietary code to run the coordinator that will protect the entire network against the attack. There are rare incidents of the vulnerability of IOTA network. However, as per a thread on Reddit, recently when some random code is thrown in the system, it was accepted by the network that shows the vulnerability of the network. So, it is difficult to say that system is totally secure.

Illegal Activities with IOTA

IOTA uses tangle technology and robust mathematical concepts operate behind it but it can't be said that there is no chance of violating or misusing this system at all. There are loopholes in this technology which are yet to be discovered. But there are hackers available who can hack this system. The system can be misused as if someone can influence the 51% of the consensus on the network, then 31% chances are that he/she can misuse or control the IOTA system. In coming years, these redundancies should be totally rooted out otherwise a lot of issues will come to the fore. Moreover, big companies or corporate houses would want their monopoly on this system and if it happens then entire idea of developing this new technology will be washed out which nobody would want. Hence, it can be accepted that it is a daunting task to breach into the security of the IOTA technology, but chances are there for misuse or illegal activities to be carried out.

Is IOTA Secure?

As compared to the blockchain, IOTA is greatly secure and it is tenacious to hack or find the vulnerability of the system. There is no chain and blocks available in this technology making it so interesting and secure technology. The IOTA works on the Tangle technology which is a complex architecture and it is hard to hack this system. The reason for being so secure is because a participant in the network can use his/her system to carry out the transaction. It is essential for a participant to allow his system for two other random transactions to get executed that make this system so stable.

Is IOTA Anonymous?

Yes, IOTA can be used as anonymous network and it is acknowledged as “Private Network". However, it is in the early stage of development and as of now, nothing can be said about this technology. Masked Authenticated Messaging (MAM) is a system that is being developed to encrypt entire data streams from sensors and devices. Currently, it is in the beta testing and once it is completely tested. It would entirely transform the Internet of Thing world.

Has IOTA Ever Been Hacked?

IOTA is absolutely secure and there is no as such news of hacking. However, recently Reddit has tried to hack or spoil the system by entering some redundant data on the system and surprisingly, it got into the system which shows that IOTA system is not absolutely secure and there are vulnerabilities that need to be addressed. However, as of now, it would be hard to say that network has ever been hacked.

How Can I Restore IOTA?

IOTA is a new cryptocurrency that focuses on Machine-2-Machine transactions. It is also the first cryptocurrency that provides whole ecosystem based on the blockless blockchain. As it is said with new powers comes greater responsibilities in a similar manner if you have purchased any of the cryptocurrency it is your foremost duty to safeguard your currency, so that it doesn’t get lost or attacked by hackers. There are already many cases when people after investing their hard earned money cried a lot by just doing silly mistakes as they didn’t secure their purchases. Since IOTA concept is different from other cryptocurrencies such as Ripple, Dash, Litecoin, Bitcoins etc as the IOTA seeds are stored in the Tangle. There might be a chance where at the time of making a transaction the IOTA balance might show a zero balance. Many of you might see that message as you have been hacked but as mentioned earlier, the IOTA seed will be stored in the Tangle which might reappear once you update the IOTA wallet.

Factors that can lead to loss of IOTA

One of the most common reasons that can lead to the loss of IOTA is losing the entire wallet in which the IOTA currency is kept.
If someone has stored the IOTA currency in the IOTA wallet that is installed on the phone or computer, then losing the phone or a computer can also lead to the loss of entire currency.
One can also lose his entire IOTA currency in case if hackers try to hack the wallet.
Sending IOTA to a wrong address can also lead to the loss of IOTA currency.
Sharing of the private keys while setting up an IOTA wallet can also lead to the loss of currency.

Restoring or securing IOTA

There are plenty of ways by which one can secure IOTA. Some of the best ones are discussed below:-

To secure IOTA one needs to focus entirely on securing the IOTA wallet first. This requires setting passwords that are strong and keeping the devices with the installed IOTA wallets at a safe place.
For safer transactions and to minimize the risk of losing the currency it is suggested to always access the wallet from one computer or other similar devices.
Always backup your IOTA wallet with good recovery services as this will minimize the risk of currency getting hacked.
Keep your computer operating system updated all the time.
For those using IOTA mobile wallets, it is recommended to have a backup of the wallet both at home and in the office. This will reduce the risk of currency getting lost.
Before making the transaction or transferring the payments it is recommended to double check the address. Verifying the address twice will eliminate the risk of sending IOTA to the wrong address.

Why Do People Trust IOTA?

IOTA is a cryptocurrency that is specially designed for the Internet of Things (IoT). This IoT holds a biggest potential for the changes we see in our daily life. Today, the need for IOTA technology might be limited but there are huge chances that it might be the fastest growing market in the next couple of years as the technology is related to interconnecting. Here are some of the reasons why IOTA might emerge as the best technology in the nearby future:-

Superior technology – IOTA technology make use of the Tangle, a directed acyclic graph (DAG) which is not found in any of the other cryptocurrency. Therefore, the use of this superior technology set IOTA apart from other peers that currently prevail in the crypto market.

Focus of Internet of Things (IoT) – IOTA technology focuses on Internet of Things which is the future of all technologies. Nowadays many of the tech companies have realized the importance of smart devices, gadgets and thus they are trying their best to cope up with new technology in every possible way. IOTA technology has successfully developed a system where one can sell information stored on any of your device in a anonymous and secured manner, making it even better for all the users as well as for investors.

Scalability – Another amazing benefit offered by the IOTA Tangle is the scalability that it adds within the network. The biggest issue that many of the investors suffered in some of the famous currencies such as Ethereum and Bitcoin was the flexibility within the network. The Tangle in IOTA makes the network infinitely scalable and accommodates as many users without slowing down the transactions.

Offline Transactions – Once again it is the Tangle that sets IOTA apart from other currencies. It allows the IOTA network to facilitate transactions even when the user is offline. The offline transaction within the Tangle allows people even from remote areas where constant internet access is not available to participate in the blockchain technology.

Zero Fees – One of the amazing benefit that user enjoy on the IOTA network is that they are charged none for performing any transactions. Since the miners within the network are eliminated by the proof-of-work system, the users performing the transactions validate transactions randomly on both the sides. All this makes the transactions absolutely free within the network.

History of IOTA

Startup Phase

IOTA technology originally entered the crypto world in 2015 when Dr. Serguei Popov, a Ph.D. in mathematics framed the math required for the Tangle in IOTA. Further coding of this math was done by Sergey Ivancheglo and Dominik Schiener to bring IOTA technology into reality. David Sønstebø led the overall project who is said to be an expert in technology and business.

Crowdsale Period

After the successful implementation of the IOTA Tangle, a crowdsale was hosted by the IOTA team in December 2015 where the entire money supplied was distributed among the crowdsale participants. In the crowdsale event close to 1,337 bitcoins were raised for further project development.

Original Setup

After the crowdsale event, the growing team of developers as well as co-founders decided to donate significant resources so as to establish the IOTA Foundation which is a non-profit Foundation located in Germany. As a non-profit Foundation, “IOTA Foundation” is eligible to get support from corporate contributions and government grants.

Current Status

After the successful implementation of the beta testing in 2016 several corporate houses were given the option to make an investment in the distributed ledger system. Now the IOTA technology is open worldwide and interested parties can make an investment in the project and grow the ecosystem gradually.

Who Created IOTA?

The revolutionizing technology was devised by a group of people that include David Sønstebø, Sergey Ivancheglo, Dominik Schiener, and Dr. Serguei Popov in 2015. Serguei Popov, a famous mathematics prepared the mathematical concept behind the tangle which was later on coded in a programming language by genius Sergey Ivancheglo and Dominik Schiener. The entire project was conducted by David Sønstebø who is a renowned business figure. The group has been involved in the research of this technology for years and finally succeeded in launching it in 2015.

After the creation, in December 2015 IOTA organized a crowdsale and the whole money was distributed among all the participants of crowdsale. The event was a big success as it resulted in raising 1,337 Bitcoins. Seeing the unprecedented success of the event the participants decided to donate the significant part of their resources to establish the 'IOTA Foundation.' In 2016, the beta testing began for the project. In 2017 several giants’ corporate houses invested in the distributed ledger system. Now the participants of IOTA are investing in the projects and growing the ecosystem gradually. The IOTA community believes the community-centric projects and their actions are testifying for their belief in this technology.