IOTA: The Future Cryptocurrency of IoT?

By Swati Kishore

The Internet may not be new but its full potential is yet to be realized. Thanks to the system of IoT, our future will be one where phones, computers, and all other technical devices will be able to connect to the Internet, and subsequently, communicate with each other in ‘machine speak.’

One of the bigger questions is if this system of devices will be able to conduct transactions and pay each other for various services? The answer is Yes, and the cryptocurrency slated to make this a reality is IOTA.

Internet of Things or IoT can be defined as intelligent networking between devices using the Internet. Any machine with sensors and microprocessors will be able to connect to the Internet.

IoT is slated to radically transform our lives and change the way we go about our business. Literally, everything in the future will be networked.

Take the example of a refrigerator that is connected to the Internet. The ‘smart fridge’ will be able to monitor food items and when the need is re-order the supplies without human intervention. Yes, modern payment methods and IoT will be able to make this a reality.

The cash-free shops of Amazon Go are already a reality. These shops deploy sensors for the registration of the goods in a shopping cart. When a person leaves the supermarket, an automatic payment process is conducted. Hence, the need for a cashier is eliminated.

IOTA promises to be a secure way of payment for the Internet-connected system of devices. The Tangle data structure of IOTA provides the digital currency with the benefits of higher speed and scalability.

Some consortiums are already exploring the possibilities of systems of internet-connected devices. The European Union funded CityxChange project is testing if IOTA can be used for the payment of sales data streams.

Developed with the sole aim of facilitation of autonomous payments between smart devices, the IOTA cryptocurrency holds a lot of potential. At the time of writing this article, IOTA is the world’s 14th largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of USD 704,319,324.