Some argue that IOTA is an acronym and represents “Internet of Things” while others say it’s the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet, which stands for “smallest possible unit”. One way or another, IOTA has been making news in current days as its value is rising at an increasing rate and some say it could be the next Bitcoin.
What is IOTA?
IOTA is an open-source, decentralised cryptocurrency developed specifically for IoT (Internet of Things), which simply refers to a network of devices being able to connect to the internet and exchange data. The IoT world is growing at a dizzying pace – Intel’s report reveals that by 2020 there will be 200 billion connected devices compared with 2 billion in 2006.
IOTA is similar to Bitcoin but it still has some crucial differences. As one of the Reddit forums debates: “Bitcoin is like Yahoo searching MySpace on a Motorola phone. IOTA is like Google searching Facebook on a Samsung device.”
Difference between Tangle and Blockchain
According to the IOTA’s official website, unlike Bitcoin, the currency goes beyond Blockchain and uses a directed acyclic graph (DAG), also known as “Tangle”. The core innovation lies in a blockless ledger which makes IOTA scalable, lightweight and, historically for the first time, it allows to transfer data with no fees. It is a good reason, especially for B2B models, to choose IOTA over a blockchain-focused currency, where users have to traditionally “mine” the Bitcoin with super powerful machines and spend plenty on electricity bills, hence the fees. The Tangle also enables offline transactions that blockchain cannot do.
How to buy IOTA
IOTA cannot be purchased by any legal tender (USD, EUR, etc.) and if you have decided to invest in this cryptocurrency, you will have to buy IOTA with Bitcoin or Ethereum. The price for IOTA has risen over 480% in the past month, with the price currently at $5.03 per coin.
Binance is a platform where you can further exchange the Bitcoin or Ethereum for IOTA. It is a popular cryptocurrency exchange which offers strong security, usability and performance.
