IOTA Newsletter #28 - IOTA Stronghold, Chrysalis Public Testnet, Pollen v.0.3.2, Blackpin collaboration & more.
IOTA Stronghold Alpha Release
![](https://blog.iota.org/content/images/2021/01/_Saint-Malo_-1---NL.png)
Stronghold is an open-source software library that was originally built to protect IOTA Seeds, but can be used to protect any digital secret. It is a secure database for working with cryptography, which ensures that secrets (like private keys) are never revealed. It provides its own peer-to-peer communication layer, so that different instances can securely communicate using the state-of-the-art Noise Protocol. Stronghold will form a secure base for the new IOTA Firefly wallet.
Chrysalis (IOTA 1.5) Public Testnet is Live
![](https://blog.iota.org/content/images/2021/01/chrysalis-testnet-live---NL.png)
IOTA 1.5 (also known as Chrysalis) is IOTA's intermediate stage before Coordicide is complete. You can read more about the strategy for releasing Chrysalis here. The Chrysalis phase 1 components were deployed to mainnet in August. The engineering team marked a significant milestone with the release of the Chrysalis phase 2 testnet.
Blackpin chooses the IOTA Tangle as the strategic underlying DLT technology for its B2B communication and transaction platform
![](https://blog.iota.org/content/images/2021/01/Blackpin_partners_IOTA---NL.png)
We announced that with its scalable design and focus on data immutability IOTA will provide the underlying basis for Blackpin, to enable a secure data exchange, storing contractual audit relevant information.
Recent News
![](https://blog.iota.org/content/images/2021/01/POLLEN_release_3_2---NL.png)
We released a new version of our Pollen testnet: v0.3.2.
![](https://blog.iota.org/content/images/2021/01/res_update_dec2020---NL.png)
We’re pleased to share the latest news from the IOTA Research department.
![](https://blog.iota.org/content/images/2021/01/dev_status_december---NL.png)
Published by the IOTA Dev team every month, this update will provide you with news and updates about our key projects!
In case you missed it…
![](https://blog.iota.org/content/images/2021/01/Blackpin_partners_IOTA---NL-1-1.png)
![](https://blog.iota.org/content/images/2021/01/EIT_IOTA---NL.png)
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