Accelerating Adoption: IOTA’s Breakthroughs in 2024

Year in Review, Year in Preview

TL;DR:
In 2024, the IOTA Foundation introduced IOTA Rebased to transform its protocol with programmability and utility. The Foundation also expanded the IOTA ecosystem through EVM-driven tokenization, global trade partnerships, and groundbreaking DLT research. With the Rebased mainnet launch ahead, IOTA enters 2025 poised to power real-world digital and economic innovation.

As we close the chapter on 2024, the IOTA Foundation reflects on a landmark year of growth and collaboration. From the unveiling of IOTA Rebased to the expansion of our EVM ecosystem and groundbreaking industrial partnerships, this year has positioned IOTA as a key driver in the digital infrastructure space. These achievements, built on years of strategic planning and dedication, pave the way for an exciting 2025.

IOTA Rebased: Paving the Way for Accelerated Adoption

The introduction of IOTA Rebased in November is a make-or-break moment for IOTA. It prioritizes usability, programmability, and adoption, in line with the evolving blockchain landscape. While decentralization remains important, the market also demands real-world utility and seamless application layers – a challenge IOTA Rebased meets head-on.

IOTA Rebased unlocks new forms of utility such as full programmability for smart contracts, decentralized applications, and seamless integrations with other blockchain networks. This transformation enables IOTA to compete effectively on the application layer, bringing advanced utility to developers and businesses alike. Future integrations, such as incorporating multiple execution environments directly into our Layer 1, are set to further expand the network’s capabilities.

This initiative builds on the cutting-edge Move Virtual Machine and the progress made with IOTA EVM, which introduced programmability to IOTA’s ecosystem earlier this year. Together, they deliver cutting-edge technology without compromising on the mission we’ve held since our grassroots beginnings: to drive real-world adoption.

IOTA EVM and RWA Tokenization

The June launch of IOTA EVM brought IOTA into the Web3 and DeFi ecosystems, with interoperability powered by integrations like Stargate, LayerZero, and Pyth Network. A two-year community-approved liquidity boost in August further solidified IOTA's role as a key player in the omnichain Web3 space, supported by infrastructure partners such as Goldsky, Rabby, and BlastAPI. For a full overview of DeFi dApps, visit DeFi Llama.

The IOTA EVM has emerged as a hub for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, exemplified by the Singapore-based IOTA Tenity RWA Accelerator Program. Running from June to September, the program supported six finalist projects – focused on tokenization, digital product passports, and identity solutions –with financial backing and expert mentorship.

Growing the ecosystem further, this year saw the launch of initiatives like the IOTA Grants program in March to support aspiring builders, and iotalabs in October which drives developer collaboration and innovation. Community engagement was enhanced through BuildSphere, a series spotlighting projects within the IOTA ecosystem.

These advancements have strengthened IOTA’s ecosystem, hitting $2.11B in 24-hour trading volume (the highest in IOTA's history!) and a TVL of 100 million by December 4th. This is great groundwork for Rebased.

Industrial and Government Collaborations

In 2024, our commitment to solving real-world problems was evident through strategic partnerships and collaborations with industrial and governmental organizations:

Global Trade and Logistics: In February, we signed an agreement with the World Economic Forum, Trademark Africa, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, the Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade, and the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation to form a consortium aimed at revolutionizing global trade. Leveraging IOTA’s secure data solutions, this initiative builds on our work with the Trade Logistics Information Pipeline (TLIP) in East Africa which was trialed in tests held by the UK government’s Cabinet Office this year and will evolve into the Trade Worldwide Information Network (TWIN) to be officially launched next year.
European DLT Innovations: April marked the completion of the European Blockchain PCP, where we demonstrated IOTA’s ability to meet rigorous EU criteria. In 2025, the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium, governed by EU member states, will decide the next steps. Likewise, we’ll iterate the results to align the proposed PCP architecture with the latest developments in the IOTA protocol, including Rebased. In the meantime, reach out to our Product Adoption team to discuss any of the prototypes we co-developed as part of the PCP. Meanwhile, in June, our tokenized identification solution for dApps and other Web3 services was selected for the European Blockchain Sandbox, a regulatory testing environment. As part of the Sandbox, we participated in two meetings with international financial and data protection regulators: the first on AML considerations for our solution, and the second on GDPR topics.
Regulatory Advocacy: In July, the IOTA Token was certified as Shari’a-compliant by the Cambridge Institute of Islamic Finance, aligning IOTA with the unique regulatory environment of the Middle East and giving IOTA access to the Islamic finance market and attracting new investors in the MENA region. Throughout the year, we engaged with global regulators to shape DLT and crypto-asset policies. Key contributions included consultations with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Abu Dhabi Global Market, FATF, and European Supervisory Authorities, alongside EU discussions on staking, KYC, DeFi, and MiCAR. We also collaborated with regulators via industry associations like the International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications (INATBA). We'll share more about these developments in January's quarterly update.

These projects highlight IOTA’s ability to bridge digital infrastructure, regulatory compliance, and industrial applications, driving progress at scale – and ready to build on Rebased.

Advancing DLT Research

Innovation at IOTA goes beyond tech deployment to groundbreaking research that shapes the future of distributed ledger technology (DLT):

In May, our annual participation in the Beyond the Chain academic conference further highlighted IOTA’s commitment to fostering collaboration between researchers and industry leaders.
In July, we opened the IOTA-Imperial College Lab in London, focusing on DLT’s impact on the circular economy. By exploring how blockchain solutions can support sustainable practices, the Lab contributes to both academia and industry.
In 2025, we plan to customize the current codebase with incremental changes to roll out fairer tokenomics and increased decentralization.

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For more about our progress over the year, check out our quarterly updates.

These efforts reflect IOTA’s dedication to advancing the research and application of DLT to solve global challenges.

Looking Ahead to 2025

As we look to the future, the IOTA Foundation is poised to build on the momentum of 2024:

The Mainnet launch of IOTA Rebased will unlock new opportunities for developers and businesses, bringing our vision of a unified and programmable network to life.
The continued evolution of the IOTA EVM ecosystem, with new tools, integrations, and partnerships, will further strengthen our position in Web3 and beyond. We look forward to bringing financial markets and wealth management on-chain through tokenization. We’re particularly excited to build on the success of the Singapore Accelerator Program by growing our ecosystem of RWA-focused tokenization projects in APAC.
The rollout of TWIN will expand IOTA’s role in transforming global trade, while we continue to work on fostering a circular economy through improved material traceability and reuse.
Following on from our collaborations with EU regulators and Shari’a certification this year, we’ll also continue collaborating on regulatory frameworks that balance tech progress with user protection, making IOTA even more attractive to institutional investors.
We aim to deepen our engagement with governments and industries by fostering partnerships that drive the adoption of IOTA-based solutions for real-world challenges. Additionally, we’re committed to empowering our builder community through expanded hackathons and developer-focused events that fuel innovation and strengthen our ecosystem.

Rebased represents a major shift in IOTA’s direction – an ambitious step forward that modernizes our technology and expands its utility. Together with our community and partners, we’re building a future where IOTA is the backbone of the digital economy – bridging the physical and digital worlds seamlessly.