The token of the IOTA cryptocurrency project has grown sharply after announcing a new initiative.

Against the backdrop of the general growth dynamics of the crypto market associated with the release of data on the inflation rate in the U.S. and the subsequent growth of Bitcoin (BTC), IOTA also increased in price after the IOTA Foundation announced the launch of the IOTA 2.0 public testnet with a built-in proof-of-consensus mechanism stake.

According to CoinMarketCap data, the coin’s price has skyrocketed following the launch of the public testnet. After a prolonged flatness, IOTA rose in price by 3.8%, increasing to $0.2118. Against the background of the launch of the new initiative, the token’s market capitalization also showed an increase of 4.4%, exceeding $692 million.

Source: CoinMarketCap

Notably, traders sharply reduced token trading over the last 24 hours. Trading volumes dropped by 2.8%, falling to $12.8 million at the time of writing.

According to the developers, the project aims to create a more secure, scalable, and environmentally friendly network.

“The launch of the IOTA 2.0 public testnet marks an exciting milestone in the evolution of digital ledger technologies, emphasizing ongoing research, development, testing, and feedback.”

IOTA announcement

The main change in the new version is abandoning the coordinator who managed the consensus. IOTA Foundation noted that this marks a transition to a fully decentralized model.

In addition, the consensus mechanism increases the network’s scalability and stability. Users and developers can already test it and form their own opinions.

Last November, IOTA announced the launch of the $100 million distributed ledger technology (DLT) foundation regulated by the Abu Dhabi Global Market, called the IOTA Foundation. The assets will be vested for four years with the main aim of building the IOTA ecosystem.

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