EVM Launch, Testnet Progress, and Strategic Advances

• IOTA’s Q2 2024 report highlights the IOTA 2.0 Testnet launches, including PoS consensus and Mana, for a greener and more efficient network.
• The IOTAGrants initiative allocated $2.74 million to 25 projects, enhancing the DeFi ecosystem and advancing global trade and regulatory collaborations.

According to the Q2 2024 Progress Report dated July 2, 2024, significant strides were made in fostering business-to-business integration. The IOTA Foundation’s development during the past quarter included the launch of the IOTA EVM chain, advancements in decentralization with the IOTA 2.0 Testnet, and enhancements in developer resources and digital identity solutions.

One of the most significant moves was the IOTA Foundation’s announcement of $2.9 million in grants for DeFi and NFT projects, as reported by CNF. This highlight was also shared in a tweet by the official IOTA account, stating that Q2 2024 was an eventful quarter for IOTA.

🌐 Q2 2024 was an eventful quarter for #IOTA! Significant strides were made in the mission to decentralize and innovate. We gathered highlights of the progress here🧵⤵️, or read the full blogpost: 🔗https://t.co/Sazic8eoa6 pic.twitter.com/ucBgvN9FwR

— IOTA (@iota) July 2, 2024

In brief, here are some gathered highlights of the progress, with detailed information available in the full blog post:

1. IOTA 2.0 Testnet Launches: Two significant launches include PoS consensus and Mana, aimed at creating a more environmentally friendly and efficient network.
2. Ecosystem Growth & Grants: The IOTAGrants initiative has committed $2.74 million to 25 projects, fostering innovation with a strong DeFi ecosystem, over 30 dApps, and major infrastructure partners.
3. B2B and Corporate Environments: The New Technology Adoption team is ensuring IOTA tech is embraced positively by partners, paving the way for sustainable implementations. Working with the European Commission, they are further developing blockchain technology in Europe.
4. Global Trade & Supply Chains: The Trade and Logistics Information Pipeline advances its work in streamlining cross-border processes with ongoing EU-UK poultry shipment pilots and enhanced engagement with the Kenya Revenue Authority to improve border agency interactions.
5. Legal & Regulatory Affairs: IOTA’s Web3 Identification solution was selected for the European Blockchain Sandbox, and they participated in the European Commission’s workshop on asset tokenization.

With these two major milestones achieved, and some internal structural adjustments, the IOTA Foundation is now shifting focus from research and development groundwork to solidifying the state of the technology and increasing the application of the technology instead of building its fundamentals.

However, unlike the market condition when IOTA showed a positive surge and traded at $0.2314 following the IOTA Foundation’s launch of the EVM Mainnet, according to CNF, the current data from CoinMarketCap indicates a different trend. At the time of writing, IOTA trades at $0.1686, with a decrease of 0.58% in the past day and 5.40% in the past week. See the IOTA price chart below.