Laying the Foundation for Growth
Year in Review, Year in Preview
TL;DR:
A pivotal moment was the launch of ShimmerEVM in 2023, a multi-chain solution that enables interaction between EVM-compatible smart contracts. While the ShimmerEVM testnet launched in March recorded notable activity, the September release resulted in a significant increase in Total Value Locked (TVL) and the number of active projects in the ecosystem. The basis for growth included the Stardust upgrade introducing next year’s IOTA 2.0 and participation in shaping regulatory frameworks. Looking ahead to 2024, plans include focusing on real-world asset tokenization and positioning IOTA and Shimmer as leaders in emerging digital economies.
Join us in 2023 to revisit the milestones that revolutionized our technology and energized our ecosystem. ShimmerEVM stands out, the first permissionless multi-chain solution that redefines the possibilities of our ecosystem. As we reflect on the incredible success of the testnet and the vibrant Shimmer ecosystem, we also look at what 2024 will bring.
PırıltıEVM
This year has been an important chapter for IOTA with the launch of ShimmerEVM, a multi-chain solution that allows different EVM-compatible smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps) to interact with each other across different chains. Simply put, it brings DeFi to the IOTA ecosystem. Let’s take a look at the impact of ShimmerEVM on our living ecosystem.
Testnet and milestones
In March, we launched the ShimmerEVM testnet, allowing our community to explore its potential. Within a month, more than one million transactions, 38,000 wallet addresses, and more than 2,200 deployed smart contracts were recorded on the testnet.
Testing was taken to the next level in May with the Glitter Treasures campaign organized by the Tangle Ecosystem Association (TEA). In the battle for effectiveness between dApps, more than 10 million transactions were added to the testnet, reaching a peak of 1.8 million daily transactions: check out our campaign review blog post for more details and external coverage, for example on Times Tabloid, ETH News and Crypto. News.
ShimmerEVM’s impact on the IOTA ecosystem
The launch of ShimmerEVM in September made a huge impact on the IOTA ecosystem. “IOTA’s Shimmer TVL Rises 4X Amid Rising Ecosystem Adoption,” announced ethnews.com, just two weeks after ShimmerEVM launched. Numerous projects that were eager to go public on Shimmer were finally able to do so.
The September release led to an increase in Total Value Locked (TVL), reaching $4.8 million in October; This marks an increase of 95.92% compared to the previous month. Defillama now tracks five Shimmer projects with the recently integrated Accumulator, the first yield aggregator on EVM. ShimmerEVM’s ShimmerSea TVL significantly outperforms other decentralized exchanges on the platform. As of November, it has 40 active projects, demonstrating the dynamic and expanding nature of the ecosystem.
Watch IOTA Foundation members and the community celebrate 2023.
ShimmerEVM’s integration with LayerZero in December expands its reach into the broader crypto space, promoting seamless cross-chain communication. Another catalyst for activity on Shimmer is the Bloom Wallet, launched in November by former members of IOTA’s Firefly Wallet team, which facilitates easy asset transfers between Shimmer and ShimmerEVM.
Preparing the ground for global growth
ShimmerEVM was not the only groundwork the IOTA Foundation laid for 2024 this year.
We’ve created an unprecedented amount of content to promote IOTA 2.0, our protocol upgrade coming next year. Across blog posts, Wiki articles, videos and presentations, the introduction covers all technical aspects of the upgrade as well as the vision behind the upgrade. Check out the index to this content series here.
In October, the Stardust upgrade on the IOTA network brought a tokenization framework to the IOTA mainnet – so anyone can mint tokenized assets in L1 – and enabled the anchoring of Layer 2 smart contract chains and seamless cross-chain transfer of assets to the network. IOTA Chains framework. This upgrade, combined with the launch of IOTA Identity 1.0 on the IOTA mainnet in November, was a significant step towards bridging the gap between digital and real-world identities.
A difficult decision was made to discontinue the Assembly project and its token in order to focus entirely on IOTA Chains and adapt to developments in the crypto space. This was linked to a one-time increase in the IOTA token supply. You can read more about the content of this decision here. The launch of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)-registered IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation is a significant step towards real-world adoption and regulatory compliance. With approximately $160 million worth of IOTA tokens, the Foundation aims to grow the IOTA ecosystem in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. (You can read more about the IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation strategy in this blog post).
Shaping the rule book
Compliance with legislation is an important prerequisite for growth. 2023 was the year the Crypto Asset Markets Regulation (MiCA) was adopted in the EU. This was a highly anticipated step for the European crypto industry and will provide much-needed clarity to industry participants. Along with MiCA, the EU has also implemented the Funds Transfer Regulation, which implements the travel rule for crypto asset transactions, and several other regulatory developments, including tax, artificial intelligence and anti-money laundering.
Throughout the year, the IOTA Foundation has been closely involved in promoting new regulatory frameworks suitable for the cryptoasset industry and harmonizing regulatory approaches across jurisdictions. We also held a series of roundtables highlighting IOTA ecosystem projects and regulatory challenges in the industry, especially DeFi.
We remain committed to ongoing regulatory advocacy efforts and will continue to actively support the DLT/blockchain industry for years to come.
Our next quarterly progress report will provide more details on developments across all departments of the IOTA Foundation. You can follow the latest reports here.
We are looking at 2024
Other future plans include the introduction of L2 EVM compatible smart contracts to the IOTA mainnet, the launch of the IOTA 2.0 testnet and integration with Shimmer and subsequent IOA mainnet, and the integration of smart contracts directly into the base layer of IOTA (L1). The focus on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, supported by regulatory compliance and partnerships, positions IOTA and Shimmer as leaders in unlocking new opportunities in emerging digital economies.
#Laying #Foundation #Growth
