IOTA is on the way to becoming a multi-asset ledger. In its latest blog entry, the IOTA Foundation explains what users can expect from the upcoming integration of the IOTA Tokenization Framework on the mainnet.
“Tokenization of everything”: Even at IOTA, the vision of a multi-asset ledger could soon become a reality. With the tokenization framework, users should in future be able to create native tokens and NFTs or execute asset swaps on the Tangle. The framework is still in the test phase, but what innovations go along with the upgrade for the mainnet, the developers have in a current one Blog post described.
IOTA: from single to multi-asset ledger
The days of the single asset ledger, in which only the MIOTA token makes its way through the tangle, are numbered. The IOTA network is headed for a multi-asset environment in which countless native tokens are managed and can interact with smart contracts. What is special from the user’s point of view: There are no transaction fees with IOTA. A possibly decisive factor and advantage over competitors such as Cardano, which has also blossomed into a multi-asset ledger since March thanks to the hard fork “Mary”. Cardano now has over 27,000 assets. So there can be no question of low demand.
The token transfer may be free, but there is no free creation of custom tokens. Since asset production swallows up node resources in the form of storage space, “every account that holds native tokens must deposit a deposit in IOTA coins to compensate for the excessive consumption of resources”.
Welcome to the “Token Wonderland”
In principle, however, the option is open to all IOTA users. As the issuer, they control the token foundry, including the minting and burning of the tokens and the supply. The amount of user-defined tokens offered can thus be fixed or designed as dynamic. The control rights can also be transferred, but the previously defined supply must not change.
Not only real people, but also smart contacts can take on the role of issuers. Layer 2 tokens such as ERC-20 tokens can be converted into Layer 1 tokens via core contracts and thus also made accessible on the mainnet. This enables widely branched cross-chain transfers over the Tangle.
The IOTA Foundation already has a precise idea of how the upgrade will affect the user experience on the mainnet:
In this token wonderland, assets flow seamlessly and trustingly between smart contract chains and user accounts. Everyone is free to create and manage their own tokens.
Before the tokenization framework can reach the mainnet, however, it must first withstand an audit on a Hornet-based testnet.