The realization of a decentralized IOTA 2.0 once again seems a long way off. At least that’s how reviewers are interpreting the latest updates from the development team.
An IOTA 2.0 aka Coordicide has been officially announced for about four years and aims to make IOTA a competitive cryptocurrency and technology through decentralization. Because so far in the IOTA Tanglenet, a central coordinator has held the position of last instance and thus undermines the basic principle of decentralization. In 2022, there have been mixed signals about the status of development work on IOTA 2.0. Developer Hans Moog welcomed a “breakthrough” in mid-March and thus fueled new hopes. Skeptics, on the other hand, were surprised that when IOTA announced its annual goals for 2022, Coordicide was only vaguely mentioned. Now IOTA reviewer Buffy by Twitter the finger in the wound.
Buffy refers to a recent update on development work. This lists the open questions regarding IOTA 2.0 and the technological path to achieve it. According to Buffy, these are the basis for all other IOTA modules that must work in a decentralized Tanglenet. For example, the already controversial principle of mana at IOTA is once again called into question. Basically, according to Buffy, it turns out that the so-called CAP theorem applies to IOTA. This states that consistency (consistency), availability (availability) and fault tolerance (partition tolerance) cannot be guaranteed simultaneously in a network. IOTA is again wondering what priorities to assign to these three requirements and how. Conclusion from Buffy: IOTA is starting from scratch, in 2019 decentralization was closer than it is today.
Hans Moog does not want to allow this fundamental criticism to remain. He records Buffy’s notes Twitter as “nonsense” and points out that the update on development work refers to an IOTA 3.0 and “meta protocols”. Basically, IOTA does not want to reinvent the wheel and can simply adopt the best ideas from other crypto projects. The discussion between Hans Moog and Buffy is indirect, as Moog says she was blocked on Twitter. Buffy has been a top reviewer for quite some time due to her technological expertise. However, the IOTA Foundation and some parts of the community don’t like to hear it.
IOTA: gap between claim and reality
The subject of IOTA 2.0 and Coordicide has been on our minds since 2018 and we (unfortunately) had to report regularly on how timetables and theoretical solutions dissolved into nothingness. We have also expressed doubts about Hans Moog’s new optimism and repeatedly pointed out how the lack of decentralization is blocking the future of IOTA. In addition to the comments on the content, a second detail makes you sit up and take notice: She sees a drift between Hans Moog, including the development department, and the management of the IOTA Foundation with Dominik Schiener at the helm. For example, a decentralized IOTA is not even considered a trial at Shimmer (SMR) – although Shimmer has been touted for such challenges. Shimmer (SMR) marked the first IOTA staking project in December 2021 and, according to Schiener, is expected to receive a mainnet in 2022.
Conclusion: IOTA 2.0 – the invincible boss of decentralization?
Seen from the outside, Buffy’s declarations are coherent and avoid polemics. She even wishes the IOTA team “good luck” for the next attempt on the way to Coordicide. Hans Moog’s words remain nebulous and the blocking of critics does not seem very confident. Dominik Schiener, meanwhile, has overall responsibility and increasingly avoids the terms coordicide and decentralization. In this mixed situation, a decentralized IOTA would be a huge surprise for the foreseeable future – at least that is our recurring impression.
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