IOTA Price

What Is IOTA?

IOTA is a layer 1 blockchain, a base network with its own validators, built to record payments, data and digital assets. IOTA is also the name of its native token, which pays transaction fees and can be staked to help secure the network.

IOTA started with a token sale in late 2015, and the network went live in July 2016. Its co-founders were David Sønstebø, Sergey Ivancheglo, Dominik Schiener and Serguei Popov. The Berlin-based IOTA Foundation, a nonprofit incorporated in November 2017, leads development today.

For most of its life, IOTA ran on the Tangle, a web of linked transactions instead of a chain of blocks, and charged no fees. The project pitched it for payments between machines in the internet of things. The IOTA Rebased upgrade, which went live on May 5, 2025, replaced that design with a proof-of-stake network. Holders kept their tokens without a swap. Some older exchange listings called the token MIOTA.

How IOTA Works

Since Rebased, IOTA runs on a protocol the IOTA Foundation says is based on Sui's design, the same family as Sui. Validators, the computers that check and order transactions, are chosen by stake. Holders who don't run a node can delegate IOTA to a validator and share its rewards, which are paid at the end of each 24-hour epoch. The network had 61 active validators on Nov 8, 2026, according to IOTA's own mainnet data. Smart contracts are written in Move, a language built around digital assets, and a separate IOTA EVM network runs Ethereum-style apps.

IOTA has no maximum supply. IOTA's documentation says 4.6 billion tokens carried over when Rebased launched, and the network mints about 767,000 new IOTA every epoch as staking rewards. The IOTA FAQ puts that at roughly 6% inflation in the first year. Transaction fees are burned, which offsets part of the new issuance. Total supply had reached about 5.02 billion by Nov 8, 2026.

Older tokens are still unlocking. A 2023 upgrade called Stardust created about 1.82 billion IOTA for the IOTA Foundation, ecosystem groups, contributors and an airdrop, released every two weeks over two to four years. The largest of those allocations finish vesting in late 2027.

What People Use It For

IOTA's main uses today:

• Staking IOTA with a validator through the official IOTA Wallet to earn rewards
• Sending IOTA and other tokens for small fees, about 0.005 IOTA for an average transaction, according to the IOTA Foundation
• Running Move smart contracts on the main network and Ethereum-style apps on the IOTA EVM
• Recording trade documents through TWIN, a trade data project the foundation backs, which the IOTA Foundation says anchors records on IOTA's mainnet and is live for Kenya's flower exporters

The foundation's first-quarter update for 2026 described TWIN links between Kenya's trade agencies and a planned information network at the UK's Teesside Port. Parts of that trade work, including the UK port project, are still pilots.

Risks To Know

The supply keeps growing. IOTA has no cap, about 767,000 new tokens are minted each day, and holders who don't stake are diluted. Vested tokens from the 2023 Stardust upgrade also keep unlocking until late 2027.

IOTA's history includes a network freeze. In early 2020, attackers slipped malicious code into the Trinity wallet through a third-party payment add-on and stole tokens from 50 accounts. The IOTA Foundation shut down the Coordinator, a central node it ran to confirm transactions, on Feb. 12, 2020. The network stayed offline until March 10, and losses were about $2.2 million, according to The Block.

Leadership has split before. Ivancheglo left the board in 2019, and the foundation parted ways with Sønstebø in December 2020. Rebased also replaced nearly all of IOTA's technology in 2025, and newer code carries more risk of bugs. Few US exchanges list IOTA, so a single delisting would cut US access sharply.

How To Buy IOTA

IOTA is hard to buy in the US. Binance.US is the only major US exchange that lists it, with IOTA/USD and IOTA/USDT pairs. Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Bitstamp and Crypto.com don't list IOTA. OKX lists IOTA on its global exchange, but check whether OKX's US platform offers it. International buyers can also use KuCoin, MEXC and Gate.

To stake, withdraw to the official IOTA Wallet on the IOTA mainnet, not the IOTA EVM, and send a small test first. Our walkthrough of how to invest in IOTA covers each step. The table below shows what your money actually gets you at each exchange.

IOTA And Your Taxes

In the US, the IRS treats IOTA as property, so selling, swapping or spending it creates a capital gain or loss. Staking rewards count as ordinary income at their fair market value when you gain control of them, under Revenue Ruling 2023-14, and that value becomes your cost basis. The Rebased upgrade didn't require holders to swap tokens. Our breakdown of crypto tax rates and our page on how crypto staking works cover the rules. No US spot IOTA ETF exists.

FAQ

Is IOTA A Good Investment?

That depends on your goals and risk tolerance. IOTA has run since 2016, rebuilt itself as a proof-of-stake network in 2025 and pays staking rewards. Against that, its supply has no cap, foundation and ecosystem tokens are still unlocking, it once froze its network after a wallet attack, and only one major US exchange lists it. Weigh those points and size any position to what you can afford to lose.

What Is The Max Supply Of IOTA?

IOTA has no maximum supply. About 4.6 billion tokens existed when IOTA Rebased launched in May 2025, and the network mints about 767,000 IOTA every 24-hour epoch as staking rewards. Burned transaction fees offset part of that. Total supply was about 5.02 billion on Nov 8, 2026, according to IOTA's mainnet data.

Who Created IOTA?

David Sønstebø, Sergey Ivancheglo, Dominik Schiener and Serguei Popov co-founded IOTA, which held its token sale in 2015 and went live in 2016. The IOTA Foundation, a Berlin nonprofit incorporated in 2017, now leads development. Ivancheglo left the foundation's board in 2019, and the foundation parted ways with Sønstebø in December 2020.

What Changed With IOTA Rebased?

IOTA Rebased, live since May 5, 2025, moved IOTA from its feeless Tangle design to a proof-of-stake network run by validators. It added staking rewards, Move smart contracts and small transaction fees that are burned. Holders didn't need to swap tokens, and they can hold and stake IOTA in the official IOTA Wallet browser extension.

Can I Buy IOTA In An IRA?

Not in a standard brokerage IRA, because there's no US spot IOTA ETF. Some self-directed crypto IRA providers let you hold individual coins, so check whether IOTA is on a provider's coin list, and compare account and trading fees, before you open an account. Our list of crypto IRA providers compares the options.

Where Can I Buy IOTA In The US?

Binance.US is the only major US exchange that lists IOTA, and it doesn't serve every state. Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Bitstamp and Crypto.com don't list it. Compare the full cost in the table on this page, and see our ranking of the best crypto exchanges for other platforms.