IOTA Set for Major Upgrade on May 5
On May 5, IOTA will roll out its biggest network upgrade yet. The mainnet will switch to the new IOTA Rebased protocol. This change brings full decentralization, staking, and Layer 1 smart contract support through MoveVM. The network aims to handle over 50,000 transactions per second.
The Rebased protocol uses a delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) model. It starts with 50 validator slots and plans to grow to 150.This shift makes IOTA fully decentralized and ready for complex apps and wider use.
With this upgrade, IOTA becomes faster, more secure, and community-driven.Users can earn rewards by staking $IOTA, with yields between 10% and 15% annually. A new fee-burning system and low adaptive fees are also part of the plan.
Key features include:
- Full decentralization
- Staking rewards
- Layer 1 smart contracts via MoveVM
- Scalability beyond 50,000 transactions per second
MoveVM smart contracts let developers build decentralized apps directly on IOTA. IOTA is the third network, after Aptos and Sui, to offer MoveVM at Layer 1. The upgrade also reactivates the IOTA EVM.
The IOTA Gas Station feature helps developers cover transaction costs for users. Initial Genesis validators include IOTA Foundation, Luganodes, Stakin, and Nansen.
IOTA sees this upgrade as a step toward institutional and governmental use cases like digital identity and supply chain infrastructure. the upgrade follows community approval and a full audit.
