European Commission Selects IOTA For EU Blockchain Development

Original author: Andrew Throuvalas

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The IOTA Foundation was recently selected as a contractor for Phase 2 of the EU blockchain’s pre-commercial procurement. They will now develop prototype improvements for the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI)’s future versions.

Competing For The EU

The foundation announced the commission’s support in a blog post on their site earlier today. They will be competing with four other selected contractors to research how the EBSI could be made more scalable, interoperable, secure, and energy-efficient.

The EBSI is a collection of nodes using blockchain technology to improve cross-border services across Europe. It was created in 2018 after the EU commission and member states formed the European blockchain sponsorship.

In September, IOTA was selected in Phase 1 of the EU blockchain’s initiative, among seven of thirty-five applicants.

In Phase 2A, the foundation will reportedly work closely with Software AG on implementing its improvements. After six months, the commission will evaluate results from all participating projects, and select at least three for Phase 2B – field testing.

IOTA named sharding as a major component of its scaling solution for EBSI. Sharding is a method by which only certain groups of nodes validate specific types of transactions, vastly increasing transaction volume. Vitalik Buterin has named this as a long-term solution for Ethereum but believes it could take years to implement.

“Our vision for sharding is to develop a Tangle Tree, where a “root” network connects to potentially a large number of “leaf” networks through a series of “branch” networks,” explained IOTA.  “Different branches and their children can be divided up geographically, by use case or by agency.”

IOTA’s Innovations

IOTA launched multiple major upgrades to its network last year, including a staking test net and Assembly – a multi-chain smart contract platform. The innovations are part of a larger comeback the foundation is attempting to ensure IOTA is used by billions of people as a “human-machine payment network”.

IOTA’s price is $1.11 at the time of writing, marking a strong resurgence since its collapse in 2018.