• The IOTA 2.0 network achieves a major milestone with the completion of its node protocol for both Proof of Authority (PoA) and delegated Proof of Stake (dPoS) implementations.
• The IOTA 2.0 team is intensively preparing for the testnet release, focusing on extensive integration testing to address potential bugs.

The IOTA 2.0 network is reaching new milestones, and the latest updates showcase significant progress in its node protocol development.

As per the latest development, the node protocol is now feature-complete for both Proof of Authority (PoA) and delegated Proof of Stake (dPoS) implementations. This accomplishment begs the question: What’s next for IOTA 2.0?

Recent changes on the Issue Board provide insight into the ongoing developments. Boards tracking features for upcoming releases denoted as 1.0 and 1.1, have been removed. This signals the team’s confidence in achieving feature completion for the node protocol, marking a pivotal step toward the initial release without the need for additional features. A new milestone, 1.xx, has been introduced to track future enhancements, demonstrating the team’s commitment to continuous improvement.

IOTA 2.0 Testnet Release

As the team progresses, the focus has shifted to preparing for the testnet. The goal is to ensure the resolution of most if not all, bugs before launching the testnet. To achieve this, extensive integration testing is underway to simulate real-world scenarios, ensuring the smooth operation of the entire tech stack, including iota-core, inx-indexer, inx-validator, and inx-*.

A notable code change involves the implementation of the reactive chain manager, aiming to address potential bugs through a code rewrite. This change has prompted some backlog items to be put on hold until the impact of the reactive chain manager becomes clear.

While bug fixes and testing continue, the most pressing question remains: When will the testnet be ready? The IOTA Foundation strategically aligns its information campaign about IOTA 2.0 with a potential testnet release. Speculation about the release timeline is fueled by hints from insiders like @alexsporn, although it’s essential to approach such predictions with caution.

The readiness of network tooling, including a wallet and an explorer, is a key factor that could influence the testnet release, noted ID.iota. The community anticipates further updates in the coming weeks as the Iota Foundation concludes its education campaign.

Excitement is also very high as the IOTA community eagerly awaits the opportunity to explore and interact with IOTA 2.0. While the exact release date for the testnet remains uncertain, enthusiasts remain optimistic about experiencing the next evolution of IOTA’s groundbreaking technology.

IOTA 2.0’s Consensus Revolution

In the domain of decentralized technologies, reconciling the trade-off between speed and security has posed a significant challenge. IOTA 2.0 emerges as a groundbreaking solution that successfully navigates this dichotomy, presenting a harmonious equilibrium between these pivotal aspects.

IOTA 2.0 undertakes a hybrid approach by achieving a delicate balance, ensuring both consistent transaction inclusion in the Tangle and swift acceptance, all while providing reliable finality. This layered consensus mechanism bears similarity to the systems utilized by Ethereum’s Proof of Stake and Polkadot’s Nominated Proof of Stake, ushering in a new paradigm in blockchain technology.

IOTA 2.0 is crafted to empower digital autonomy, anchored in fundamental principles like accessibility, parallelism, and sustainable tokenomics.IOTA has strategically adopted Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAG) as a fundamental element in its mission to enhance Digital Autonomy for all.