The IOTA token saw a massive gain today as the IOTA Foundation’s strategic expansion in Abu Dhabi, UAE, finally bore fruit. Here’s a look at the milestone that catalyzed the event.
IOTA Token Now
As of this writing at 5:00 PM UTC on Wednesday, IOTA token is valued at $0.24 showing a near 40% rally on the 24-hour frame on the CoinMarketCap charts. The news resulted in an astonishing trading volume of 4,320.23% in the same period as its value moved from a $0.17 low to a $0.24 high. The recent developments also brought about a 40% increase in the market capitalization of the coin at $729 million.
What Happened?
The announcement of IOTA Foundation’s extension to Abu Dhabi was announced in September. A couple of hours ago this 29th November, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) granted license to the institution, making it the first distributed ledger technology (DLT) foundation to be recognized by the UAE capital’s regulator.
According to the IOTA Foundation’s latest blog post, the landmark affair puts the DLT institution at the forefront of digital and real-world asset fusion in the financial sector of the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. It is likewise crucial in its plans for further global expansion.
The Abu Dhabi developments of the foundation are backed by $100 million in IOTA tokens, to be vested over the next four years. This aims to accelerate the growth of the IOTA ecosystem in line with its community-driven mantra “Digital Autonomy for Everyone.”
Shimmer, the staging ground of IOTA for its projects, is also seen to benefit from the said milestone.
Official Statements from ADGM and the IOTA Foundation
“Welcoming IOTA, one of the most established and well-respected blockchain protocols into ADGM’s DLT regime exemplifies our ambition to position Abu Dhabi’s stature as a prime location and ADGM as the leading jurisdiction for the blockchain industry,” commented Hamad Sayah Al Mazrouei, CEO of the Registration Authority (RA) of ADGM.
“It is a strong validation of ADGM’s progress with its new and revolutionary DLT Foundations Framework. Working with companies like IOTA, ADGM aims to move towards a future characterized by setting global benchmarks in the ever-evolving blockchain and Web3 landscape,” he explained.
“The IOTA Foundation’s support from ADGM and our partnership with UAE authorities is about more than global expansion. It’s about ushering in a new era of regulatory synergy in the crypto markets,” said Dominik Schiener, IOTA Foundation’s Co-Founder and Chairman.
“We want to ensure that we take the right steps toward digital autonomy for everyone, and that means making sure a diversity of communities take an active role in shaping the Foundation’s technology and governance,” he added.
Final Thoughts
The expanded reach and regulatory compliance of the IOTA Foundation in the MENA region through Abu Dhabi puts a bullish narrative towards its economy, including its tokens. The rally of IOTA tokens today stands as a nod of approval of the cryptocurrency community in the efforts of the DLT institution.