# IOTA Foundation > The IOTA Foundation is a global non-profit organization dedicated to developing next-generation decentralized technology with real-world impact. We work with a worldwide ecosystem of enterprises, research institutions, governments, startups, and more. **Canonical URL:** https://iota-foundation.org **Last updated:** 2026-02-27 ## What the IOTA Foundation Is The IOTA Foundation pioneers distributed ledger technology that transcends digital barriers. The Foundation creates a borderless world where energy, finance, and resources are optimized and intermediaries are minimized. By advancing DLT innovation, it drives real-world impact. The Foundation is a non-profit organization, not a company. Two supporting entities drive adoption of IOTA technology worldwide: - **Tangle Ecosystem Association**: a Swiss-based non-profit association - **IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation**: the first DLT foundation registered in Abu Dhabi Global Markets ## Key Numbers - 110+ team members - 50+ research papers published - 27+ team locations worldwide - Founded in 2017 ## Core Purpose The Foundation develops distributed ledger technology that empowers businesses, developers, governments, and ecosystems to create more efficient, transparent, and sustainable systems. It collaborates with academia and public institutions to drive blockchain innovation and a stronger crypto regulatory framework. ## Guiding Values - **Permissionless innovation**: open access to the technology and ecosystem - **Integrity**: transparent operations and governance - **Open-source collaboration**: all core technology is open source - **Sustainability**: energy-efficient protocols with minimal environmental footprint ## Focus Areas - **Digital Identity**: a global trust layer for seamless verification - **Real World Asset Tokenization**: merging traditional finance with Web3 - **Trade and Supply Chains**: seamless transfer of digital trade data across borders - **Decentralized Finance**: powering DeFi products to build new economies - **Circular Economy**: technology solutions for sustainable innovation ## Research The Foundation's Research Team refines and enhances protocols and implementation frameworks, pushing technological limits and ensuring an open, accessible infrastructure. Key research areas include networking, consensus, tokenomics, security, utility, and scalability. ## Ecosystem Structure The IOTA Foundation focuses on core priorities: research, protocol development, and regulatory advocacy. It has spun off mature projects into independent entities, empowering the broader ecosystem while maintaining focus on foundational work. --- # About the IOTA Foundation > The IOTA Foundation's journey from a bold 2017 vision to a thriving global ecosystem. From one to many. **Canonical URL:** https://iota-foundation.org/about/iota-foundation **Last updated:** 2026-02-27 ## 2017: Building a Bold Vision The IOTA Foundation was founded in 2017 to develop a next-generation distributed ledger technology that could overcome the limitations of traditional blockchains. The Foundation's mission was to create a protocol to support real-world applications while fostering an independent ecosystem, attracting a global team of innovators. ## Expanding Applications and Collaborations IOTA's transparency, immutability, and secure data transfer capabilities have been fundamental to many collaborative projects across sectors: - **Mobility**: Gaia-X ROMS - **Data governance**: GOVS - **Smart meters**: SUSEE - **E-commerce**: ENSURESEC Key collaborations included organizations such as Volkswagen, Bosch, Fujitsu, TMForum, and Taipei City, Taiwan. ## Decentralization and Empowerment A critical step in IOTA's journey has been decentralizing its governance and ecosystem. By fostering a community of developers, startups, and corporations, the Foundation supports independent teams to build solutions and grow the ecosystem. Mature projects have been spun off into independent entities, allowing IOTA's core priorities to remain central: - Research - Protocol development - Regulatory advocacy ## A Thriving Ecosystem Today, IOTA thrives with independent teams launching applications, running decentralized governance initiatives, and advancing the protocol without direct involvement from the Foundation. This growing community is key to IOTA's continued success. ## Supporting Entities Two supporting entities help drive the adoption of IOTA tech and its token around the world: ### Tangle Ecosystem Association A Swiss-based non-profit association supporting ecosystem development. - Website: https://tangle-association.ch/ ### IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation The first DLT foundation to be registered in Abu Dhabi Global Markets. - Website: https://iotadlt.foundation/ ## Organization Structure The IOTA Foundation is a non-profit organization with 110+ team members across 27+ locations worldwide. It operates with full transparency and open-source governance, publishing research, protocol specifications, and software publicly. --- # Purpose > The IOTA Foundation is driven by purpose: streamlining innovation with distributed ledger technology for a sustainable, borderless future. **Canonical URL:** https://iota-foundation.org/purpose **Last updated:** 2026-02-27 ## Where We Are Headed The IOTA Foundation pioneers distributed ledger technology that transcends digital barriers. The Foundation is creating a borderless world where energy, finance, and resources are optimized and intermediaries are minimized. ## How We Get There **Mission**: Advancing DLT innovation, regulation, and adoption. The Foundation develops distributed ledger technology that empowers businesses, developers, governments, and ecosystems to create more efficient, transparent, and sustainable systems. It collaborates with academia and public institutions to: - Drive blockchain innovation - Build a stronger crypto regulatory framework - Support real-world deployment across sectors ## What Guides Us **Values that make a difference.** Guided by values of permissionless innovation, integrity, open-source collaboration, and sustainability, the Foundation's diverse team combines blockchain expertise and industry partnerships to develop technology for a fairer and more inclusive society. ### Core Values - **Permissionless Innovation**: anyone can build on IOTA technology without gatekeeping or permission - **Integrity**: transparent operations, open governance, and honest communication - **Open-Source Collaboration**: all core technology is developed openly and available to everyone - **Sustainability**: energy-efficient protocols that minimize environmental impact ## Technology for Real-World Impact The Foundation's work focuses on practical outcomes, not speculative use cases. Technology developed by the Foundation serves: - Trade and supply chain digitization - Digital identity infrastructure - Circular economy and product lifecycle tracking - Decentralized financial systems - Cross-border data and asset flows ## Ecosystem Approach The Foundation does not build alone. It fosters a community of independent teams, startups, enterprises, and research institutions. Collaboration and knowledge sharing drive the ecosystem forward. --- # Our Research > The IOTA Foundation's Research Team is at the forefront of DLT innovation, advancing protocols and implementation frameworks to build an open, accessible infrastructure. **Canonical URL:** https://iota-foundation.org/research/our-research **Last updated:** 2026-02-27 ## Overview The IOTA Foundation's Research Team refines and enhances protocols and implementation frameworks. It strives to push technological limits and ensure an open, accessible infrastructure that unlocks new possibilities and supports emerging economies. The goal is a future where digital technologies seamlessly enhance everyday life. ## Key Focus Areas in DLT Research The Foundation explores key topics to advance DLT, driving secure, efficient, and scalable decentralized systems. Research addresses real-world challenges and aims to integrate digital technologies into daily life, promoting industry-wide growth and innovation. ### Networking Exploring efficient peer discovery and robust congestion control to enhance network performance. ### Consensus Research into decentralized, low-latency, DAG-based consensus with randomized committee selection. ### Tokenomics Optimizing token economies through dynamic fee structures and cost mechanisms. ### Security Researching advanced randomness and rigorous model checking to ensure security across the protocol stack. ### Utility Advancing functionality through research on smart contracts, zero-knowledge proofs, and reputation systems. ### Scalability Exploring off-chain solutions and sharding to boost efficiency at scale. ## Research Impact ### Academic Publications The Foundation has published over 50 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and conferences. - Browse all papers: https://iota-foundation.org/research/research-papers ### International IEEE Workshop The IOTA Foundation is creator and co-host of **Beyond the Chain**, the International Workshop on DAG-based Distributed Ledger Technologies, held at IEEE ICBC. ### Research Collaborations Strong collaborations have been established with leading European research institutions: - Imperial College London - University of Zurich - University of Oslo - University College Dublin - University of Bologna - CDL-BOT More detail: https://iota-foundation.org/research/research-collaborations ## Groundbreaking Protocol Research The Foundation continues to make groundbreaking protocol research, including: - DAG-based ledger architecture - Tokenomics design for sustainable validator incentives - Consensus protocols (Mysticeti, Starfish) ## Docs - Research papers: https://iota-foundation.org/research/research-papers - Research collaborations: https://iota-foundation.org/research/research-collaborations - Google Scholar profile: https://scholar.google.com/ --- # Sustainability > IOTA delivers energy-efficient blockchain infrastructure with sustainability metrics aligned to EU MiCA regulations, minimizing carbon footprint while enabling scalable digital innovation. **Canonical URL:** https://iota-foundation.org/sustainability **Last updated:** 2026-02-27 ## Overview The IOTA Foundation tracks and publishes the environmental footprint of the IOTA network. IOTA's lightweight protocol architecture consumes significantly less energy than traditional blockchains, enabling more responsible digital infrastructure at scale. ## Energy Efficiency by Design IOTA's consensus design uses Delegated Proof-of-Stake with BFT (Byzantine Fault Tolerant) consensus. This approach eliminates proof-of-work computation, resulting in very low energy consumption per transaction. ### Energy Comparison (per transaction) Data sourced from the Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute (CCRI): | Activity | Energy | | -------------------------------- | -------------- | | 1 IOTA transaction | 0.00008322 kWh | | 1 Google search | 0.0003 kWh | | 1 hour LED lightbulb | 0.01 kWh | | Charging an iPhone 13 | 0.0124 kWh | | 1 hour computer + monitor | 0.158 kWh | | 1 Bitcoin transaction (2024 avg) | 60.4 kWh | A single IOTA transaction uses approximately 360 times less energy than a Google search and over 700,000 times less than a Bitcoin transaction. ## MiCA Compliance Sustainability metrics meet the requirements of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. MiCA requires crypto-asset issuers and service providers to disclose their environmental and energy consumption data. The Foundation maintains these metrics in partnership with the **Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute (CCRI)**, which conducts independent hardware measurement and carbon impact estimation. ## CCRI Methodology The Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute collects and maintains the sustainability data using a rigorous methodology: ### Hardware Assessment CCRI gathers data on the hardware requirements for the IOTA ecosystem. ### Hardware Measurement CCRI maintains a state-of-the-art, temperature-controlled lab in Munich housing various hardware configurations. Node software is set up on devices and monitored for electricity usage over a full day. ### Transaction Impact Analysis CCRI monitors the power demand of individual nodes alongside transaction throughput, building a model to account for increased electricity consumption at higher throughputs. ### Network Energy Analysis CCRI calculates total network electricity consumption by multiplying average node consumption by the number of validators in the network. ### Carbon Impact Estimation By pinpointing node locations, CCRI generates a network-specific carbon intensity profile and calculates the total carbon footprint of the network. ## Key Terminology **MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation)**: EU regulation that institutes uniform market rules for crypto-assets, covering transparency, disclosure, authorization, and supervision of transactions. **GHG Emissions (Greenhouse Gas Emissions)**: Gases contributing to global warming. The IOTA network's GHG emissions are calculated using the CCRI methodology and reported in CO2 equivalents. **DLT Node**: A device or process that holds a complete or partial replica of records of all transactions on a distributed ledger. ## Live Data Current sustainability metrics are available at: https://iota-foundation.org/sustainability --- # Regulatory Affairs > The IOTA Foundation fosters dialogue between policymakers and the blockchain industry, advocating for responsible governance and clear regulatory frameworks for distributed ledger technology. **Canonical URL:** https://iota-foundation.org/regulatory-affairs **Last updated:** 2026-02-27 ## Overview The IOTA Foundation advocates for responsible governance and compliance in the blockchain space. It works with regulators and policymakers to ensure transparency and legal clarity for distributed ledger technology. ## Regulatory Compliance The Foundation engages directly with regulatory bodies across jurisdictions to: - Provide technical expertise to inform policy development - Respond to consultation papers from regulatory authorities - Represent the interests of the DLT ecosystem in regulatory discussions - Support the development of proportionate and effective frameworks ## Sustainability Regulations ### MiCA Alignment The Foundation's sustainability metrics meet the requirements of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. Metrics are maintained in partnership with the Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute (CCRI). IOTA's consensus design minimizes energy consumption across the network, delivering powerful business impact while leaving an almost invisible footprint on the environment. ## Memberships and Working Groups The IOTA Foundation is a member of several international working groups that empower the ecosystem, develop new business models, and advocate for the industry: ### Blockchain Bundesverband Based in the heart of the German blockchain community. - https://bundesblock.de/en/ ### INATBA The International Association of Trusted Blockchain Applications, hosted by the European Commission. - https://inatba.org ### GBBC Global Blockchain Business Council — the largest leading global industry association for the blockchain technology ecosystem. - https://www.gbbc.io ### CryptoUK The UK's leading trade association for crypto and digital assets since 2017. - https://cryptouk.io/ ## Recent Regulatory Advocacy A selection of recent work promoting DLT and blockchain interests in global regulatory matters: - **Asia Redefines Digital Asset Regulation**: IOTA's response to policy developments in Asia - **European Blockchain Sandbox: Lessons Learned**: how the Tokenized KYC project shapes identity standards - **Responding to A New Era of U.S. Digital Asset Policy**: feedback to the Senate Banking Committee and CFTC - **UK's Financial Conduct Authority Cryptoasset Proposals**: joint response with INATBA and Cardano Foundation - **Global Standards, Local Challenges**: response to the Financial Stability Board's global regulatory framework - **Smarter Rules for a Safer Web3**: response on Australia's AML reform - **Our Response to FATF AML/CFT Standards Revisions**: supporting enhanced financial inclusion and compliance - **Our Comments on Kenya's Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill**: proposals to align with international best practices All regulatory publications are available at: https://blog.iota.org ## Contact For regulatory and policy enquiries: partnerships@iota.org