Getting a giant company like Microsoft on board your cryptocurrency venture is definitely a big deal. This simply means that the tech has been recognized by companies worth billions of dollars.
Earlier this November, it was announced that IOTA partnered with a number of companies including Fujitsu, Microsoft, and twenty other major companies. The purpose of this partnership is to launch a publicly accessible data marketplace for the Internet of Things. This experimental marketplace will be powered by a distributed ledger.
So what exactly was the purpose of this marketplace for its participants? This allows shareholders to share and to monetize data in a secure manner.
False Alarm?
IOTA is considered the ninth largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization at $2.95 billion before the announcement was made. It has been known for utilizing a different method when it comes to the distribution of its ledger. Unlike most cryptocurrencies, IOTA makes use of a technology called Tangle.
In order to confirm a transaction, the participant needs to also confirm two other transactions. This requires that the participant also checks the associated keys and the balances are valid. Once this is done, you can then bundle it with your own transaction.
However, it was recently announced that Microsoft is not a partner for IOTA. Instead, Microsoft is a mere participant.
In an interview, Dominic Scheiner mentioned:
“We have never mentioned that any of the companies which are participating in the marketplace are our ‘partners’”
After the announcement of Microsoft’s involvement, IOTA’s price surged by more than 600% over the last month. In effect, IOTA was trading on the average of above $4. However, after the clarification, the price of IOTA dropped by more than 13%.
No Partnership but Rather Just Participation
IOTA failed to clarify to the media the nature of their relationship not only with Microsoft but also with Accenture, Fujitsu, Orange, DNV GL, Bosch, and other conglomerates. They failed to mention that these companies did not finalize any paperwork that finalizes their partnership.
So what exactly does Microsoft get from IOTA? Dominic Scheiner mentioned that they are planning to meet with Omkar Naik, Microsoft’s blockchain specialist together with his team in order to set up the sensor just like what they’ve done with Bosch.
The data marketplace experiment will take place at Microsoft’s offices. Here, IOTA will focus on installing and connecting their weather sensors to the IOTA ledger technology. The IOTA co-founder mentioned that the launch of their data marketplace is only the beginning. He added that the project will continue for several weeks and is going to be multi-staged.
Significantly higher market cap
The clarification that Microsoft is merely a “participant” and not a “partner” doesn’t do anything to discredit IOTA’s technology. However, many believe that it was a marketing strategy on their part given that they didn’t extend any effort to clarify the details.
If Tangle technology proves its effectiveness especially in a corporate setting, it is possible that IOTA might join the ranks of Bitcoin and Ethereum among the top cryptocurrencies.
Regardless of their intention, IOTA has achieved an $11 billion market capitalization after the news that Microsoft and other top companies are on board the data marketplace. That is a significantly higher number compared to how it was a month prior to their announcement.
