IOTA Foundation launches its 2.0 testnet, IOT/USD bulls strike back after a bearish Friday

The IOTA Foundation recently announced the first iteration of its testnet for a fully decentralized network – IOTA 2.0. This version, dubbed “Pollen,” will be a rapidly evolving test network where researchers and developers will be able to test and validate the concepts of IOTA 2.0. 

In a blog post, IOTA said that it is doing away with the “coordinator” that previously validated all of the blockchain transactions. With the new “coordinator-less” network, the firm plans to rival other smart-contract platforms such as Ethereum, EOS, Tron and Cardano. The testnet is expected to support DApps and smart contracts which can transact without incurring any fees.

Commenting on the new release, Dominik Schiener, co-founder of IOTA Foundation, said: 

After years of intensive research, rigorous testing, and tireless efforts by our engineers, we are proud to finally be able to invite everyone to participate in this momentous milestone for the IOTA project. Pollen marks the beginning of the world's first truly decentralized, scalable, and fee-less Distributed Ledger, which has been IOTA's promise since day one.

IOTA plans to release components of IOTA 2.0 in three phases, with Pollen being the first one. Phase two will include the next major release, dubbed Nectar, where rewards will be distributed to node operators/attackers to test the protocol’s resilience. The final phase, known as Honey, will be the official release of IOTA 2.0, the first fully decentralized version of IOTA on the mainnet.

IOT/USD daily chart

IOT/USD bulls re-entered the market this Saturday as the price went up from $0.2265 to $0.2278. This followed a bearish Friday, wherein the price dropped below the upward trending line. Prior to this Friday, IOT/USD had five consecutive bullish sessions. The MACD shows that the overall market momentum is currently bullish.

Support and Resistance

IOT/USD bulls must conquer resistance at $0.2316 and $0.2396 to continue the upward momentum. On the downside, healthy support lies at $0.223, $0.2214 (SMA 20), $0.2194 (SMA 50) and $0.2173.

Key levels