Token Description & Project Background

IOTA is a cryptocurrency platform offering decentralized ledger technology applied to ‘The Internet Of Things’. The project was co-founded by David Sonstebo, Dominik Schiener, Dr. Serguei Popov, and Serge Ivancheglo in 2015. Dan Simerman, head of financial relations at the IOTA Foundation explained that “we actually see the IOTA token as the connective tissue between the human economy and the machine economy, creating interoperability between the two”.

IOTA sits on a custom blockchain called ‘The Tangle’ which is a Decentralized Acyclic Graph (DAG). This structure supposedly allows it to be more scalable than traditional blockchains, as transactions can be processed simultaneously.

The IOTA Foundation was established in 2018 -  the foundation received 5% of the total MIOTA token supply was donated to assist in the research and development, education, as well as standardization of the IOTA technology.

MIOTA is IOTA’s native currency - and powers all transactions within the network.

Risks of MIOTA

Like an investment in other crypto assets, there are some general risks to investing in MIOTA. These include:  (i) volatility risk and liquidity risk, (ii) short history risk, (iii) demand risk, (iv) forking risk, (v) code defects, (vi) regulatory risk, (vii) electronic trading risk, and (viii) cyber security risk. For additional information of these and other general risks associated with crypto assets and Uphold’s platform, please refer to the Risks Specific to Holding Digital Assets statement.

In addition to these general risks, an investment in MIOTA is subject to the following specific risks:

• The Layer-1 space faces intense competition, with many blockchains claiming unparalleled scalability and high transaction speeds. Any potential success associated with the MIOTA token is dependent on the rate of its adoption by developers and projects.
• Any potential success associated with IOTA is dependent on external factors which include the widespread growth and adoption of the IoT, as well as the advent of smart cities.

We emphasize that this Crypto Asset Statement is not an exhaustive description or summary of all risks associated with MIOTA . Investors should conduct their own research and perform their own assessment before trading any crypto asset to determine the appropriate level of risk for their personal circumstances.

The MIOTA  community and IOTA Foundation are not under any legal or regulatory obligation to disclose material information to the public regarding its activities. Holders of MIOTA have no recourse to the MIOTA community, IOTA Foundation, or Uphold if MIOTA declines in value for any reason.

Changes to applicable law may adversely affect the use, transfer, exchange, or value of any of your crypto assets, and such changes may be sudden and without notice.

Uphold’s Evaluation Process

Prior to listing MIOTA on the Uphold Platform, Uphold performed due diligence on MIOTA and determined that MIOTA is unlikely to be a security or derivative under relevant securities legislation. Uphold’s analysis including reviewing publicly available information on the following: 

• The creation, governance, usage, and design of MIOTA, including ensuring the source code being open-source, audited and peer reviewed, security, and roadmap for growth in the developer community. 
• The supply, demand, maturity, utility, and liquidity of MIOTA.
• Marketing materials put forward by the MIOTA social team including, Twitter, Medium blog, LinkedIn posts, Discord and Telegram channels.
• Material technical risks associated with MIOTA, including any code defects, security breaches and other threats concerning MIOTA and its supporting blockchain (such as the susceptibility to hacking and impact of forking), or the practices and protocols that apply to them.
• Legal and regulatory risks associated with MIOTA, including any pending, potential, or prior civil, regulatory, criminal, or enforcement action relating to the issuance, distribution, or use of MIOTA. 

General

Uphold has prepared this Crypto Asset Statement based on publicly available information. Although Uphold has taken steps to obtain information from apparently reliable sources, information contained in this Crypto Asset Statement may be inaccurate, incomplete or out-of-date. This overview is a starting point for you to perform your own research prior to investing in a crypto asset.

Uphold users should read the Risks Specific To Holding Digital Assets statement for additional discussion of general risks associated with crypto assets made available through the Uphold platform.  

Canadian residents, please note that Uphold has filed an application for registration in certain Canadian jurisdictions but has not yet obtained registration. Until such time as Uphold obtains registration, Uphold has agreed to abide by the terms of an undertaking available at the following link. Please also review the Uphold Canada – Crypto Risk Statement for additional discussion of general risks associated with the crypto assets made available through Uphold Platform. Please be aware that statutory rights of action for damages or rescission in section 130.1 of the Securities Act (Ontario) and, if applicable, similar statutory rights under securities legislation in the other provinces and territories of Canada do not apply in respect of this Crypto Asset Statement or other disclosures on the Uphold website and Risks Specific To Holding Digital Assets statement. 

Last updated on June 12, 2023.