How to Buy IOTA (MIOTA-USD)

Read our Advertiser Disclosure.
Contributor, Benzinga
January 12, 2022

Want to jump straight to the answer? You can buy MIOTA on eToro.

Cryptocurrency is an industry still in its infancy. While this makes investing in the asset class higher risk than traditional investments, it also provides the opportunity for higher returns than what you'd find in traditional markets. In the world of digital assets, Bitcoin and Ethereum are deemed as "Blue-Chip" cryptocurrencies, as they are more established and less risky than altcoins. One altcoin that offers a good risk to reward, IOTA, may be a good addition to your portfolio –– here's how to buy IOTA in a few simple steps.

Disclosure: eToro supports the following currencies: BTC, ADA, DASH, DOGE, EOS, ETH, LTC, NEO, XLM, XTZ, TRX, ZEC. eToro USA LLC; Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal. T&Cs apply. *The bonus is available to Benzinga readers in the US for open states only. Served by eToro USA LLC.

Brief History of IOTA and Crypto

There are 1,969 cryptocurrencies trading today. October 31, 2018 will mark the ten-year anniversary of the Satoshi Nakamoto whitepaper that described “a version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.” Most cryptocurrencies are created with the distributed ledger technology called blockchain which secures each block of an encrypted transaction with the next.

Historic blockchain transactions become more secure with each successive verified block. So far, many bitcoin lost has been through human error, with people asking themselves “Where did I put the alphanumeric code for my bitcoin?” Ethereum created by 19-year-old Vitalik Buterin in a whitepaper published in November of 2013, took blockchain beyond its most primitive use as an online currency. Mr. Buterin invented smart contracts the ability to add prearranged terms to a transaction.

Many of the cryptocurrencies launched via initial coin offering (ICO) in the last year have been written using the ERC20 protocol that underpins Ethereum. Smart contracts can allow for the exchange of an item of tangible value—a car, a house, a pizza—for a set amount of a cryptocurrency on a certain date.

So, What's IOTA?

Iota is number twelve in the coinmarketcap.com rank of 400 cryptocurrencies by market value, is not tied to the blockchain. Rather than a chain of transaction blocks, Iota uses a tree of transactions called a tangle. Iota takes its name from the Internet of Things (IoT) where it finds promise for multiple applications. 

Iota confirms each individual transaction by linking with two other transactions in its tangle. No mining is necessary because validators of transactions are rewarded with the ability to process a new transaction.

Blockchain vs. Tangle
A comparison of Blockchain and IOTA's Tangle. Source: Iota.org

IOTA's Tangle

Because Iota does not need to form blocks of transactions before validation, the Iota tangle is faster at processing individual transactions. The technical name for Iota’s mix of trunk, limbs, branches, and twigs is a directed acyclic graph (DAG).

Transactions with the longest and most often validated lengths to the root genesis transaction carry the most weight for validation of other transactions. Because Iota allows machine-to-machine communication, it holds promise for IoT applications like connecting washing machines to online repairmen or autonomous vehicles to computerized mechanics.

How To Buy IOTA In 2 Steps

Buying IOTA isn’t hard, but there are a couple of steps you need to take.

  1. Open an online account.

    IOTA is a relatively small project, so not all exchanges have listed the digital asset for investors to buy and sell. The largest U.S based exchange that gives users access to IOTA is eToro. eToro has several great features and is a top crypto exchange for several types of investors. The platform also offers dozens of other cryptocurrencies, as well as unique features like CopyTrading large investors.

  2. Make your purchase.

    All exchanges accept bitcoin for a deposit, so bitcoin can be used as the source of funds in order to purchase MIOTA. You can also fund an eToro account with other altcoins or a bank transfer. Once your account is funded, simply move the funds into USD and then select the IOTA/USD pair. After selecting the pair, go ahead and choose the amount you'd like to purchase and set either a market or limit buy order.

Best Crypto Exchanges

  • eToro
    Best For:
    Social Investing
    securely through eToro's website

    Cryptocurrency is offered by eToro USA LLC (“the MSB”) (NMLS: 1769299) and is not FDIC or SIPC insured. Investing involves risk

    Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more

  • Coinbase
    Best For:
    Active Crypto Traders
    securely through Coinbase's website

    Sum of median estimated savings and rewards earned, per user in 2021 across multiple Coinbase programs (excluding sweepstakes). This amount includes fee waivers from Coinbase One (excluding the subscription cost), rewards from Coinbase Card, and staking rewards. ³Crypto rewards is an optional Coinbase offer. Upon purchase of USDC, you will be automatically opted in to rewards. If you’d like to opt out or learn more about rewards, you can click here. The rewards rate is subject to change and can vary by region. Customers will be able to see the latest applicable rates directly within their accounts.

  • Robinhood Crypto
    Best For:
    Buying & selling Dogecoin
    securely through Robinhood Crypto's website
  • Plus500 Crypto
    Best For:
    Mobile Users
    securely through Plus500 Crypto's website

    82% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

  • Kraken
    Best For:
    Crypto futures traders
    securely through Kraken's website
  • Webull Crypto
    Best For:
    Low Minimums
    securely through Webull Crypto's website

Beware of Volatility

Fear of missing out can cause one to make a purely emotional investment, while fear, uncertainty, and doubt can stop one from taking advantage of an all but obvious opportunity. When making any investment for any period of time, it is important to have a strategy that anticipates all possible outcomes.

In stocks, an often used rule-of-thumb is to target a 20% gain and to beware of a 5% loss. But cryptocurrency is much more volatile than almost any other investment. Losing more than 100% is possible if an asset purchased with borrowed money becomes worthless. For real-time cryptocurrency prices, check out the table below.

Final Thoughts on IOTA

Outside factors may come into play after you invest. Even if Iota is making all the right moves to expand its acceptance as the common currency for the Internet of things, the cryptocurrency market can still have a negative impact on its price. An exchange could be hacked, a bitcoin “whale” could decide to sell or a gigantic ICO like EOS could fail. The world economy could enter a recession as it did in 1929 or 2009 and everyone, everywhere could decide to sell everything. 

Disclosure: ²Sum of median estimated savings and rewards earned, per user in 2021 across multiple Coinbase programs (excluding sweepstakes). This amount includes fee waivers from Coinbase One (excluding the subscription cost), rewards from Coinbase Card, and staking rewards. ³Crypto rewards is an optional Coinbase offer. Upon purchase of USDC, you will be automatically opted in to rewards. If you’d like to opt out or learn more about rewards, you can click here. The rewards rate is subject to change and can vary by region. Customers will be able to see the latest applicable rates directly within their accounts
The Crypto Rocketship: Weekly Newsletter
  • Exclusive Crypto Airdrops
  • Altcoin of the Week
  • Insider Interviews
  • News & Show Highlights
  • Completely FREE