Dominik Schiener's vision to bring global commerce onto the blockchain

Dominik Schiener, co-founder of IOTA, has outlined an ambitious plan to connect the global $35 trillion commercial economy to public blockchain infrastructures. Rather than speculate on token prices, IOTA’s focus is on solving tangible economic problems through tokenized assets, digital identities, and data integrity. This strategy is already delivering concrete results in real markets across three continents.

IOTA Implements Commercial Infrastructure in Kenya and the UK

The IOTA network has completed integration with the Trade Worldwide Information Network (TWIN), a production-level system that digitizes trade documents and secures data in real time. In Kenya, TWIN is already processing flower exports, with plans to expand to all raw materials by 2026. Meanwhile, in the UK, over 2,000 shipments of poultry between Poland and Great Britain have been recorded on the IOTA network, demonstrating how blockchain simplifies regulatory and customs procedures.

Each commercial transaction generates about 26 operations on the network, meaning that if just 1% of the global trade market migrated to IOTA, over 650 million transactions would be processed annually. This massive volume not only validates the network’s technical scalability but also directly reinforces the utility of the IOTA token.

The Deflationary Model That Strengthens IOTA with Every Transaction

IOTA’s economic structure has been redesigned to ensure that the token gains value as adoption grows. Deflationary fees are automatically burned with each transaction, while token lock-ups and an 11% APY staking rate create sustainable incentives for network participants. As trade volume increases, this architecture is designed to boost long-term demand and utility for $IOTA.

ADAPT: The Ambition to Digitize 1.5 Billion People in Africa

ADAPT represents IOTA’s most ambitious deployment to date. Developed in collaboration with the AfCFTA Secretariat, the Tony Blair Institute, and the World Economic Forum, this project aims to digitize trade infrastructure for 1.5 billion people in Africa by 2035. Border clearance times could be reduced from 14 days to hours, while cross-border payment fees could drop by more than 50%.

Within this ecosystem, real-world solutions like tokenization of electric vehicle chargers (via Bolt Earth), minerals (Salus), digital product passports (Orobo), and physical goods verification (ObjectID) are already operational. As Karen O’Brien, IOTA’s CMO, stated: “Cryptocurrencies don’t thrive through speculation but by solving real economic challenges.” Dominik Schiener’s bet is that the trust generated by this infrastructure is exactly what governments and businesses demand.

Momentum in Asia-Pacific and the ASEAN Opportunity

Expansion into Asia is accelerating. IOTA’s negotiations with multiple ASEAN countries have reached critical stages, with regulatory frameworks being finalized and formal agreements in preparation. The region’s 650 million people and its tokenization-friendly legal framework position it as an ideal strategic target for this on-chain commercial infrastructure.

Although progress remains fragmented by geography and regulation, the momentum is increasingly evident. Dominik Schiener and his team are building a system where blockchain is not a speculative asset but a critical operational layer for global trade.

IOTA Price and Technical Outlook

Despite strategic optimism, IOTA’s price reflects broader market conditions. As of this publication (February 28, 2026), the token was trading at $0.07, up 2.18% in the last 24 hours. The network completed its transition to a Layer 1 architecture based on Move in 2025, solidifying its long-term technical infrastructure.

The real test for IOTA will not be whether the token speculates upward but whether Dominik Schiener can anchor $35 trillion in real trade on his blockchain. The initial deployments in Kenya, the UK, and the advanced discussions in Africa and Asia suggest that the experiment is just beginning.