IoTeX (IoTX) is the native cryptocurrency of the IoTeX network, a layer 1 blockchain that can host different decentralized apps, or dapps.

IoTeX is named for the internet of things (IoT), which refers to the vast network of internet-connected devices rapidly spreading all over the world. The company describes its vision as an “internet of trusted things,” meaning its blockchain is designed to ensure privacy

The supply of IoTX is capped at 10 billion tokens. IoTX is a deflationary token, because circulating supply will tend to decrease over time through a “burn-drop” process. When 1 million devices are connected to the IoTeX platform, 10% of the maximum IoTX token supply will be burned (taken out of circulation). That process tends to return value to holders of the token by supporting its price.

Around a quarter of the maximum supply was sold privately in January 2018 to a group of investors. Another quarter is being held in reserve to help fund research and will be unlocked gradually over the coming years. Meanwhile, 15% is being held for IoTeX team members, subject to a release schedule, and 12% is reserved to fund rewards for mining delegates.

The price of IoTX more than tripled in August 2021, after the token was listed on crypto exchange Coinbase. IoTeX said it was the first internet-of-things blockchain company to achieve such a listing.

The price more than doubled in November 2021, peaking at its all-time high of around $0.26. During that month, it was launched on NOWPayments, a gateway designed to help businesses accept cryptocurrency payments that is integrated with e-commerce platform Shopify.

IoTeX uses Roll-DPoS consensus, which is a method of validating transactions using randomized delegated proof-of-stake consensus. Voters are any users who stake their IoTX tokens in order to nominate potential delegates. On an hourly basis, the protocol randomly selects 24 delegates out of the 36 top-voted candidates. Those delegates mine new blocks of transactions. Voters and delegates both earn rewards in the form of IoTX tokens.

One unusual feature of the IoTeX platform is that its users include devices as well as real people: Devices can hold wallets containing IoTX tokens, just like human users can.

The IoTeX open-source platform was launched in 2017. Its co-founders come from big companies. Raullen Chai spent a year heading cryptography research and development for Uber, Qevan Guo spent eight years as a research scientist for Facebook, and Xinxin Fan was a research engineer at Bosch.

Products built using the IoTeX platform include Ucam, a home security camera promising total data security, and Pebble, a piece of hardware for coding real-world data such as temperature or motion onto a blockchain. The platform also hosts tools for creating non-fungible tokens and dapps.

In October 2021, IoTeX said that its active user numbers had multiplied by more than five in less than a month. At one point in early November 2021, the IoTX token was ranked second in terms of 24-hour trading volume on Coinbase, ahead of bitcoin and ether.