Dominik Schiener revolutionizes global trade: IOTA connects $35 trillion to blockchain

Dominik Schiener, co-founder of IOTA, is leading a radical transformation in the global commercial infrastructure. His vision goes beyond crypto speculation, aiming to fully digitize the $35 trillion global trade economy using regulated, production-ready blockchain technology. Currently, IOTA has moved beyond a theoretical project to become an operational network processing real commercial transactions across three continents.

Dominik Schiener’s strategy focuses on three pillars: tokenized assets, digital identities, and data integrity. These are not speculative features but concrete tools to solve real international trade problems. According to the IOTA Foundation, this pragmatic approach is already delivering measurable results in markets in Africa, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

TWIN: Real-time trade digitization from Kenya to Europe

The IOTA network has fully integrated the Trade Worldwide Information Network (TWIN), a production-level system that tokenizes trade documents and secures shipping data in real time. This is not a future promise but an operational reality that already facilitates international transactions in multiple countries.

In Kenya, TWIN started with the export of local flowers and is gradually expanding to cover all raw materials by 2026. The system digitizes shipping documents, streamlines customs procedures, and significantly reduces processing times. In the UK, the IOTA network has already recorded over 2,000 bird shipments from Poland, demonstrating that the infrastructure can handle real trade volumes between European jurisdictions.

Each shipment generates about 26 transactions on the network. If just 1% of the global trade market adopted this system, it would produce over 650 million transactions annually. These numbers illustrate the scale potential that Dominik Schiener and his team are developing.

ADAPT: Digitizing trade for 1.5 billion Africans by 2035

The ADAPT initiative represents IOTA’s most ambitious deployment to date. Built in collaboration with the African Union’s AfCFTA, the Tony Blair Institute, and the World Economic Forum, this initiative aims to transform trade infrastructure for nearly 1.5 billion people in Africa over the next decade.

ADAPT’s goals are measurable and concrete: reduce border clearance times from 14 days to just hours, and cut cross-border payment fees by over 50%. These are not regulatory cosmetic changes but economic transformations that could unlock billions in commercial value trapped in border inefficiencies.

The ecosystem surrounding IOTA is already accumulating real use cases. Salus tokenizes African minerals, Orobo issues digital product passports, and ObjectID provides cryptographic verification for physical goods. Each application addresses a specific trade integrity problem.

Expansion in Asia-Pacific: ASEAN as the next target market

While ADAPT is consolidating in Africa, IOTA’s negotiations with ASEAN countries are entering advanced stages. Regulatory frameworks are being finalized in several nations, and some are already preparing formal agreements with IOTA.

The 650 million people of Asia-Pacific, combined with progressive legal frameworks for tokenization, make ASEAN an ideal strategic target for on-chain trade infrastructure. Unlike other crypto projects focused on speculation, IOTA is enabling governments and businesses to adopt blockchain as a tool for trade efficiency. Karen O’Brien, IOTA’s Chief Marketing Officer, summarized this philosophy: “Cryptocurrencies don’t win through speculation; they win by solving real economic problems.” This statement captures the fundamental difference between IOTA’s approach and projects solely oriented toward trading.

Deflationary tokenomics: IOTA’s incentive model for 2026

In its transition to a Move-based Layer 1 in 2025, IOTA implemented a deflationary tokenomics designed to reinforce the long-term utility of the $IOTA token. Each transaction burns fees, reducing circulating supply. Token deposits are required to store digital assets, creating sustained demand. Staking offers an 11% APY reward, incentivizing holders to participate in network security.

This combination of burning mechanisms, mandatory deposits, and staking rewards is designed to align incentives: greater commercial adoption leads to higher value for IOTA holders. The system relies not on speculation but on the operational utility of the network.

Market performance: IOTA recovering in Q1 2026

In January 2026, IOTA’s price faced resistance around $0.090, reflecting market doubts about the project’s ability to turn vision into adoption. However, in the current quarter, IOTA has shown a notable recovery. As of March 16, 2026, the token trades at $0.07 with a +3.07% increase in the last 24 hours, suggesting investors are recognizing tangible progress in real network adoption.

The positive price movement occurs as IOTA applications begin generating volume from real transactions. This cycle reflects the model Dominik Schiener has consistently advocated: operational utility drives token demand, which appreciates in value, funding expansion into new markets.

Dominik Schiener’s vision for IOTA is not just another speculative protocol but a digital layer supporting the future of global trade. If TWIN, ADAPT, and ASEAN negotiations succeed as expected, the $35 trillion global trade economy could start migrating to blockchain infrastructure within this decade. This would fundamentally transform the role of cryptocurrencies in the real economy.