IOTA has been actively involved in the EU-backed MISSION initiative, which connects some of Europe’s busiest ports.
This technology underwent trials at port facilities managing over 45 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually.
IOTA is steadily embedding itself within international trade systems through practical pilot programs across Europe. The most recent project, funded by the European Union, focuses on enhancing maritime commerce within the continent.
One expert highlighted that this pilot “targets just-in-time maritime logistics by enabling real-time coordination among ports, smart customs processes, and seamless synchronization between ships, terminals, and inland operations. This is all powered by distributed ledger technology (DLT), with IOTA’s TWIN and TLIP protocols serving as foundational technical components.”
IOTA is advancing toward becoming a core element of global commerce.
The EU-supported MISSION project is deploying operational pilots at major European seaports including Valencia, Genoa, Piraeus, Trieste as well as northern hubs like Rotterdam, Antwerp-Bruges and Hamburg.
The participating ports handle significant container volumes such as Valencia and Genoa in southern Europe alongside northern centers like Rotterdam and Hamburg. The MISSION program aims to digitally interlink these ports to harmonize vessel arrivals with terminal workflows and hinterland transportation for improved efficiency.
According to observers: “Coordinating 45.4 million containers via a unified digital platform connected also to African trade flows under AfCFTA transcends mere adoption — it represents systemic scaling.”
IOTA has created digital infrastructure tailored for tangible trade logistics needs. Its Twin platform digitizes shipping documents while tokenizing physical assets; it also facilitates financing solutions along with payment processing—enabling enhanced tracking and management of cargo shipments.
As previously reported by CNF, IOTA co-founder Dominik Schiener emphasized that “the primary objective remains real-world implementation through flagship projects such as the Twin platform.”
This solution currently runs pilots across Europe with plans to extend into Africa soon; Kenya anticipates conducting cross-border transactions on IOTA’s mainnet early in 2026.
Coordinating Massive Container Traffic via IOTA
The European seaports engaged in this pilot collectively manage an annual throughput exceeding 45 million TEUs—surpassing Africa’s entire container volume today. Utilizing IOTA’s distributed ledger technology enables live coordination of these vast container movements across multiple nodes simultaneously.
The initiative prioritizes aligning ship schedules with terminal activities plus inland freight handling processes—thereby boosting operational efficiency while minimizing delays throughout supply chains.
This integrated digital approach extends further by linking up with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), potentially encompassing over 150 million containers yearly onto one shared technological framework worldwide.
Previously noted reports mentioned Schiener acknowledging challenges faced by crypto markets during 2025 but stressed how institutional use cases helped sustain IOTA through turbulent times. Recent enhancements under ‘IOTA Rebased’ introduced Move language-based smart contracts alongside features like on-chain staking capabilities fully decentralized governance models supported now by an expanding validator network portfolio aimed at scalability for government-level transaction loads plus enterprise usage scenarios alike.
- Collaborations involving organizations such as TradeMark Africa,
Tony Blair Institute,
and World Economic Forum have significantly contributed towards broadening adoption footprints globally.
At press time,IOTAs price remained negative,dropping approximately 2%over24 hours,totradearound$0.08499.Duringthisperiod,tradingvolumesincreased14%,reaching$9.07millionasbuyerscapitalizedonthepricedeclinetoaccumulatepositions.