The IOTA ecosystem reaches a key milestone—100 million tokens have been locked through liquid staking. What does this number reflect? A transformation from a simple payment network to a complete financial system.

When it comes to liquid staking, many people tend to fall into misconceptions. It’s not just about letting assets sit and generate yields; rather, it involves increasing available collateral liquidity, opening up new possibilities for the entire ecosystem. What does it mean when IOTA’s staking scale reaches this level?

First, security—this is fundamental. Second, capital efficiency—the staked tokens are no longer dead assets but active assets that can be reused across lending, trading, and other scenarios. As a result, the lending market is supported by ample collateral, counterparty risk decreases, and the financial depth of the entire ecosystem naturally increases.

From the data, this growth is not just a flash in the pan. DeFi applications are expanding, and yield opportunities are increasing, all of which incentivize more participants to join the staking movement. Every iteration of the ecosystem is accumulating energy for the next phase of explosive growth.