- The standardization of the Tangle within the OMG is progressing, with the IOTA protocol RFC expected in mid-2021.
- Under the LETS RFP, the IOTA Foundation will submit a response based on the IOTA Streams framework.
In a new blog post published yesterday, Mike Bennett, IOTA‘s standardization coordinator, provided an update on progress in this area. Bennett had last reported on standardization in November of last year, promising standardization of the protocol by the Object Management Group (OMG) by December 2021.
At that time, Bennett announced that the OMG was working with the IOTA Foundation to standardize the IOTA protocol and IOTA streams. Standardization of IOTA Access, Smart Contracts, Self-Sovereign Identities and Streams in the mobility space was also being considered.
In the new post, Bennett now reports on the OMG’s most recent quarterly meeting in December. As Bennett details, the Linked Encrypted Transaction Streams (LETS) RFP, the Disposable Self-Sovereign Identity RFI, a new Certified Provider for FIGI identifiers for crypto assets, and standardization of the IOTA protocol were the main points of interest at the meeting.
On the latter, Bennett said the IOTA protocol RFC is expected in mid-2021. By then, the IOTA protocol (Coordicide) specifications will “at least stable enough that there are no expected breaking changes by the time this is formally finalized into production.” A preliminary draft is expected to be presented as early as the March quarterly meeting.
The standardization of IOTA Streams under the LETS RFP
The Linked Encrypted Transaction Streams (LETS) RFP was developed by the OMG Blockchain Platform SIG and is based on the ideas outlined in the IOTA Streams protocol. It follows the RFP process, whereby any OMG member can submit a response to the proposal. The RFP, as reported by Bennett, has now been signed off and formally published.
The IOTA Foundation must now submit a “Letter of Intent” by February 09, with the actual submission deadline being May 17. In addition, the OMG has organized a webinar to explain the LETS RFP for Jan. 27 at 11:00 a.m. ET. Bennett commented on the IOTA Foundation’s next steps:
As noted, any OMG member of the appropriate membership level may submit a response. The next step is for the IOTA Foundation to submit a response based on the IOTA Streams framework, along with material that would support the SKALY Freighter application.
We will create a formal standards specification based on the IOTA Streams Framework, separating the ‘what’ from the ‘how’ – so that the standard describes what a conformant application needs to do without presuming to describe how the application does so.
Publication of the SSID RFI
As Bennett writes, the “request for information is intended to identify the potential for a standard in the area of Self-Sovereign Identity (SSID).” It would extend and leverage the W3C DID standard for SSID. The RFI would be a precursor to a possible RFP for disposable SSIDs, with a first draft already approved and published internally at the OMG.
While the deadline for responses is March 31, Bennett explained about the IOTA Foundation’s strategy:
The IOTA Foundation plans to submit a response outlining what we know about SSID and give some insights based on our work, and would potentially consider responding to the RFP when this is issued, based on IOTA Identity.
Another item relevant to the IOTA community came from the Finance Domain Task Force (FDTF) and relates to identifiers for crypto assets. The FDTF issued a standard called the Financial Instrument Global Identifier (FIGI) several years ago. According to Bennett, French company Kaiko has been named a certified provider of FIGI identifiers for crypto assets.
In conclusion, Bennett stated:
IOTA is well on the path towards standardization. As well as our standard for Coordicide, we will be submitting IOTA Streams as the basis for a standard this year. Our involvement with the Object Management Group continues to pay dividends as we work with the OMG’s Blockchain Special Interest Group to look at the whole landscape of potential standards for distributed ledger technology.
