IOTA is trying to break out of its downward spiral with its new representative office in Abu Dhabi. Dominik Schiener, head of the foundation, had announced prominent new additions to the board. Months later, names are still missing.
In the crypto scene, the word “soon” is often used to deride IOTA. This is because co-founder and head of the foundation Dominik Schiener often uses the word “soon” in his announcements – and in reality this often means months or even years of waiting. A current example shows how this communication policy ultimately does more harm than good to IOTA and the side project Shimmer (SMR).
In this case, it is about the external image of IOTA and a breath of fresh air internally. At the end of November 2023, Schiener promised that the IOTA Foundation Board would introduce prominent new members “soon”. This happened at the same time as a new IOTA office was opened in Abu Dhabi. Schiener painted the picture that with fresh personnel on the board and appropriate contacts, it would be possible to find new cooperation partners and users of IOTA. This January, Schiener announced that the new Board of Directors had been appointed and that they would be going public “soon”.
Now, as February draws to a close, the Shimmer Academy is picking up the ball on X. One should imagine how prominent board members with a name from the Web3 could reach new audiences for IOTA and Shimmer. The expansion of the foundation’s board is a “decisive moment” for the ecosystem, which will bring in new expertise and strengthen Schiener’s external communication. The problem: the Shimmer Academy does not know or name names, even when asked.
To be fair, however, it does mention that the IOTA Foundation’s board is very thinly staffed. According to the website, only Navin Ramachandran is on the board alongside Schiener. However, as the Shimmer Academy also notes, the medical technology graduate only appears sporadically for IOTA. In reality, this leaves only Schiener himself, to whom the foundation’s statutes grant a position as sole ruler for life. He has the exclusive right to appoint new board members at IOTA.
Conclusion: IOTA and Shimmer lack fresh blood
The fact is: Schiener’s typical “soon” has already turned into almost another quarter of a year and the IOTA Foundation Board basically remains a one-man show. Yet IOTA and Shimmer could urgently use new impetus. SMR once again recorded a new all-time low yesterday (Tuesday). IOTA itself has been stuck at levels below USD 0.30 since the summer of 2022, more than 90% away from the glory days when the price curve climbed above USD 5 in 2017. Incidentally, “Soon” has also applied for years to the repeatedly promised implementation of a decentralized IOTA 2.0 (“coordicide”), without which the ecosystem in sectors such as DeFi cannot be trusted. Does Schiener even remember who allegedly gave him a promise to strengthen the board and lend his name to IOTA and Shimmer? It is details like these that Schiener uses to make a laughing stock of IOTA and Shimmer.
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