IOTA co-founder Dominik Schiener has revealed the project's strategic focus for 2026, emphasizing real-world applications and institutional adoption. Schiener aims to position IOTA as a digital public infrastructure pivotal for global trade, moving away from speculative trends like memecoins and NFTs. Despite a challenging 2025 for the crypto market, marked by over-leveraging, IOTA has made strides with institutional on-chain activity and stablecoin usage. The Rebased upgrade introduced in 2025 enhanced the network with Move-based smart contracts and native staking capabilities. Looking ahead, Kenya is set to spearhead cross-border trade on IOTA's mainnet in 2026, highlighting the project's commitment to enterprise solutions and infrastructure development.