I/O Coin (IOC): how it works, supply and reviews
In short
- Type
- Layer-1 blockchain with its own native coin, IOC.
- Initial distribution
- All coins mined openly during a two-week X11 proof-of-work period; no founder allocation.
- Risks and caveats
- IOC had not been listed on any exchange for close to a year as of January 2025, according to the project's own community letter.
- Checked
- 1 November 2026
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Key facts
- Ticker
- IOC
- Official site
- iocoin.io
Key facts checked on 1 November 2026 against official sources.
What is I/O Coin
I/O Coin (IOC) is a proof-of-stake layer-1 blockchain launched on 24 July 2014 with no premine and no ICO. Its DIONS protocol adds on-chain names (aliases), AES-256 encrypted messaging and data records of up to 1 MB.
Network and consensus
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Layer-1 blockchain with its own native coin, IOC. |
| Consensus | Proof of stake since about block 24,400; proof-of-work (X11) mining was capped at 12,815 blocks. |
| Launched | Genesis block on 24 July 2014, fair launch with no premine. |
| Block time | About 66 seconds on average over the last 1,000 blocks (1 November 2026). |
| Programming language | C++; source code under the MIT licence. |
| Smart contracts | No smart-contract layer on mainnet; DIONS records carry names, encrypted messages and payloads up to 1 MB. |
| Runs on | Own mainnet, protocol version 60022; current desktop wallet release DIONS Sirius v5.0.0.0. |
Supply and issuance
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Initial distribution | All coins mined openly during a two-week X11 proof-of-work period; no founder allocation. |
| Issuance | 1.5 IOC per proof-of-stake block. |
| Inflation | 3.15% annualised from the last 24 hours (explorer, 1 November 2026). |
On 1 November 2026: 22,735,675 IOC in circulation (source: I/O Coin explorer (chain.iocoin.io)).
What IOC is used for
- Staking: holders stake IOC to produce blocks; there is no minimum stake.
- Relaying: nodes can relay headers and earn from a zero balance.
- Aliases: IOC can be sent to a readable on-chain alias instead of an address.
Who develops and governs I/O Coin
- Foundation
- I/O Digital Research Foundation, a nonprofit research group that stewards I/O Coin and DIONS.
- Governance
- The foundation describes itself as a nonprofit research group focused on blockchain, AI and encryption.
- Open source
- Node and wallet code is public on GitHub (IOCoin/DIONS).
- Developer
- Community-driven development; in January 2025 the project proposed an outside code review of DVM and Nighthawk.
- Company
- No ICO; the project says it is funded by its community.
History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 24 July 2014 | The I/O Coin genesis block is mined. |
| 2 August 2014 | About 16 million IOC have been mined under proof of work; the chain then moves to proof of stake. |
| October 2014 | An HTML5 wallet with interchangeable skins is released. |
| 2017 | The full DIONS system (names, encrypted messaging, data records) launches on mainnet. |
| 20 January 2025 | An open community letter says IOC has not been listed on exchanges for close to a year and proposes a code review and new development paths. |
| 22 June 2026 | Widget Wallet 0.1.1-RC10 is released. |
Security and audits
- Legacy DIONS records are encrypted with AES-256 and RSA-4096, according to the project.
- The Widget Wallet keeps its RPC port on localhost only.
Security incidents
No security incident is recorded in the sources checked on 1 November 2026 (the company’s own channels and incident databases): defillama.com/hacks, hacked.slowmist.io, rekt.news/leaderboard, wizrig.medium.com/feed, github.com/IOCoin/DIONS/releases, t.me/s/iocoin_official
Risks and caveats
- IOC had not been listed on any exchange for close to a year as of January 2025, according to the project's own community letter.
- DIONS 2.0 is only on a public testnet; mainnet has not launched.
- Several initiatives (DVM, Nighthawk, Chameleon) remain unfinished, as the project states.
- The project blog's latest post is the 20 January 2025 community letter.
Official links
- Website: iocoin.io
- Source code: github.com/IOCoin/DIONS
- Block explorer: chain.iocoin.io
- Docs: i-o-digital-foundation.gitbook.io/ioc
- Blog: wizrig.medium.com
Questions and answers
What is I/O Coin?
I/O Coin (IOC) is a proof-of-stake blockchain launched on 24 July 2014 with no premine or ICO; its DIONS protocol adds on-chain names, encrypted messaging and data records.
Is I/O Coin still running?
Yes. The official explorer showed new blocks on 1 November 2026, and a new Widget Wallet version was released on 22 June 2026.
How does I/O Coin consensus work?
After a short X11 proof-of-work period capped at 12,815 mined blocks, the chain switched to proof of stake around block 24,400; stakers earn 1.5 IOC per block.
Who develops I/O Coin?
The project is stewarded by the nonprofit I/O Digital Research Foundation, and its code is public on GitHub under the MIT licence.
Sources
- I/O Coin - Home
- I/O Coin - llms.txt
- I/O Coin - Explorer
- I/O Digital Research Foundation - Home
- GitHub - IOCoin/DIONS
- GitHub - IOCoin/DIONS releases
- I/O Coin Wiki
- I/O Coin blog - feed
- I/O Coin blog - Open Community Letter (20 January 2025)
- I/O Coin blog - Happy 9th birthday (24 July 2023)
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