Yes, it is true, I can technically "interact" with IOTA on a "permissionless" level, but that interaction has no purpose unless you're first able to acquire the native token of the protocol. It doesn't really matter if you can interact with it in some meaningless way if you're not spending native coins...
50 BTC bet - and I'll show you how to interact with Iota on a "permissionless" level in a meaningful way without spending native tokens.
PS: Someone quote this, please, I feel he will make appearance that he hasn't noticed this post.