What is Polkadot?
Polkadot has established itself as one of the top five digital assets by market cap, owing to creating a decentralized web3 blockchain that includes its token, the DOT.
Polkadot is an upgraded design to Ethereum. Polkadot runs beyond a blockchain like Ethereum; think of it as a foundation for building other crypto developments. It refers to itself as a Layer 0 blockchain, while Ethereum and other related blockchains, such as Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA), are known as Layer 1 blockchains.
Polkadot is a collection of networks that enables significantly distinct blockchain topologies to communicate. The Polkadot network aims to eliminate barriers across diverse blockchain ecosystems, enabling communication between these networks without a mediator. It accomplishes this by utilizing parachains or specialized blockchains with their respective functions and coins. The Network used the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism and has the Ouroboros protocol influence.
In contrast to previous blockchains like Bitcoin and Litecoin, Polkadot presents Proof-of-Stake validation. Proof of work requires blockchain miners to solve cryptographic challenges, add the following block to the chain, and earn mining rewards. With proof of stake, validators utilize collateralized tokens to identify the next block in the blockchain.
Who are the founders of Polkadot?
Polkadot is the flagship project of the Web3 Foundation. Gavin Wood, one of the earliest Ethereum co-founders and former Ethereum Foundation CTO responsible for creating the Solidity programming language, co-founded the Polkadot. Wood is also the CEO of Parity Technologies, a blockchain infrastructure firm that developed the widely-used Ethereum client Parity Ethereum. Polkadot and Substrate are both under Wood’s active development.
Wood and his business partners established Polkadot, Thiel Fellow Robert Habermeier, and Web3 Foundation Technology Manager Peter Czaban.
Polkadot’s whitepaper debuted in 2016, and the mainnet launched in May 2020, following a successful $145 million funding round the following year.
DOT token holders are now taking charge from the first establishment, releasing the token from the central authority, listing the token on cryptocurrency exchanges, and used with cryptocurrency wallets. Redenominating the DOT token at a ratio of 1:100 coincided with its stratospheric rise, which put it into the ten most significant coin market capitalization ranks for the first time.
Since Kusama’s 2019 alpha release was so well received, the team decided to launch the Network’s mainnet that year. Polkadot’s features and services promoted the launch and tried using KSM cryptocurrency in real-world situations. In 2020, Polkadot took a significant stride in implementing Parachain features when it released Rococo, its Parachain testnet.
How Does Polkadot Work?
Polkadot utilizes private and public key encryption to facilitate the movement of payments across electronic wallets. To receive funds, give out your public key, which represents an address, while using your private key to approve and broadcast transactions to the System is similar to using a password. Block of transactions verifies the ongoing series of transactions roughly every six seconds; these blocks, taken together, form the Polkadot blockchain.
The Polkadot network enables the development of three distinct types of blockchains.
- The Relay Chain: The primary Polkadot blockchain, which finalizes the transactions. The relay chain increases efficiency by isolating the inclusion of new transactions from their validation. According to testing conducted by 2020, this model permits Polkadot to perform more than one thousand transactions per second.
- Parachains: Parachains are specialized blockchains that utilize the relay chain’s computer resources to validate the accuracy of transactions.
- Bridges: Bridges enable Polkadot to interface with other blockchains. Work is underway to connect blockchains like EOS, Cosmos, Ethereum, and Bitcoin, which trades tokens without a central exchange.
The Relay Chain
To ensure that its Platform consistently agrees on the System’s state, the Polkadot Relay Chain uses a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus method called nominated-proof-of-stake (NPoS).
Anybody who stakes DOT meets the following functional needs through monitoring the cryptocurrency in a personalized contract
- Validators: Validate content in para chain blocks. In addition, they engage in consensus and deliberate on proposed Network changes.
- Nominators: Choose trustworthy validators to protect the relay chain. The nominees vote by allocating the DOT tokens they have staked to the validators.
- Collators: Relay Chain Nodes: Machines that process transactions from many Para Chains, store their entire histories, and assemble the data into blocks.
- Fishermen: Check in on the Polkadot system for any suspicious activity and alert the proper authorities.
How does the Polkadot Network work?
The Polkadot network relies on some essential components to guarantee that it functions securely and efficiently and accomplishes its intended purpose.
The Relay Chain is the Network’s core component. This is the basis of the Network upon which every other component is constructed. It is accountable for data security, agreement, and chain connectivity.
The Parachains are constructed from Relay Chains. These Parachains are sovereign blockchains that can have their cryptocurrency and optimize for particular use cases. These Parachains must pay to join the Relay Chain.
Similar to the Ethereum ERC-20 token, the interaction between the Relay Chain and Parachains is analogous to that of Ethereum and an ERC-20 token. Besides Polkadot, parachains are far more potent and autonomous than their chain.
In the Network Architecture, Bridges are also present. Bridges permit parachains to connect to external networks like Ethereum.
Polkadot Network Commitments
To make its mark in the blockchain industry, Polkadot Network (DOT) is analyzing the technology’s present limitations and working to address them.
All users of Bitcoin or Ethereum will immediately recognize these flaws. Interoperability issues, slow networks, unsatisfactory update channels, and weak administration are some problems plaguing blockchain technology.
Polkadot intends to address these issues by developing a network that facilitates communication across blockchains, revolutionizing scalability by allowing more than 155,000 transactions per second, enhancing futures, and having a strong governance system.
Polkadot Comparisons
1. Polkadot vs. Ethereum
Ethereum is an innovative contract platform with the potential to serve as a decentralized cryptocurrency blockchain. In contrast, Polkadot allows for the connection of numerous networks and provides a framework for the straightforward construction of specialized blockchains.
Both systems are geared toward developers who want to make distributed applications that scale better through parallel processing. Polkadot uses parachains and parathreads, while Ethereum employs shards to make this happen.
Ethereum is similar to Bitcoin because it is on a consensus procedure that is proof of work. However, with the next 2.0 upgrade, it will switch to a proof-of-stake system, which is different from Polkadot’s NPoS.
2. Polkadot vs. Cardano
The goals of both Cardano and Polkadot were to free users from some of Ethereum’s restrictions. Some of Ethereum’s most influential developers built Cardano and Polkadot. Hence they have a shared history.
Integrating cutting-edge technologies ensures the safety and longevity of a society based on decentralized applications, infrastructure, and even culture. Third-generation blockchain platform Cardano (ADA) aims to facilitate the creation of decentralized applications. It’s the first proof-of-stake blockchain platform built with empirical methods and based on peer-reviewed research.
On the contrary, we know Polkadot is a blockchain-based, cryptocurrency-focused, multi-chain application ecosystem. The Network was created with cross-chain interoperability in mind, making it easier to conceive cutting-edge decentralized applications.
3. Polkadot vs. Cosmos
Polkadot provides network-wide unified security, one of the main differences between Cosmos and Polkadot. Every Polkadot parachain shares the same pooled safety as the Polkadot Relay Chain, but blockchains linked to the Cosmos Hub lack standardized security.
Polkadot employs a sharding paradigm for its parachains, so alterations to the value of one parachain impact all others. Cosmos uses a hub concept in which zone-based chains link with numerous hubs. Moreover, Polkadot supports the movement of tokens and material between blockchains, whereas Cosmos focuses on the transfer of assets between blockchains.
4. Polkadot vs. Solana
Both blockchains are the biggest and the most popular projects in the industry with massive institutional interest. For example, Solana is partnered with FTX exchange to develop Serum. Moreover, OpenSea β the biggest NFT marketplace β recently started supporting trading Solana-based tokens on its Platform.
Regarding network speed, Solana is the fastest blockchain network in the industry, with the potential to process about 65,000 transactions per second. It beats Polkadot, which can only validate about 1,000 transactions in the same period.
Regarding sustainability and interoperability, Solana does not even come close to Polkadot, the lowest carbon footprint blockchain today.
How to buy Polkadot
Now that you are familiar with Polkadot and its opponents, you may also be interested in buying the asset. Fortunately, there are just a few simple steps involved in this operation.
Step 1: Open an online account.
The first step in owning DOT is opening an account on a cryptocurrency exchange. This simple process typically requires only an email address or phone number.
Please create an account with Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, for free via their website or mobile app.
There are numerous exchanges to purchase DOT, but only a few stand out owing to their low costs, user-friendly layout, and speedy transactions. Binance is first on the list.
- Your Binance account is your access to buying cryptocurrency. You must verify your identity and account before purchasing Polkadot (DOT).
- Sign up via the Binance app.
- You must provide an email address while registering on the site.
- The website requires a mobile phone number for registration.
Step 2: Pick your preferred method of acquiring Polkadot (DOT) tokens.
To see what options are accessible to you in your country, visit Binance and choose the “Buy Crypto” link in the top left menu.
- Credit Card and Debit Card: Using a card is the most convenient alternative for new users to buy Polkadot (DOT). Binance accepts MasterCard and Visa.
- Bank Deposit: Transfer funds from your savings account to Binance and utilize the funds to purchase Polkadot.
- P2P Trading: This P2P crypto exchange allows customers to purchase Polkadot from other customers directly.
- Third-Party Payment: Alternative payment methods are many. To find out what digital currencies are available to you, check the Binance FAQ.
Step 3: Check the Polkadot crypto in your account
If you bought Polkadot by the above method, check the final status.
Is Polkadot crypto a good investment?
Yes. DOT is an excellent investment. Polkadot is an innovative cryptocurrency asset that is gaining traction rapidly. It employs breakthrough technologies to decentralize the blockchain further and enables the creation of other chains. However, Polkadot faces powerful opponents that may overtake it in the long term. Polkadot, however, stands out because it facilitates the integration of multiple blockchains through its cross-chain features. The project has superior backing from major blockchain developers, and significant VC funds support it. In addition to that, it has a lot of parachains in line waiting to connect. The Polkadot team has many other projects in the pipeline waiting to release.
We Coin-Labs.com provides only objective information about Polkadot.
Therefore, we are not responsible for the investment decision in Polkadot and the resulting loss.
Polkadot Basics
Here are some factors that investors should consider before investing in Polkadot.
| Cryptocurrency Features | Polkadot (DOT) |
|---|---|
| Publisher or Developers | Web3 Foundation |
| Headquarters (Registration Number) | Swiss |
| Symbol | DOT |
| Platform | Polkadot Network |
| Published Date (CMC Registration) | 2024-11-01 |
| Max Supply | No limit |
Reliability Score of Polkadot in 2024
These are indexes mesuring the investment reliability of Polkadot conducted by Coin-Labs.com.
| Investment Reliability Rating Items | Scores and Current Status |
|---|---|
| Company Activation Rate | 7.1 / 10.0 CAR |
| Communication Rate | 9.8 / 10.0 CR |
| Technology Transparency Rate | 8.2 / 10.0 TTR |
| Development Participation Rate | 9.5 / 10.0 DPR |
| Listing Status on the World's Top 10 Exchanges | Listed on 9 Exchanges |
| Number of Available Pairs Worldwide | 833 Pairs |
| Market Cap of the Cryptocurrency | 8,714,685,413 USD (Rank #13) |
The table above shows the result of investment suitability evaluation for Polkadot.
Check out how we evaluate cryptocurrencies on the crypto rating description page.
Polkadot Price
Here are the price and recent trading volume of Polkadot. (Data of 2024-11-02 00:36:00)
| Price Items | Price and Trading Volume of Polkadot |
|---|---|
| Polkadot Price | 3.939 USD |
| Price Change 24h | -1.63% |
| Price Change 7d | -5.48% |
| Trading Volume 24h | 149,033,733 USD |
| Trading Volume Change 24h | 6.70% |
Cryptocurrency Metadata
You can check the development status and social media information of Polkadot through the links in the table below.
| Metadata Source | URL |
|---|---|
| π Official Website | https://polkadot.network/ |
| π White Paper | https://polkadot.network/PolkaDotPaper.pdf |
| π°οΈ Source Code (GitHub) | https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot |
| π¦ Twitter | https://twitter.com/Polkadot |
| π€ Reddit | https://reddit.com/r/dot |
| πΊ Message Board | https://medium.com/polkadot-network |
Where to Buy Polkadot
Here are the top ten world crypto exchanges where traders can buy Polkadot in 2024.
| Top10 Exchanges | Listed Status | Page URL |
|---|---|---|
| Binance | Listed | https://www.binance.com/en/trade/DOT_USDT?theme=dark&type=spot |
| Coinbase | Listed | https://pro.coinbase.com/trade/DOT-USD |
| Kraken | Listed | https://trade.kraken.com/ko/charts/KRAKEN:DOT-USD |
| KuCoin | Listed | https://www.kucoin.com/trade/DOT-USDT |
| Bitfinex | Listed | https://trading.bitfinex.com/t/DOT:USD?type=exchange |
| OKX | Not listed | |
| Huobi | Listed | https://www.huobi.com/en-us/exchange/dot_usdt |
| Bitstamp | Not listed | |
| Bybit | Not listed | |
| Gate.io | Listed | https://www.gate.io/trade/dot_usdt |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the current price of Polkadot?
Polkadot price today is 3.939 USD. Furthermore, the price of Polkadot has fluctuated by -1.63% from 24 hours ago, and by -5.48% from a week ago.
Where is Polkadot listed?
Currently, it is listed on a total of 9 among the world top 10 exchanges.
What is the market cap of Polkadot now?
Currently, Polkadot has a market cap of 8,714,685,413 USD, which is ranking 13 among cryptocurrencies worldwide.
How much is the trade volume of Polkadot?
Currently, 1,512,783,982 DOT coins are circulating through 833 market pairs. As a result, in the last 24 hours, 149,033,733 USD of DOT coins were traded in the market.
