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Blockchain networks have been around for some time now, and we have seen many exciting projects over the last decade. However, the thing with blockchain networks is that most networks allow the use of their technology only on their blockchain and nowhere else, which fairly limits their potential. This is the issue Polkadot is addressing.
Polkadot is a blockchain network with its native cryptocurrency DOT that focuses on building a protocol that allows people to create different blockchains that can connect, communicate and share all of their data with each other while using all the security from Polkadot’s main blockchain.
Polkadot is the first project that tries to tackle the issue of communication between different networks and allows users to use multiple technologies between networks.
It achieves this by leveraging a new feature in the blockchain technology they created, called Parachains. Parachains are blockchain networks that people create with diverse technological solutions that are all connected and can communicate with each other.
At the time of writing (May 16th, 2022), DOT’s price is $10.8. The current Market Cap ranking is #11, with a market cap of $10.6B.
Polkadot has closed off the previous year on a strong note, reaching its all-time high price of $54 in November. That is an impressive more than 6x increase in its price compared to the $8 it was at the start of 2021. 2022 has started with a market correction that has impacted the price of all cryptocurrencies, including the price of DOT.
Since its inception, Polkadot has had an average growth rate of 182.2%
Polkadot has had an initial token distribution that went as follows:
The supply is not limited by computer software, meaning it can be increased. The current circulating number of tokens is 987.5M.
Polkadot has become an in-demand asset due to its unique technology approach and the problem it solves. It also has a high supply, meaning it is available for anyone that wants to purchase it.
The primary way people buy their DOT is through centralized exchanges because they offer the ability to purchase them with credit\debit cards, which most people prefer.
Although significantly more complicated, the second way is through decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap. Decentralized exchanges usually require users to already have some cryptocurrencies in their wallets to buy other cryptos.
Finally, it can be purchased easily through a broker app such as our Veli App, where you can get your hands on some DOT in just a few taps on the screen.
Polkadot was founded by Robert Habermeier, Dr. Gavin Wood, and Peter Czaban. Polkadot is the flagship protocol of the Swiss Web3 Foundation.
Dr. Gavin Wood, Web3 Foundation’s president, is the most well-known trio member, thanks to his industry influence as Ethereum co-founder, Parity Technologies founder, and the Smart Contract coding language, Solidity creator. Wood is also credited with coining the term Web3.
Habermeier is a Thiel Fellow and accomplished blockchain and cryptography researcher and developer.
Czaban is the former Technology Director at Web3 Foundation, with a wealth of experience across highly specialized fintech industries.
Polkadot focuses on its community since network participants mainly operate its future. They are on every major social media channel and even have distinct community programs where you can become an ambassador or a validator for the network.
Polkadot has raised $293.7M in funding over 11 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Aug 23, 2020, from a Secondary Market round. Investors backing this project are Coin Fund, NON-fungible Chain, High Nau Capital, 8 Decimal Capital, Kenzi Wang, IOSG Ventures, Fundamental Labs, AU21 Capital, Mapleblock Capital, Placeholder, and others.
Polkadot did not face any outstanding legal issues that are known.
Due to its unique technological approach, Polkadot has good network activity. Let us take a look at the numbers.
Polkadot’s main competitors are Ethereum and Cosmos.
Ethereum is a competition to Polkadot since it is the world’s first programmable blockchain that allows users to create applications on it. It was co-founded by Polkadot’s founder, Gavin Wood, who also created the Solidity programming language. The main differences between Polkadot and Ethereum are that Polkadot is much faster and cheaper and Polkadot focuses more on the communication between networks, while Ethereum is more of a general-purpose network.
Cosmos is a competitor since it is a similar blockchain network to Polkadot in the sense that it focuses on the communication and data sharing between multiple blockchain networks. The difference between them is that Cosmos is 10x faster than Polkadot and takes a slightly different approach to blockchain technology.
Here are some additional numbers to illustrate this competition.
| Polkadot | Cosmos | Ethereum | |
| Transactions per second | 1500tps | 10,000tps | 15 |
| Time needed to confirm a transaction | 12-60s | 1s | 6 min |
| Average transaction fee | 0.001-0.3$ | 0.01$ | 15$ |
| Market cap | $14.9b | $5.17b | $310b |
| Circulation supply | No limit on the number of tokens | No limit on the number of tokens | No limit on the number of tokens |
| Total number of wallet addresses | 1m+ | 600K+ | 150.6m |
| Total number of daily active users | 2.2k | 10.6k | 509k |
| Launch date | 2020 | 2017 | 2015 |
| Average growth rate | 189.00% | 171.60% | 178.20% |
When it comes to investing, there are obvious risks, just as there are with any other asset type. Because there are so many different types of cryptocurrencies, risks may be divided into two categories: generic risks that apply to all cryptocurrencies and coin-specific risks.
We’ve put up a guide that covers broad cryptocurrency investment risks and provides advice on how to reduce them, while risks related to individual assets are handled specifically in coin guides such as this one.
Website: https://polkadot.network/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Polkadot
Telegram: https://t.me/PolkadotOfficial
The Polkadot protocol is a next-generation blockchain that allows unrelated blockchains to talk to each other securely. Without an intermediary, value or data can flow between blockchains such as Ethereum and Bitcoin. It’s also designed to be speedy and scalable via many parallel blockchains (or “parachains”) that reduce data load on the main blockchain network.
It’s developed by the most influential people in the crypto industry, Solidity programming language creator and co-founder of Ethereum. With still some development phases left to complete, Polkadot is a young and promising project, and we can only wait and see where it will go from here.
