4 Instances of Game Theory in Polkadot That Blew Me Away
Why Polkadot is worthy of attention
When I first stumbled on Polkadot, I didn’t think it was worth paying attention to. But then one day, bored with nothing to do, I took a deep dive into understanding the project. I read the whitepaper, watched youtube videos, and read the wiki. I was impressed by the technology and the vision behind it. But what astonished me was the level of attention given to building an economic system (game theory) that maximized the security of the network in more ways than one.
To understand how, we will explore three instances of impressive game theory in the Polkadot ecosystem design. But first, let’s consider what game theory is and why it’s integral to the success of a blockchain ecosystem?
Game theory
Every ecosystem has multiple participants who must work together to help the system thrive. The main problem is how to ensure that all participants work in the best interest of the system. This is where game theory comes in.
Pioneered by mathematician John von Neumann and economist Oskar Morgenstern in the 1940s,
game theory is a theoretical framework for conceiving the optimal decision-making of independent and…
