Polkadot (DOT) Coin — Ethereum Destroyer? A Beginner’s Guide

Max Neuhaus
Crypto Elite Club
Published in
11 min readJun 9, 2021

Polkadot (DOT) Coin is one of the top performing altcoins in 2020. At the time of publication, the cryptocurrency is ranked fifth with a market capitalization of $ 26 billion. Additionally, Polkadot is dubbed the Ethereum murderer by many. These are all noteworthy accomplishments in and of themselves, but what makes this much more remarkable is that Polkadot (DOT) Coin has been in existence for less than a year. However, the idea has been running since 2016 and the creator finds it to be a difficult undertaking.

In a nutshell, Polkadot is a unique proof-of-stake cryptocurrency that is built to ensure blockchain interoperability. Its protocol connects permissioned and permissionless blockchains, and oracles which enable systems to communicate within a single umbrella. Gavin Wood, Robert Habermeier, a Thiel Fellow, and Peter Czaban founded Polkadot. Gavin Wood is the co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer of the Ethereum Project. As of March 2021, Polkadot has a $30.3 billion market capitalization and a $32.83 dollar DOT. Polkadot (DOT) Coin allows for the internet to exchange knowledge and transactions separately through the Polkadot relay chain in a secure manner. Polkadot seeks to render decentralized applications, services, and businesses simple ways to build and communicate.

How did Polkadot (DOT) Coin, which has been “online” for less than a year, achieve such a high valuation? You will discover the answer in this post.

Polkadot (DOT) Explained Within 12 Mins

You can find more about Polkadot (DOT) coin in this informative video:

Polkadot (DOT) Coin: The History

Dr. Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum and developer of Solidity, the programming language for Ethereum’s smart contracts, created Polkadot. Wood co-founded the Web3 Foundation with Robert Habermeier and Peter Czaban in response to his frustration with the rapid advancement of Ethereum 2.0.

The Web3 Foundation later founded Polkadot. At the end of 2017, the Web3 Foundation released an initial coin offering (ICO) focused on the Polkadot Whitepaper. The Web3 Foundation immediately continued collaborating with the funds generated from this initial coin offering. The Web3 Foundation unveiled Kusama, Polkadot’s new testnet, in mid-2019. Kusama placed the most crucial facets of Polkadot (DOT) Coin to the test, including sharding and attack. The genesis block of the Polkadot blockchain was released in May 2020.

What Is Polkadot (DOT) Coin?

Polkadot (DOT) Coin is an open-source sharding multichain protocol that allows the cross-chain sharing of any form of data or asset, not just tokens, thereby enabling the interoperability of a large range of blockchains. Although this is a lengthy technical term, Polkadot differentiates itself not only by its peculiar sharding process, but also through enabling different blockchains (cross-chain) to function seamlessly together: interoperability. This decentralized interoperability between various blockchains helps shape Polkadot’s vision: we imagine a network in which our identities and data are ours alone, protected from any central authority.

Interoperability

Thus, Polkadot’s primary point of differentiation is its cross-chain interoperability. Polkadot’s goal with this interoperability is to provide a fully open and private network that is entirely managed by its users. Polkadot’s goal with this network is to allow the development of new applications and services simpler. This is accomplished by the network protocol’s connection between public and private blockchains, oracles, and potential technology. These self-contained blockchains are referred to as “parachains.” This would be discussed further. This enables these autonomous blockchains to securely exchange data and transactions in the Polkadot blockchain’s core; the relay chain. Additionally, we will address this in more depth later.

This enables the development of apps using licensed data from a private blockchain and deploying them to a public blockchain. For instance, a school’s private accepted academic data may be used to submit a certified pass to a public blockchain-based smart credential check contract.

Cross-chain Message Passing (XCMP)

Polkadot’s future goal is to increase cross-chain interoperability between the various parachains through cross-chain message passing (XCMP). This enables the autonomous blockchains, or parachains, to communicate with one another. XCMP is still under production, and requirements are subject to modification. Via the usage of XCMP, smart contracts on one parachain will trigger smart contracts on another.

Polkadot (DOT) Coin design

Scalability is the primary issue confronting Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general. Numerous blockchains suffer from sluggish processing rates and large transaction costs at the moment. For eg, at the time of writing, February 17, 2021, the transaction costs on the Ethereum blockchain are incredibly large, owing to the fact that the Ethereum blockchain hosts the majority of the DeFi business. Polkadot was designed to address the scalability of blockchains such as Ethereum, whose transaction throughput is heavily constrained by the need for each node to verify each transaction. Sharding is included in Polkadot. Sharding is a strategy that eliminates the need for all nodes to validate each transaction. The transfers are distributed across the network in what are known as shards. Learn more about sharding by visiting this page. However, at Polkadot, these shards are referred to as parachains. Polkadot solves the scalability question through a novel blockchain framework.

Relay Chain

The Relay Chain is the most critical component and the heart of Polkadot’s architecture. The Relay Chain connects all of the Polkadot network’s various blockchains or shards. The Relay Network enables mutual agreement between the various blockchains, dubbed parachains, as well as the previously discussed cross-chain interoperability.

Each Polkadot validator is staking DOT tokens on the Relay Chain and validating for the Relay Chain. The Relay Chain executes a small range of activities, including contact with the governance system, parachute auctions, and consensus mechanism engagement. We will discuss this in more depth later. The key argument is that the Relay Chain guarantees that transfers from all parachains on the network can be handled safely and concurrently. This increases the network’s scalability. Other duties are assigned to the parachains, each of which has a unique implementation and feature.

Parachains

Parachains are self-contained blockchains that can issue their own tokens and adapt their features to different use cases. The Relay Chain binds the Parachains. It is important, however, that parachains can be tailored for a particular use. This means that teams on a parachain have greater functionality, performance, and protection than they would if they had their own standardized blockchain. Additionally, teams or businesses may greatly minimize the time taken to create a blockchain by utilizing Substrate, a platform for creating Polkadot blockchains. Validators attached to the Relay Chain verify the data from the Parachain. Additionally, it is important to understand that the Relay Chain cannot be linked to an endless number of parachains. Polkadot sponsors a finite number of parachains, believed to be about 100 at the moment. Polkadot uses Parachain slot auctions owing to the small number of spaces. Auctions on the parachain are, in reality, auctions. Bidders for Parachains may enter the auction by determining the Relay Chain location they want and the amount of DOT tokens they are prepared to pay. Parachains bidders may pay for this out of pocket or use the community’s crowd loan feature to obtain DOT.

Bridges

As previously reported, the Polkadot *(DOT) Coin blockchain’s interoperability and cross-chain data transfer are critical properties. Cross-chain transition is the process of transferring data across separate blockchains. This cross-chain property is achieved, in part, by the use of so-called ‘bridges.’ Bridges, or blockchain bridges, are mechanisms for two functionally distinct blockchains to interact with one another. For example, a bridge will link the Bitcoin or Ethereum blockchains to the Polkadot network.

The Polkadot (DOT) Coin network’s design is schematically represented below for clarification.

Consensus Algorithm

For blockchains, it is important that all data on the blockchain is compatible for all network members (nodes). In other terms, all network members must trust that what is recorded on the blockchain is accurate. This is accomplished by the use of the consensus algorithm. Polkadot (DOT) Coin makes use of a proprietary consensus algorithm known as Nominated Proof of Stake (NPoS). This is a variant on the Proof of Stake protocol. The NPoS

Nominators

By naming trustworthy validators and discontinuing DOT, nominators safeguard the Relay Chain. If you are a DOT token owner and holder who wants to gain more DOT by staking but does not want to take on the burden of operating a node that must be online 24 hours a day, you will become a nominator.

Validators

Validators protect the Relay Chain by discontinuing DOT, validating collator block proofs, and collaborating with other validators to reach agreement. The Polkadot method selects validators on a daily basis. These validators would be crucial in the coming hours for extremely sensitive protocols such as block output.

Collators

Collators maintain a complete node for a single Parachain. That is, they retain all of the knowledge necessary to create new blocks and conduct transactions. They would usually collect and conduct transactions to create an unsealed block and submit it, along with proofs of state change, to the validators liable for proposing a parachain block. Due to their position as fully-fledged nodes, each Collator is conscious of its peers. This enables them to transmit messages between parachains A and B; this is referred to as interoperability.

Fishermen

Fishermen are a potential addition to the Polkadot network and are not currently accessible. Fishermen are responsible for keeping an eye on Collators. As a consequence, they hold an eye on the mechanism of inserting new blocks and conducting transactions to ensure that no invalid state changes are included.

Governance

Polkadot (DOT) Coin often defines itself by the organization of its administration or board of directors. The board is concerned with the potential of a cryptocurrency: probable network enhancements and changes. Upgrading a blockchain in other cryptocurrencies is often a complex and time-consuming method. Frequently, an upgrade triggers a so-called hard fork. A hard fork will take months to complete and can also result in the disintegration of a crypto culture. The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) hard fork is an example of this. A sizable amount of the Bitcoin Cash population was formerly a member of the Bitcoin community but quit owing to a dispute about Bitcoin’s block size.

Polkadot accomplishes this in a unique way by using an open and decentralized governance system that empowers users. This is alluded to as “user-driven network administration” or “user-driven network security” by Polkadot. Polkadot’s board of directors is composed of those members that want to represent. These stakeholders will vote on referendums using the DOT token to engage in the council. Referendums are transparent election processes focused on staked DOT tokens. Each referendum contains a unique proposal. Referendums may be initiated in one of the following ways:

  • Proposals presented anonymously by members of the Polkadot network.
  • Council-submitted proposals.
  • Proposals produced as part of the method of accepting a prior referendum.
  • The Strategic Committee proposed and the Council accepted emergency recommendations.

Thus, the Councilors, the Technical Committee, and all stakeholders voting with stacked DOT tokens comprise Polkadot’s governance structure.

DOT token holders can vote in referendums with their staked DOT tokens and can also submit public referendum proposals.

The Council is composed of individuals chosen by the DOT owner. In emergency proposals, the Council presents referendums and decides for or against them.

Unlike the Council, the Technical Committee is not elected by vote; however, it is selected by the Council based on a formal definition of the Polkadot protocol. Together with the Council, the Technical Committee will draft emergency referendums that can be easily voted on and adopted. These emergency contacts are only to be used if a need exists inside the Polkadot network.

Additionally, the parachains on the Polkadot network will use their own governance model. After all, they are self-contained blockchains linked to the Relay Chain.

Tokenomics

The term tokenomics applies to the way tokens work inside a cryptocurrency’s wider ecosystem. In Polkadot’s situation, the token is the DOT token. The DOT token is used in many ways in the Polkadot ecosystem, most notably governance and hit.

Governance of the DOT

As discussed previously, DOT’s primary role is to empower DOT holders with the authority to exert influence over the platform’s governance. Among the tasks protected by the governance mechanism’s referenda are establishing network costs, installing or deleting parachains, and handling extraordinary incidents such as Polkadot network updates and repairs. Polkadot requires every DOT holder to serve on the commission.

DOT Discontinue

DOT is also included in Polkadot’s consensus mechanism: Nominated Proof of Stake (NPoS). Strikers are responsible for maintaining the Polkadot network and enabling legitimate transactions through parachains. Keepers of DOTs will surrender (wager) their DOTs in exchange for a prize. On the other side, fraudulent network members are fined for breaking the law. Their stake (commitment) is excluded.

Roadmap for Polkadot (DOT) Coin

Polkadot has made considerable strides on their roadmap. When the crypto was introduced, the network was already using the Proof of Authority consensus algorithm, but it has been successfully working on the NPoS consensus algorithm for some time now. Polkadot, on the other hand, is far from complete. At the time of publishing, the crypto only consists of the Relay Chain, which serves as the network’s central node. On parachain research networks, parachain software is currently being carried out for testing and bug fixing. The first parachain auctions will take place in the foreseeable future, after which the first official parachains will be selected. Numerous analysts predict that the cryptos that secure a parachain position would see substantial price rises.

Polkadot (DOT) Coin is one of the top selling altcoins in 2020, which is unsurprising. The cryptocurrency is an exceptionally optimistic project that, like Ethereum, aspires to becoming a modern form of internet composed of intertwined blockchains. The below are the project’s primary takeaways:

Interoperability

Polkadot allows the sharing of some kind of data or commodity between blockchains, not just tokens. As a result, data may be sent between various based blockchains through the network.

Adaptability

Polkadot’s sharding architecture seeks to have economic scalability. Scalability is accomplished by distributing transactions through several concurrent blockchains rather than doing all work on a single blockchain.

Simpler to patch and repair

Polkadot’s control system enables them to update without doing hard forks in order to incorporate new functionality or repair bugs. This functionality enables the cryptocurrency to quickly adjust to developments and update itself as emerging innovations become accessible.

Network maintenance that is user-driven

Polkadot (DOT) Coin, a governance structure that allows for participation from all DOT holders. The blockchain is used to organize and perform network updates. This places the network’s strength in the possession of its owners.

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Originally published at https://eliteclubsignals.com on June 9, 2021.

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