6 min readThe beginnings of Polkadot
Polkadot was conceived by Ethereum co‑founder Gavin Wood and launched the relay chain in May 2020 after several years of research and test networks. Polkadot was designed as a layer-0 network that connects multiple blockchains (parachains) under a single shared security umbrella and provides a messaging layer (XCM) for interoperability. Development is led by Parity Technologies, which Wood co‑founded, and overseen by the Web3 Foundation. After three years of hiatus, Gavin Wood announced his comeback as CEO of Parity Technologies in August 2025.
Key technical features
Polkadot uses a nominated proof‑of‑stake (NPoS) consensus scheme, meaning validators stake DOT to produce blocks on the relay chain, while nominators delegate stake to validators. The relay chain provides security and coordinates consensus for connected parachains, which can define their own rules. Parachains communicate via cross‑consensus messaging (XCM), and messages can be routed through bridges to external networks.
Polkadot is built to be modular. Developers use the Polkadot SDK to create their own blockchains (parachains) and pick whatever programming environment or fee model suits them. In May 2025, the Web3 Foundation partnered with infrastructure firm Asphere to launch a toolkit that lets teams spin up their own rollups—lightweight chains that sit atop Polkadot—without writing low-level code. These rollups can be tailored for different uses and even port existing Ethereum apps. The kit provides ready-made templates and handles the complex tasks like consensus, security and node management, so projects can quickly deploy high‑performance chains that tap into Polkadot’s built-in interoperability and security features.
Polkadot is in the middle of a major upgrade called “Polkadot 2.0” that will make the network much more flexible. Today, individual parachains have to win a fixed slot to plug into Polkadot’s central chain. In the new system, those slots are being replaced by “cores” that developers can rent as needed, a bit like buying cloud-computing time. The first step toward this, called asynchronous backing, has already cut the time to produce a new block in half—from 12 seconds down to 6—and allows many parachains to process transactions at once, boosting the network’s speed.
Network performance
Polkadot’s speed comes from its central “relay” chain working alongside many smaller chains. Think of it like a computer with lots of processor cores running at once: by spreading work across multiple cores, Polkadot can handle hundreds of thousands of transactions per second. A recent upgrade called asynchronous backing cut the time it takes to add a new batch of transactions in half, down to roughly six seconds, so confirmations happen faster. The network’s reliability depends on a large group of independent validators (about 300) who take turns producing blocks and earn rewards for staying online; if too many drop off, performance can slip, but the staking system is designed to keep them engaged.
In theory, the relay chain is able to handle 100,000 transactions per second (TPS) and Web3 Foundation even claimed over 623,000 TPS at Consensus Toronto 2025. According to Chainspect, the blockchain is processing roughly 8 TPS, as of August 2025, with a maximum recorded of 462 TPS.
What is Polkadot for?
DOT is the native token of Polkadot and has four core functions:
Transaction fees: DOT is used to pay fees for messages and transactions on the relay chain and is burned or transferred to the treasury.
Staking: validators must stake DOT to participate in block production and nominators stake DOT to select validators. Staking rewards come from inflation and transaction fees.
Governance: DOT holders vote on referendums that decide protocol upgrades, treasury spending and parameter changes; on‑chain governance will gain more autonomy in the Polkadot 2.0 era.
Coretime purchases and collateral: as agile coretime rolls out, developers will use DOT to purchase coretime and to secure rollups or parachains.
Ecosystem and use cases
Polkadot supports a growing ecosystem of specialized parachains and dApps. By May 2025 the network hosted over 600 active projects and more than 1.4 million participants in its on‑chain DAOs, according to one of the Web3 foundation press release. Parachains span DeFi (Hydration, Bifrost, Moonwell), gaming (Mythical Games, Unique Network), NFTs, identity and real‑world asset tracking. The cross‑chain design allows parachains to connect to EVM chains via bridges and to Cosmos via the Hyperbridge and IBC implementations. Parachains can also launch their own rollups.
Pros and cons
Pros:
Parachains can scale independently and share security, while upcoming elastic scaling will allow dynamic resource allocation.
Bridges to Ethereum and Cosmos plus no‑code rollups enable cross‑chain dApps.
DOT holders control protocol upgrades and treasury spending.
Cons:
Polkadot’s architecture (relay chain, parachains, future cores) is more complex than single‑chain networks.
Although there are hundreds of projects, Polkadot’s DeFi liquidity and total value locked remain modest compared with Ethereum or Solana. Many major stablecoins (USDT, USDC) are not natively issued on Polkadot, limiting capital efficiency.
Other modular networks (Cosmos, ICP) and Ethereum’s layer‑2 rollups offer similar scalability and interoperability, so Polkadot must compete for developers and liquidity.
Strategic considerations
Polkadot positions itself as an application‑centric Layer 0 that provides secure, scalable infrastructure for a diverse set of blockchains. In the end, we should think of Polkadot as a B-to-B blockchain, not a consumer one. For investors and builders, DOT offers exposure to a modular, multichain platform. It complements Bitcoin and Ethereum rather than competes directly: Bitcoin remains a monetary asset, Ethereum is a smart‑contract hub with mature DeFi, and Polkadot provides customizable blockspace and cross‑chain communication. DOT’s inflationary supply funds staking rewards and a treasury that invests in network upgrades. Future investors should weigh the potential of Polkadot 2.0 and its ecosystem growth
