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Polkadot SDK
Polkadot's parachains are specialised blockchains that run in parallel to the main network, offering shared security, scalability, and customisability benefits for a range of use cases.
Substrate enables developers to quickly and easily build future proof blockchains optimised for any use case.
As Ethereum’s co-founder and first CTO, Gavin Wood developed the Ethereum network and created the smart-contract language, Solidity. While groundbreaking at the time, it soon became apparent that Ethereum’s “all-purpose” nature imposed hard constraints on developers—from high gas fees to a lack of core upgradeability. Blockchain frameworks that try to do everything on a single chain are fundamentally constrained by generalist design choices and force developers to hack clunky workarounds rather than build specialized solutions.
In order to push the boundaries of blockchain technology, Gavin left the Ethereum Foundation and started Parity, which implemented the fastest Ethereum client at the time. In the early days of Parity, the team also built a Bitcoin and ZCash client before moving on to spearhead Polkadot. It’s only from all this deep industry experience that blockchains could be reimagined from the ground up. This led to the creation of Substrate, an open source and future proof framework that powers a multichain, interoperable, and decentralised internet.
Polkadot is a blockchain platform that was created to address the challenges of interoperability, scalability, and governance in the blockchain space. It was founded by Gavin Wood, a co-founder of Ethereum, and was developed by the Web3 Foundation and Parity Technologies.
Polkadot's unique architecture allows it to connect different blockchains and networks, enabling them to communicate and exchange data with one another. This interoperability feature solves a major problem in the blockchain space, as it allows for the creation of a decentralized, multi-chain ecosystem that can support a wide range of use cases.
In addition to interoperability, Polkadot also addresses scalability issues through a sharding mechanism that divides the network into smaller pieces, each of which can process transactions independently. This allows Polkadot to process a much higher number of transactions per second than traditional blockchains.
Polkadot's governance model is designed to be highly decentralized and transparent, with stakeholders having a say in the decision-making process. This ensures that the network remains secure, stable, and adaptable as it continues to evolve over time.
Polkadot is likely the superior layer one protocol because of its unique features and ability to solve some of the most pressing challenges facing the blockchain space. Its focus on interoperability, scalability, and governance make it an attractive platform for developers, enterprises, and users alike, and its ongoing development and evolution promise to deliver even more value and innovation in the years to come.
Polkadot unites and secures a growing ecosystem of specialised blockchains called Parachains. Apps and services on Polkadot can securely communicate across chains, forming the basis for a truly interoperable decentralised web.
- True interoperabilityPolkadot enables cross-blockchain transfers of any type of data or asset, not just tokens. Connecting to Polkadot gives you the ability to interoperate with a wide variety of blockchains in the Polkadot network.
- Economic & transactional scalabilityPolkadot provides unprecedented economic scalability by enabling a common set of validators to secure multiple blockchains. Polkadot provides transactional scalability by spreading transactions across multiple parallel blockchains.
- Easy blockchain innovationCreate a custom blockchain in minutes using the Substrate framework. Connect your chain to Polkadot and get interoperability and security from day one. This ease of development helps Polkadot's network grow.
- High energy efficiencyPolkadot consumes a small fraction of the energy used by conventional blockchains thanks to its next-generation nominated proof-of-stake (NPoS) model. Using the equivalent of ~6.6 US households worth of energy per year, Polkadot has the lowest carbon footprint among proof-of-stake protocols analysed in recent research.
- Security for everyonePolkadot's novel data availability and validity scheme allows chains to interact with each other in a meaningful way. Chains remain independent in their governance, but united in their security.
- User-driven governancePolkadot has a sophisticated governance system where all stakeholders have a voice. Network upgrades are coordinated on-chain and enacted autonomously and without forking the network, ensuring that Polkadot’s development remains future-proof and community-driven.
Parachains
Polkadot's parachains are specialised blockchains that run in parallel to the main network, offering shared security, scalability, and customisability benefits for a range of use cases.
Polkadot is a blockchain platform designed to enable interoperability between different blockchains and networks. One of the key components of Polkadot's architecture is the parachain, which is a specialized blockchain that runs in parallel to the main Polkadot network. In this overview, we will explore the fundamentals of a parachain as defined by Polkadot and the Web3 Foundation.
A parachain is essentially a blockchain that operates as a parallel network to Polkadot's main chain, known as the relay chain. Parachains are designed to support a range of use cases, including smart contracts, decentralized finance, and identity management. Each parachain has its own set of rules and governance mechanisms, and can be customized to suit specific needs.
One of the key benefits of using a parachain is the ability to leverage Polkadot's security and scalability features. Because each parachain is connected to the relay chain, it can benefit from Polkadot's shared security model. This means that the security of the network is distributed across all the parachains, making it much more difficult for malicious actors to compromise the system.
Parachains also benefit from Polkadot's scalability features, which allow the network to process a much higher number of transactions per second than traditional blockchains. This is achieved through a mechanism known as sharding, where the network is divided into smaller pieces, each of which can process transactions independently.
To participate in the Polkadot network, projects can bid for a parachain slot through a decentralized auction process. Once a slot is secured, the project can deploy its own customized blockchain on the parachain and begin interacting with other chains on the Polkadot network.
Explore the exciting world of Polkadot and Kusama parachains through the comprehensive online directory, which includes projects, auctions, crowdloans, news and events.
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