Polkadot is a unique protocol connecting multiple purpose-built blockchains into one scalable network. It's using blockchain technology to make way for new markets and future decentralized economies and has many stand out features. It's a sharded multichain network enabling many transactions on several chains in parallel. It offers interoperability and cross-chain communication. Communities on Polkadot govern their own network, and hold a stake in the future of Polkadot’s network governance as a whole. It also enables forkless upgrades, allowing blockchains to evolve and adapt easily. Over 100 projects have been or are currently being built for the Polkadot ecosystem, in a wide range of services and systems.

After being in the development stage for 3 years, Polkadot was launched earlier this year. It's the first project by Web3 Foundation, and Parity are behind the development. Dieter Fishbein, Head of Ecosystem Development at Web3 Foundation, and Joe Petrowski, Research Analyst at Parity Technologies, share an in depth overview on the economics and incentives behind the protocol.

Polkadot is designed to take back our digital sovereignty from powerful third-parties who currently control the web. It promises to take blockchain technology to the next level, and we believe it will do just that.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Dieter and Joe’s backgrounds and how they got into the crypto space
• The Polkadot vision
• The key components of the Polkadot protocol
• Kusama - Polkadot's cousin
• Scalability, Security, and Interoperability
• The stages of the Polkadot launch and what is coming next
• Building with Substrate
• The parachains being developed
• Leasing parachain slots
• Running validators on Polkadot

Episode links:

• Polkadot Website
• Kusama Website
• The Polkadot launch
• Polkadot Twitter
• Dieter Fishbein Twitter
• Joe Petrowski Twitter

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Sunny Aggarwal. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/347