What makes Polkadot (DOT) special?

Welcome to the cryptohunt jam where we spend one minute a day to explain crypto. In plain english.

Today, we’ll talk about Polkadot, a technology introduced in 2020 to make creating entirely new blockchains easier.

You’ll start seeing a theme here: Polkadot ist yet another crypto project aiming at solving the problems with Ethereum. In fact, Polkadot is co-founded by Ethereum’s old Chief Technology Officer.

Think of Ethereum as a single highway; and of the transaction fees as tolls. Every time any transaction happens on Ethereum, it gets put on the same road – this could be someone sending a token, the sale of an NFT, or the creation of a new smart contract. Quickly, that highway gets congested, tolls go way up, and there is just not enough space for everyone to get to their destination.

Polkadot takes a novel approach to solving this problem. Instead of creating more lanes on that freeway, which is a common solution other blockchains try, it allows for the creation of entirely new, separate freeways. In other words, it allows the creation of new blockchains. Those can be used separately with less congestion, and can be built for a special purpose. And there are also ramps connecting those freeways, so exchanges are possible.

All that has led to Polkadot being a scalable, and fully customizable alternative to Ethereum.

And next time, we’ll talk about the opposite of a purposeful blockchain: The popular meme coin Dogecoin.

Disclaimer: This podcast references our opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Do your own research and seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.