Polkadot 2.0: The evolution

Polkadot is preparing for its biggest upgrade yet: Polkadot 2.0. The upgrade is expected to roll out in phases throughout 2024 and introduce key features such as Asynchronous Backing, Agile Coretime and Elastic Scaling.  

Cointelegraph Research’s latest report provides an overview of Polkadot 2.0’s evolution and discusses other key developments for Polkadot, such as its ecosystem growth and adoption by developers.

With the launch of Asynchronous Backing in May, block processing has become more efficient, wait times have been reduced, and overall network performance has been boosted. Agile Coretime, launched in September, opens up new opportunities for developers. It lowers entry barriers and enables on-demand blockspace purchases to cut costs for projects with variable resource demands. 

Lastly, Elastic Scaling, expected in late 2024 or early 2025, will further expand the network’s capacity. This feature lets Polkadot accommodate more blockchains and handle higher transaction volumes without sacrificing security or performance. The report provides more detailed technical descriptions of these updates.

Governance and DAO growth

Polkadot has seen a surge in governance activity and a growing number of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) throughout 2023 and 2024. The number of referenda submitted has increased by 150%, and voter turnout has grown by 40% since 2023. In July alone, over 1,134 unique voters participated in governance activities, illustrating the network’s commitment to community engagement.

Polkadot’s governance mechanism, OpenGov, stands out because it is an onchain system for real-time, transparent and democratic decision-making. Any Polkadot (DOT) holder can submit a proposal through OpenGov, but not all proposals automatically go to a referendum. To move forward, a proposal must acquire enough backing through a deposit of DOT or by receiving support from the community or the council.

One notable example of successful governance in action is Referendum 234, which proposed a 20% increase in the treasury allocation toward ecosystem development projects. With over 75% of participating DOT holders voting in favor, this referendum has already sparked new funding opportunities and development activity on the platform.

Developer ecosystem and adoption metrics

Polkadot’s developer community is among the most active in the blockchain space. The network has attracted nearly 2,500 developers, with almost 800 working full-time on the platform. Polkadot’s software development kit offers developers a modular framework that reduces the complexity involved in building customized blockchains. This flexibility, combined with support for multiple programming languages such as WebAssembly, has made Polkadot a common choice for projects in the recent past. 

Polkadot has positioned itself as an adaptable and scalable layer-zero blockchain that addresses scalability, interoperability and governance fundamentals. Its parallel processing capabilities, community-driven governance and ambitious roadmap make it a promising platform. As Polkadot continues to evolve, it is expected to play an important role in the future of decentralized applications, Web3 and beyond.

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