Cardano is not the only 3rd generation blockchain that is attracting the interest of crypto enthusiasts. Among the most promising next-generation blockchain projects is Polkadot. Polkadot is the invention of the Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood. Wood is a British scientist who parted ways with Ethereum in 2015 after he dealt with unprecedented delay in the launch of Ethereum 2.0.
One year later, he published a whitepaper and introduced Polkadot as a trustless and heterogeneous blockchain network. At first, Polkadot was using the proof of authority consensus model. However, in 2020 the network decided to adopt the tested and verified proof of stake model. The main reason for a massive interest from the investors is the drag and drop customization option that allows the developing team to generate a whole new blockchain project without much hassle.
Integration for Parachains has Entered into the Testnet Phase
In a new blog post the former CTO of Ethereum announced that the blockchain would soon be compliant with the parachain functionality. With these functions, the users would be able to generate and dedicate parallel blockchains on the network for performing specified tasks. The investors would have to stake the DOT coin to make use of these parachains. Until these parachains are removed, these DOT coins could not go back into circulation. The users can also use these parachains to ascertain the authenticity of transactions on the Polkadot network.
The Polkadot network is running on the baseline project called Kasuma. It has an unaudited canary feature that allows the developers to find out any obstacles before they have transferred their projects on the mainnet. According to Wood, the proposed parachains are simulating upgraded logic on Kasuma. After its successful iteration, it could go live on the mainnet.
Polkadot Introduces Bridges
Wood is also the inventor of Solidity. Solidity is used for programming on the Ethereum network. The effects of Ethereum on Polkadot are visible. Many people think that Polkadot has the potential to replace Ethereum eventually. Wood also made a comparison of the upcoming Ethereum 2.0 merger to the present capabilities of the Polkadot network. The network has recently introduced Bridges.
This functionality allows digital assets to travel from one blockchain to another. It can prove to be a great system for hosting important cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum if these networks are unable to switch to the PoS consensus model in the future. At present, the DOT is valued at $38.88 with a market cap of $39.1 billion. It is one of the few digital assets that have managed to stay in a positive trend after the recent fall of Bitcoin.