About

Why Polkadot?

"The decentralized nature of crypto is its greatest strength and its greatest challenge."

– Gavin Wood, Founder of Polkadot

Network Statistics

Recent data showcasing Polkadot's robust infrastructure and growing ecosystem

$0B+

Market Cap of the DOT token that secures and powers the network

0M

Staked DOT providing security to the network

0+

Apps, chains, and other projects on Polkadot

$0M+

DOT sitting in the treasury under the control of the Polkadot DAO

* Real-time data and DOT metrics here

Key Advantages

Polkadot solved the hard problems first:

Scalability, security, interoperability – so that what's built on top is robust and future-proof.

Scalability

Security

Interoperability

Lowest Transaction Fees

$0.004

Stablecoin transaction fees

The barriers to entry have been lowered:

Builders access a unified liquidity hub across the ecosystem with Tier 1 DeFi infrastructur (Q4 2025) – from leading lending platforms to payment rails whilst offering some of the lowest stablecoin transaction fees in the industry, as low as $0.004.

History of Polkadot

Polkadot does what Ethereum cannot.

drag

2020
Polkadot Initial Launch
creator:Gavin Wood, Co-Founder of Ethereum, Creator of Solidity, Inventor of Ethereum Virtual Machine.
motivation:Wood recognized limitations of existing networks (scalability, governance, interoperability).
launch:Polkadot launched as a modular platform to unify businesses, applications, and users under shared security and scalable infrastructure.
notable Investors:HashKey Capital, Pantera Capital, IOSG Ventures, Blockchange and Shima Capital.
2021
Polkadot 1.0
parachains:Launched its first five parachains (enterprise businesses) via an on-chain slot auction.
architecture:Unleashed full potential of its scalable multi-chain architecture.
messaging:Laid groundwork for secure cross-chain messaging.
scalability:Proved ability to scale without fragmentation.
2022
Growth
growth:Grew to over 70 live parachains across diverse sectors (identity, gaming, NFTs, infrastructure).
framework:Each built using its powerful Substrate framework.
interoperability:Cross-chain messaging enabled seamless interoperability without bridges.
staking:Became more accessible with nomination pools, allowing anyone to secure the network and earn rewards with as little as 1 DOT.
2023
Polkadot Delivers 1.0
whitepaper:Fulfilled the original whitepaper (began in 2016).
infrastructure:Stabilized its core infrastructure.
governance:Launched OpenGov, one of the largest DAOs, giving every DOT holder a vote, with fully on-chain and transparent governance.
2024
Enterprise at Scale
network Activity:Record year, monthly transactions surged from 10 million to over 40 million by year-end.
adoption:Driven by growing adoption from enterprise and consumer-facing applications.
key Contributors:Frequency and NeuroWeb.
ecosystem Milestone:Mythical Games migrated from Ethereum to Polkadot, bringing over 1 million wallets and more than 5 million active gamers to the network.
2025
Polkadot 2.0 Coming!
leap Forward:Delivering a major leap in scalability and flexibility.
performance:Network upgraded to support 2x faster transactions, 6x greater compute capacity.
model:New rentable blockspace model, allowing developers to pay only for what they use.
polkadot Hub:At the center of this evolution, a unified liquidity layer with Solidity smart contract compatibility, enabling DeFi to scale on institutional-grade infrastructure.
2025
Polkadot Capital Group
polkadot Launch:Polkadot Capital Group launched as the capital markets-focused division of Polkadot.
polkadot Motivation:Established in response to rising institutional demand and increasing U.S. regulatory clarity.
polkadot Remit:To connect traditional finance (TradFi) with next-generation blockchain infrastructure, enabling institutions to understand and access opportunities across the rich Polkadot ecosystem.
2026
JAM, A New Era
upgrade:JAM is Polkadot's most powerful upgrade yet.
jam Architecture:Replaces the Relay Chain with a radically more scalable, flexible, and efficient architecture.
web2 Decentralization:Marks the start of decentralizing Web2, turning Polkadot into a cloud platform for compute, storage, and data built on trustless infrastructure.
big Tech Alternative:Support for familiar languages like C++ makes JAM a real alternative to Big Tech, disrupting traditional cloud providers with open, decentralized technology.

2020

Polkadot Initial Launch

creator: Gavin Wood, Co-Founder of Ethereum, Creator of Solidity, Inventor of Ethereum Virtual Machine.

motivation: Wood recognized limitations of existing networks (scalability, governance, interoperability).

launch: Polkadot launched as a modular platform to unify businesses, applications, and users under shared security and scalable infrastructure.

notable Investors: HashKey Capital, Pantera Capital, IOSG Ventures, Blockchange and Shima Capital.

2021

Polkadot 1.0

parachains: Launched its first five parachains (enterprise businesses) via an on-chain slot auction.

architecture: Unleashed full potential of its scalable multi-chain architecture.

messaging: Laid groundwork for secure cross-chain messaging.

scalability: Proved ability to scale without fragmentation.

2022

Growth

growth: Grew to over 70 live parachains across diverse sectors (identity, gaming, NFTs, infrastructure).

framework: Each built using its powerful Substrate framework.

interoperability: Cross-chain messaging enabled seamless interoperability without bridges.

staking: Became more accessible with nomination pools, allowing anyone to secure the network and earn rewards with as little as 1 DOT.

2023

Polkadot Delivers 1.0

whitepaper: Fulfilled the original whitepaper (began in 2016).

infrastructure: Stabilized its core infrastructure.

governance: Launched OpenGov, one of the largest DAOs, giving every DOT holder a vote, with fully on-chain and transparent governance.

2024

Enterprise at Scale

network Activity: Record year, monthly transactions surged from 10 million to over 40 million by year-end.

adoption: Driven by growing adoption from enterprise and consumer-facing applications.

key Contributors: Frequency and NeuroWeb.

ecosystem Milestone: Mythical Games migrated from Ethereum to Polkadot, bringing over 1 million wallets and more than 5 million active gamers to the network.

2025

Polkadot 2.0 Coming!

leap Forward: Delivering a major leap in scalability and flexibility.

performance: Network upgraded to support 2x faster transactions, 6x greater compute capacity.

model: New rentable blockspace model, allowing developers to pay only for what they use.

polkadot Hub: At the center of this evolution, a unified liquidity layer with Solidity smart contract compatibility, enabling DeFi to scale on institutional-grade infrastructure.

2025

Polkadot Capital Group

polkadot Launch: Polkadot Capital Group launched as the capital markets-focused division of Polkadot.

polkadot Motivation: Established in response to rising institutional demand and increasing U.S. regulatory clarity.

polkadot Remit: To connect traditional finance (TradFi) with next-generation blockchain infrastructure, enabling institutions to understand and access opportunities across the rich Polkadot ecosystem.

2026

JAM, A New Era

upgrade: JAM is Polkadot's most powerful upgrade yet.

jam Architecture: Replaces the Relay Chain with a radically more scalable, flexible, and efficient architecture.

web2 Decentralization: Marks the start of decentralizing Web2, turning Polkadot into a cloud platform for compute, storage, and data built on trustless infrastructure.

big Tech Alternative: Support for familiar languages like C++ makes JAM a real alternative to Big Tech, disrupting traditional cloud providers with open, decentralized technology.

Ecosystem

Our ecosystem partners are helping to drive innovation and growth across the Polkadot network, each contributing unique expertise and resources to accelerate DOT adoption and ecosystem development.

Polkadot

Supporting the development, deployment, and maintenance of the Polkadot network through funding and strategic initiatives.

polkadot.com →

Web3 Foundation

Fostering an ecosystem of applications and services built on decentralized web protocols.

web3.foundation →

Parity Technologies

Core development team behind Polkadot, Substrate, and other blockchain infrastructure technologies.

parity.io →

Velocity Labs

Building the future of decentralized finance and cross-chain interoperability on Polkadot.

velocitylabs.org →

Magenta Labs

Accelerating blockchain adoption through innovative solutions and strategic partnerships in the Polkadot ecosystem.

magentalabs.io →

265Dots

Advancing European investor relations and attracting capital to Polkadot

265.capital →

Driving DOT Growth Together

"Polkadot Capital Group bolsters Polkadot's credibility as a trusted blockchain infrastructure provider through its well-defined mission, solid structure, and extensive domain knowledge. This demonstrates our ecosystem's preparedness to move beyond tech and developer communities into the mainstream. We consider them an invaluable ecosystem partner that reduces adoption barriers by providing institutions and enterprises with the confidence to engage with Polkadot."

— John Goldschmidt, Head of Growth at Magenta Labs

Ecosystem Updates

Stay informed with the latest Polkadot ecosystem news and insights from trusted sources.

The Kusamarian

The Kus (a strong team led by Jay Chrawnna) is the number one news resource for all things Polkadot and one of the biggest advocates for the entire ecosystem. He is one of the few who has the opportunity to enjoy regular interviews with Gavin Wood and is highly dedicated to elevating the velocity and volume of high quality and factual information.

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