Polkadot has gathered significant attention over the last couple of months, many seeing it as the next-generation blockchain network and smart contracts platform. Its native DOT token was recently divided into smaller units, which saw its price get a major boost. But, what is the Polkadot project?
Simply put, Polkadot is made up of many different blockchains called “parachains”. These chains communicate with each other, and transactions are settled on the main chain. The parachains can collaborate and transfer value among each other, helping them combine their strengths and reduce their weaknesses. It essentially turns many blockchains into one hive minded network. For a more in-depth look at Polkadot, refer to the link below.
Polkadot features sharding, providing high scalability, and an adaptable consensus mechanism that integrate different types of blockchains and cross chain transactions. Polkadot is still under development, which is expected to last until the end of the year. Here are the top 5 projects currently being built on it.
1. MANTRA DAO (OM)
MANTRA DAO is an interoperable and adaptable lending and earning DeFi project. It relies on crowd wisdom to create a community governed ecosystem for Web3.0. The project features a reputation-based Karma system, similar to Reddit, to reward users.
The substrate built Rio Chain is used to connect to the Polkadot network. It features a 2 sec block time and high throughput of 3000 TPS (Transactions Per Second), by adopting a federated model. The native token is OM.
2. Chainlink (LINK)
Chainlink, the leading decentralized data oracles network, connects smart contracts to off-chain real-world events and information. The oracles are secure, resistant to manipulation, and thus reliable. The Chainlink project is at the forefront of decentralized data oracle innovation and constantly introduces new data pairs/services to advance the field.
A vital component of the Decentralized Finance (DeFi), it has partnerships with 200+major companies and teams. The Chainlink data oracles are integrated with nearly all Ethereum based DeFi projects, and it has profited from the recent DeFi boom.
Since February 2020, Chainlink has been integrated with Polkadot to become the primary provider of decentralized data oracles facility to parachains on the Polkadot network. Outside Ethereum, this is the second major blockchain that is supported by Chainlink.
3. Ankr (ANKR)
Ankr is a project which allows users to deploy customized and user friendly nodes. Essentially, it is a blockchain infrastructure marketplace for Web3.0. It removes the need for complicated setups and high technical knowledge to be able to work in the blockchain field. Ankr enables easy access to blockchain technologies and DeFi.
The Ankr cloud network is powered by geographically distributed enterprise-grade data centers. The native is ANKR. Ankr contributes to the Polkadot ecosystem by allowing easy deployability of DOT token validators and ways of securing them. It also provides data analytics companies and developers easy access to Polkadot’s data with one-click full node deployment. The Ankr team also runs NPoS validators on the Polkadot network and collaborates with other developers/projects building on the Polkadot ecosystem.
4. Ocean Protocol (OCEAN)
Ocean Protocol offers a way for users to launch a decentralized data marketplace. The data marketplace is used to store, share and monetize data while maintaining transparency, privacy, auditability and control. The scalable protocol will unblock data, particularly for Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is integrated with Polkadot network to enable seamless integration and provides data to the network’s different parachains.
5. Darwinia Network (KTON)
Here’s our last from the hottest Polkadot projects. Darwinia is a cross-chain network built on Polkadot and Substrate to enable the transfer of assets and value across blockchains. It focuses especially on NFTs and gaming assets. It is integrated with Polkadot as its own separate parachain, however it can function on its own as well.
It uses the Interstellar Product Coding standard, which tags and assigns a single identifier ID to unique objects existing on different blockchains. The governance token is KTON, but the RING token is used for validation and payment.
In a few sessions, Darwinia Parachain is gonna be approved and connected to @Polkadot Rococo Relay chain. Bravo! pic.twitter.com/PXNNbWXsBX
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