Polkadot is a

blockchain A blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology (DLT) that consists of growing lists of records, called ''blocks'', that are securely linked together using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a ...

platform and

cryptocurrency A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It i ...

. It is designed to allow blockchains to exchange messages and perform transactions with each other without a trusted third-party. This allows for cross-chain transfers of data or assets, between different blockchains, and for

decentralized application A decentralised application (DApp, dApp, Dapp, or dapp) is an application that can operate autonomously, typically through the use of smart contracts, that run on a decentralized computing, blockchain or other distributed ledger system. Like ...

s to be built using the Polkadot Network. The Polkadot network has a primary blockchain named "relay chain" and many user-created parallel chains called "parachains". The relay chain acts as the governance layer of the network, while parachains are auctioned, enabling independent projects to create and operate their own blockchains that live within the Polkadot infrastructure. The protocol was created by the

Ethereum Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality. Ether (Abbreviation: ETH; sign: Ξ) is the native cryptocurrency of the platform. Among cryptocurrencies, ether is second only to bitcoin in market capita ...

co-founder

Gavin Wood Gavin James Wood (born 1980) is an English computer scientist, a founder of Ethereum and creator of Polkadot and Kusama. Early life Wood was born in Lancaster, England, United Kingdom. He attended the Lancaster Royal Grammar School. He gradua ...

, and raised over $144.3 million in its

Initial coin offering An initial coin offering (ICO) or initial currency offering is a type of funding using cryptocurrencies. It is often a form of crowdfunding, although a private ICO which does not seek public investment is also possible. In an ICO, a quantity of cr ...

in October 2017. The network uses a

proof of stake Proof-of-stake (PoS) protocols are a class of consensus mechanisms for blockchains that work by selecting validators in proportion to their quantity of holdings in the associated cryptocurrency. This is done to avoid the computational cost of p ...

consensus algorithm. The protocol used, Blind Assignment for Blockchain Extension (BABE), is derived from

Ouroboros The ouroboros or uroboros () is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via ancient Egyptian iconography and the Greek magical tradition. It was adopted as a symbol in Gnost ...

. The protocol was adapted by

and is developed by the Web3 Foundation with the initial implementation by Parity Technologies. Polkadot's initial

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

(the "genesis block") was released in May 2020. The DOT is its native token, and DOTs were released with the launch of the genesis block.

References

{{Cryptocurrencies, state=expanded Blockchains Cryptocurrencies Alternative currencies Cross-platform software