Polkadot – Building an unstoppable blockchain ecosystem | Fundamentals ep.55

In this episode of the Fundamentals podcast, we’re joined by Shawn Tabrizi, Lead Developer at Polkadot. Polkadot is the first fully-sharded blockchain, i.e. it is a multi-chain environment. Polkadot enables scalability by allowing specialized blockchains to communicate with each other in a secure, trust-free environment.

In our interview with Shawn, we discuss Polkadot’s core value proposition, the main optimizations they have focused on, the concepts of shared security, interoperability, and unstoppability, Polkadot’s economic model, how to value the utility of a blockchain network’s native token, current growth drivers and challenges, plans for the future, and more!

Polkadot's dashboard on Token Terminal: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/polkadot

Listen to the episode:

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
00:59 Polkadot’s core value proposition
02:17 The optimizations Polkadot has focused on
04:25 The problem that Polkadot solves for blockchain developers
08:55 The bet against blockchain maximalism
11:52 Building an unstoppable blockchain ecosystem
17:10 What is best suited to be built on Polkadot
20:02 The current Parachain landscape
21:20 The Substrate blockchain development framework
23:42 Polkadot's core contributors
28:04 Polkadot's economic model
32:18 What role do fees and revenue play in a blockchain's value accrual
35:27 What are the best metrics to measure/value a blockchain?
35:27 Quantifying the utility of a blockchain's native token
38:27 Current challenges
43:37 Growth drivers
43:16 What's next for Polkadot?

The authors of this content, or members, affiliates, or stakeholders of Token Terminal may be participating or are invested in protocols or tokens mentioned herein. The foregoing statement acts as a disclosure of potential conflicts of interest and is not a recommendation to purchase or invest in any token or participate in any protocol. Token Terminal does not recommend any particular course of action in relation to any token or protocol. The content herein is meant purely for educational and informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as financial, investment, legal, tax or any other professional or other advice. None of the content and information herein is presented to induce or to attempt to induce any reader or other person to buy, sell or hold any token or participate in any protocol or enter into, or offer to enter into, any agreement for or with a view to buying or selling any token or participating in any protocol. Statements made herein (including statements of opinion, if any) are wholly generic and not tailored to take into account the personal needs and unique circumstances of any reader or any other person. Readers are strongly urged to exercise caution and have regard to their own personal needs and circumstances before making any decision to buy or sell any token or participate in any protocol. Observations and views expressed herein may be changed by Token Terminal at any time without notice. Token Terminal accepts no liability whatsoever for any losses or liabilities arising from the use of or reliance on any of this content.