Hydration spustila v ekosystému Polkadot swapy Zcash (ZEC) s funkcemi DCA a limitních příkazů. Trhy pro půjčky a výpůjčky ZEC by měly následovat již v pondělí.
Hydration, a leading Polkadot DEX, has launched Zcash ($ZEC) swaps with DCA and limit orders, with ZEC lending and borrowing markets due as early as Monday.
Hydration (@Hydration_net), one of the main decentralized exchanges on Polkadot (@Polkadot), has launched swaps for Zcash (@Zcash) $ZEC within its ecosystem. The move brings a leading privacy token into Polkadot's DeFi stack.
Users can trade ZEC pairs through Hydration's liquidity layer. The venue supports dollar-cost averaging (DCA), limit-order execution and instant swaps for the token.
Lending and borrowing nextHydration is also scheduled to activate $ZEC lending and borrowing markets as early as Monday. Together with the swaps, the rollout gives ZEC holders a way to trade and put the asset to work on-chain without leaving the Polkadot ecosystem. The lending launch date is a target and could change.
Hydration, formerly known as HydraDX, is built around an Omnipool automated market maker that concentrates liquidity in a single pool. According to the same overview, it also runs a money market for supplying and borrowing assets and a decentralized, over-collateralized stablecoin called HOLLAR. Coin Bureau describes the Omnipool as an AMM design that concentrates liquidity into one shared trading layer rather than splitting it across many isolated pools.
Why Zcash matters for DeFiZcash is a privacy-focused asset, and access to it has been expanding across decentralized venues. In October, cross-chain protocol THORChain said native ZEC swaps were live, letting users swap ZEC for assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and stablecoins without wrapped tokens or a centralized custodian. Hydration's launch adds another on-chain venue, this time within Polkadot.
Liquidity will be the key test. Newer ZEC markets elsewhere have started shallow, and THORChain's Zcash pool held just over $50,000 at launch, according to Chainwire. Depth on Hydration's ZEC pairs, and how quickly lending and borrowing markets attract users, will show how much demand exists for privacy assets in Polkadot DeFi.
For Hydration, the integration extends its all-in-one offering of trading, lending and stable-value products. For Zcash, it opens a new route to on-chain use beyond the venues where the token already trades.
SourcesPolkadot DeFi Dapps overview, Polkadot Ecosystem
Top Polkadot Projects in 2026, Coin Bureau
THORChain Launches Native Zcash Swaps, Chainwire
Polkadot has been discussing JAM as a potential successor to its current Relay Chain. That shift is now leaving the realm of research papers and sweeping technical aspirations. Polkadot developers released a production roadmap in September 2026 that provides a clearer timeline for the launch of JAM and outlines how Relay Chain responsibilities will be reduced and migrated to a JAM-based service for finality.
The point is that, for anyone tracking the Polkadot price, JAM would be more than just a routine network upgrade. The Relay Chain in the current architecture is meant to manage security, consensus, and other aspects of coordination among the various parachains, but JAM promises to change that by creating a more general-purpose distributed computing environment that allows various services to run on the shared infrastructure.
While the project is still in development, the focus is no longer on whether JAM will exist, but on how Polkadot can migrate to JAM safely.
What Is Actually Changing With JAM? Table of Contents
The Join-Accumulate Machine (JAM) is a concept introduced by Polkadot’s founder, Gavin Wood, in 2024. It is an attempt to remove many of the hardcoded limits in the current Relay Chain and introduce a more generalizable design that can handle a wider range of computational services.
Currently, the Relay Chain is the main coordinating layer of Polkadot. Validators ensure network security, parachains are bridged via that shared infrastructure and the Relay Chain takes care of critical consensus and communication.
Many of those structures would be different in the new roadmap. JAM is being built as production-grade infrastructure, with the current Relay Chain slowly being phased out, and its primary function during the transition is to validate parachain execution.
It’s a structural redesign and not an incremental performance upgrade.
Why Is the September Roadmap Important? The next step is important, as developers have begun laying the groundwork for the practical aspects required for production.
PolkaJAM project will be a complete JAM node implementation according to the Gray Paper specification. It’s essential that the software be able to withstand attacks from malicious peers, denial-of-service attacks, network overload, and unscheduled network shutdowns before it can be used to support production workloads.
Also, the developers are creating an in-browser light-node library that would enable applications to access JAM directly, without relying on a separate light-node to check network information. In parallel, a new parachain service is being developed which will eventually also bring parachain finality to JAM.
These are the types of engineering projects that deal with the infrastructure side rather than theoretical ideas.
Why Does Polkadot Want to Replace the Relay Chain? The current Relay Chain is designed around Polkadot’s initial ‘parachain’ design. That facilitated common security and interoperability, but it also introduced opinionated rules on how the computation is organized within the network.
JAM is meant to be more generic. Rather than being about parachains, it could enable various computational services to share Polkadot’s security and processing capabilities. Developers would have the option to deploy services without necessarily needing to ask for governance approval for each new type of execution.
Moreover, the architecture provides a more parallel approach to processing work. JAM aims to shift Polkadot’s focus from being primarily a network of blockchains with a single dominant chain to a distributed computing system, in which network resources can be used for a variety of applications.
How Does This Fit With Polkadot’s Wider Changes? JAM is coming on the heels of a number of adjustments in both the economic and technical models on Polkadot.
This new system, called Agile Coretime, replaces the previous parachain auction system, which required projects to collateralize a significant amount of DOT to obtain a fixed, multi-year slot. The acquisition of network resources is now more flexible, and Polkadot blockspace can now be thought of as a resource like computing power, which can be rented out based on demand.
Also included is a substantial transformation of the economic model for the DOT. Binance Insights noted that Polkadot would switch to a hard cap on its supply in 2026 of 2.1 billion DOTs, with annual issuance slated to drop by roughly 53.6%.
The redesign of the supply was actually one of the biggest tokenomic changes in the history of Polkadot, as the previous model had enabled continuous inflation. JAM is making up a broader effort to rebuild both the technology and economics underpinning DOT.
Does JAM Change What DOT Is Used For? Theoretically, yes, but it’ll be subject to the economic model as the network evolves. There are currently important roles played by DOT in staking and governance, and network resources are tied to Polkadot’s coretime model. The business aspect of the DOT and the demand for shared computing power will become more significant as JAM restructures shared computing resources.
The main issue is whether greater technical flexibility increases demand for the Polkadot infrastructure. Without the applications and developers to take advantage of the resources, the increased power has little economic impact. This makes the JAM transition both an execution and a technical challenge.
Demand is already arriving through other channels: Blockonomi reported in March 2026 that 21Shares had launched TDOT, the first U.S. spot Polkadot ETF, on Nasdaq, giving American investors regulated exposure to DOT while JAM is still being built.
Why Is Migration More Difficult Than Building JAM? Migrating critical components of a production blockchain is much more difficult than building a blockchain from scratch. Parachains, validators, and applications and assets that require ongoing operations in a changing architecture are already a reality on Polkadot.
The shift will therefore occur gradually, in stages set out in the roadmap. However, the Relay Chain is expected to be reduced further before the final transition to the service based on JAM for parachain finality.
The idea behind this is to minimize disruption and give the new infrastructure a chance to be tested in production. Developers will also require tooling, light clients, and migration processes for applications to consider JAM a reliable infrastructure.
Even if the network was technically successful, the migration would still not be a good upgrade if it created a lot of unnecessary disruption.
Is JAM Now Polkadot’s Biggest Test? While changes to Polkadot have occurred in the past, JAM is unique in that it questions one of the core tenets of the network’s underlying technology.
Since the launch of the mainnet in 2020, the Relay Chain has been a core component of Polkadot. JAM suggests that many of these core architectural components can be replaced by a more flexible, programmable and service-oriented approach.
But there’s still quite a bit of engineering work to be done, and the transition may not be on the scheduled timeline. Production software must be hardened, parachains must be given migration paths, and the rest of the network must agree to the changes in the governance process.
It is the amount of preparation that has changed. JAM has evolved from a technical vision in a Gray Paper. It is now surrounded by production nodes, migration infrastructure and a concrete transition plan.
JAM represents the most significant upgrade since launch, marking Polkadot’s transition from a theoretical vision to an active engineering project the network will eventually have to undertake.
Polkadot varuje uživatele rozšíření Fearless Wallet: únik soukromých klíčů vedl k neoprávněným převodům celkem 17 286 DOT z účtů osmi uživatelů. Týká se to verzí 3.0.1, 3.0.3, 3.0.4 a 3.0.5.
Polkadot has a blunt message for anyone who used the Fearless Wallet browser extension since February 2025: assume your accounts are compromised, and move your funds.
The warning came in a security notice published on October 21, 2026. It describes a flaw that quietly shipped users’ private keys to a server controlled by an attacker. The flaw had been live, on and off, for roughly a year and a half.
What went wrong inside the extension
According to Polkadot’s notice, four versions of the Fearless Wallet extension were handing out copies of that master key. The affected releases are 3.0.1, 3.0.3, 3.0.4, and 3.0.5. When a user unlocked the wallet, the extension sent their private key to an attacker-controlled server.
The malicious code entered the project on February 19, 2025. It arrived through a GitHub pull request tied to the TON ecosystem.
The leak did not run continuously. Polkadot said it was active intermittently until at least October 10, 2026. That stretch covers more than 19 months of potential exposure for anyone running the compromised builds.
The damage so far is concrete. Eight users have reported unauthorized transactions linked to the exploit, totaling 17,286 DOT. Because a leaked key can sit unused until an attacker decides to strike, the number of exposed accounts could exceed the number of drained ones.
When Polkadot issued its warning, the Chrome Web Store still listed an affected version of the extension. That listing showed around 6,000 users.
A third-party wallet, not an official one
Polkadot was careful to draw a line in its notice. Fearless Wallet is a third-party product. It has never been an official wallet of the Polkadot network.
The timeline also raises uncomfortable questions. Early complaints describing similar problems after an update were logged as far back as October 2025. The detailed public explanation of the coding flaw did not arrive until the October 2026 announcement. That leaves roughly a year between the first user reports and a full public accounting.
What affected users are being told to do
Polkadot’s guidance is straightforward. Anyone who interacted with the vulnerable extension since February 2025 should treat all associated accounts as compromised.
Users are being told to generate new keypairs in a different wallet and transfer their funds immediately. Polkadot recommended Nova Wallet for that move.
Simply updating Fearless Wallet does not solve the problem. If a key has already leaked, the attacker still holds a working copy. The only real defense is to move assets to a fresh key the attacker has never seen.
Staked or locked funds add a wrinkle. Polkadot noted that recovering them may require additional steps. In certain scenarios, it pointed users toward tools such as PAPI Rescue.
Polkadot also flagged a second-order threat: recovery scams. The foundation cautioned users to watch for opportunists posing as helpers who promise to retrieve lost funds.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Kaye Quema. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Polkadot byl podle Chainspect nejdražší sítí Layer 1: 100 000 transakcí za posledních sedm dní stálo více než 1 000 USD. Stejný objem transakcí na síti Sui, která byla v porovnání nejlevnější sítí Layer 1, stál 0,27 USD.
Chainspect data shows Polkadot (DOT) is the costliest Layer-1 for 100,000 transactions over seven days, while Sui (SUI) is the cheapest at $0.27.
Polkadot ($DOT) ranks as the most expensive Layer-1 blockchain to use, according to a fee comparison from analytics platform @chainspect_app. The data indicates that processing 100,000 transactions on @Polkadot cost more than $1,000 over the past seven days.
That puts the network at the top of the Layer-1 cost ranking. Other high-performance blockchains and rollup systems clear similar transaction volumes for a fraction of a cent per transaction. Sui (@SuiNetwork, $SUI) is the cheapest Layer 1 in the comparison, with 100,000 transactions costing $0.27.
Why Polkadot's Costs Look DifferentPolkadot's fee model helps explain how the figures can diverge from the network's usual reputation. According to the project's developer documentation, transaction fees on Polkadot are built from a base fee, a length fee and a weight fee, with an optional tip to prioritise inclusion. The weight fee reflects computational complexity, while the length fee scales with transaction size.
The architecture is also different from most Layer-1 networks. CoinShares describes Polkadot as a layer-0 network that connects multiple blockchains (parachains) under a shared security umbrella. Developers can use the Polkadot SDK to build their own chains and choose the fee model that suits them. That means costs on the relay chain are not necessarily representative of costs across the wider ecosystem.
Usage on the relay chain is also light. Chainspect's Polkadot page shows just 63 transactions in a one-hour window and an average transaction fee of about $0.0096. With so little activity, per-transaction cost comparisons can swing sharply depending on the period measured and the fee methodology used.
What It Means for DOTA high cost per 100,000 transactions does not by itself show that Polkadot is expensive for typical users, and the result depends on how Chainspect calculates fees over the seven-day window. Still, the ranking highlights a gap between Polkadot's interoperability-focused design and chains built for low-cost, high-volume activity such as Sui. Investors tracking $DOT and developers choosing a base layer may want to compare fee data across several time periods before drawing conclusions.
Polkadot (DOT) experienced a drop of around 5% on October 17, reversing much of its recent recovery as intensified selling activity weighed on the broader altcoin market. The move erased gains that followed a brief rally earlier in the month.
Market reversal follows weak altcoin sentimentThe price of DOT hovered between $1.16 and $1.18 after reaching as high as $1.29 on October 10. This pullback reversed a portion of the double-digit rally that began on October 9, when the token traded near $1.09 before climbing back to $1.24. The bullish momentum continued through October 10, but failed to hold above the $1.20 level over subsequent trading sessions.
On October 12, selling pressure accelerated, causing DOT to fall roughly 7% and close near $1.17. Although the cryptocurrency briefly recovered on October 16, it struggled to maintain gains and slipped below $1.20 by the following day.
Analysts attributed DOT’s reversal to overall bearishness among altcoins, with smaller tokens broadly declining as investors trimmed exposure to speculative digital assets. There was no discrete event unique to Polkadot cited as a catalyst for the recent declines.
Tokenomics overhaul and its effectsThe latest price action comes just after significant updates to Polkadot’s tokenomics, which introduced a maximum supply cap of 2.1 billion DOT and a revised issuance schedule limiting the production of new tokens over time. The first such reduction took place on March 14, 2026, lowering the rate at which new DOT enter circulation. Going forward, issuance will be reduced every two years, further slowing supply expansion.
Polkadot, a blockchain platform designed to enable interoperability among different networks, recently sought to curb inflation by introducing these supply controls. A prior governance proposal restructured the ecosystem’s inflationary model, aiming to strengthen the platform’s long-term value proposition for holders.
Mini dictionary: Polkadot, a project created by Web3 Foundation, focuses on connecting multiple blockchains into a unified network, facilitating cross-chain transfers of any type of data or asset.
While lower issuance is intended to reduce dilution for existing holders, the effects of this change depend on broader market dynamics. If selling by current token holders outpaces demand from new investors, prices can continue falling even as supply growth slows.
EventBeforeAfterDOT maximum supplyUnlimited2.1 billionIssuance reductionNo scheduled decreaseReduced every 2 yearsInflation modelInflationaryDeflationary trendInvestor behavior remains influentialDespite these fundamental adjustments, improving token economics alone did not halt DOT’s recent decline. Short-term price trends remain heavily influenced by trader sentiment, liquidity, and general appetite for risk within the altcoin sector.
Short-term momentum has faded for Polkadot, and profit-taking has increased following the recent rally, limiting the immediate impact of its new supply controls.
Lower supply growth does not guarantee stronger prices, especially in periods when demand for altcoins is subdued. DOT’s struggles reflect this dynamic, signaling the importance of market conditions beyond supply-side changes.
Complementing its tokenomics overhaul, Polkadot has advanced upgrades to its staking incentives and network infrastructure, aiming to foster long-term network health and broader adoption.
DOT DAO navrhla strategii zaměřenou na růst uživatelů, dotUSD krytý DOT a platformu Polkadot Product Platform namísto soupeření s platformami chytrých kontraktů.
PANews, October 12 – Polkadot officially announced that DOT DAO today submitted a new strategic direction proposal on the OpenGov governance platform, aiming to unify the ecosystem's development direction around core goals such as user growth, dotUSD, and the Polkadot Product Platform. The proposal was put forward by the Polkadot Community Foundation (PCF) and is positioned as a strategic guideline rather than a technical specification. If approved, relevant technical teams and executing agencies may still independently decide on specific implementation methods, but all work must remain aligned with the DAO's overall strategic goals.
The proposal states that Polkadot should prioritize end-user growth at the current stage, rather than metrics such as ecosystem scale or locked value, and that the strategic focus should shift from "competing with other smart contract platforms" to "competing with Web2 and mobile internet products." In terms of economic infrastructure, the proposal plans to launch a "dotStables" system, including stable-value derivatives (such as dotUSD) that use DOT as collateral. This mechanism aims to convert users' demand for stable-value assets into demand for DOT, and operates in a permissionless manner.
In addition, the Polkadot DAO plans to build the Polkadot Product Platform as a user acquisition and product distribution platform. The platform will no longer be limited to the previous parachain infrastructure model, but will cover more complete application-layer capabilities such as data storage, user interaction, and product services. The proposal also calls for improving Web2-level user experience, including support for freemium models, non-crypto address identifiers, mobile-first approaches, and broader web access, while requiring the preservation of core Web3 features such as user sovereignty, privacy protection, and login-free experiences.
Polkadot [DOT] has extended its bullish recovery by recording a 10.93% to $1.27 over the last 24 hours. The move comes just two days after the token price action rebounded from key EMA support at around $1.02.
Interestingly, the bullish advances follow a 54% reduction in annual token issuance and the launch of a native stablecoin, two developments that could strengthen the network’s long-term outlook.
At the same time, the network’s increasing Open Interest (OI) and a growing preference for leveraged long positions also point to increased trader participation. Could the token’s sustained buying pressure turn these developments into a lasting DOT recovery?
Tokenomics changes strengthen Polkadot’s outlook The reduction in annual token issuance marks a significant shift in Polkadot’s tokenomics. Fewer new tokens entering circulation equates to reduced selling pressure. Its circulating supply currently ranks 36th among the L1 tokens.
Source: Token Terminal Meanwhile, the launch of a native stablecoin could expand activity across the ecosystem. Stablecoins support payments, decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, and liquidity, potentially creating new use cases for Polkadot.
Together, these developments offer investors additional reasons to reassess DOT’s prospects after its prolonged price weakness.
Derivatives data reveals a strong preference for longs Zooming down to the Polkadot’s derivative data, its OI has also increased 15% to $78 million as of writing, suggesting traders are opening new positions as the token advances.
Source: Coinalyze Notably, long accounts now represent 73% of total leveraged positions, according to the recent Polkadot’s Long/Short data, suggesting that most traders and investors are betting on further gains for the token.
Source: Coinalyze Can DOT sustain its recovery above $1.27? On the daily chart, DOT has rebounded from support near $1.02 to reach $1.27, marking a notable improvement in its short-term structure. Besides, the token is now trading above all its key EMA support, pointing to potential buyer dominance continuation in the short run.
Holding above reclaimed support could strengthen the case for further gains, while renewed selling could expose the token to another test of lower levels.
All in all, Polkadot’s issuance reduction, stablecoin launch, and increased derivatives activity provide potential catalysts for continued price appreciation to $1.75.
Source: TradingView Final Summary DOT prices have jumped by 10.93% to $1.27, extending its two-day recovery from EMA support near $1.02. The recent network upgrade paired with surging open interests and buyer dominance, points to a continuation rally.
Polkadot spustil stablecoin dotUSD, který je v první fázi zajištěn USDT v poměru 1:1. Přechod na decentralizované zajištění v DOT nemá stanovené datum.
Polkadot has introduced its new stablecoin, dotUSD, describing it as an asset with no issuing company behind it. The launch took place on October 8, signaling the network’s effort to address concerns over centralization in the current $250 billion stablecoin market.
Current launch relies fully on USDT reservesDespite Polkadot’s claim of offering a new model, the first phase of dotUSD’s rollout functions as a wrapped version of Tether’s USDT. Users can mint dotUSD on a one-to-one basis with USDT, meaning each dollar of dotUSD is backed directly by a dollar of USDT in reserve. This model currently mirrors the centralized structure that Polkadot said it intended to avoid.
The phased launch follows governance referendum 1944, which details how users may mint dotUSD by depositing USDT, up to a predetermined supply cap. This approach puts Tether’s token at the core of dotUSD’s stability in its initial stage.
To kickstart trading, Polkadot’s treasury provides liquidity by funding a DOT-dotUSD pool through its Asset Hub. Early drafts allocated $2.5 million in USDT and $2.5 million in DOT to the pool, totaling $5 million. Subsequent revisions lowered both amounts to $1.5 million each, establishing a $3 million launch pool.
The Polkadot Community Foundation, which submitted the proposal, states it acts in an administrative role only and does not issue, operate, or hold custody of dotUSD, DOT, or USDT.
Mini dictionary: Polkadot Community Foundation, a non-profit organization facilitating governance and development initiatives on the Polkadot blockchain ecosystem.
StablecoinBacking AssetIssuing AuthorityPhase One CapdotUSDUSDTNone (administered, not issued)Defined by proposalUSDTUSD-reserves & equivalentsTether LimitedN/AInitial model contradicts decentralization claimsThe governance proposal behind dotUSD’s launch previously cautioned against reliance on centralized stablecoins such as USDT and USDC. These issuers retain the ability to freeze assets, deny access to wallets, or blacklist addresses—often acting in response to government requests, with limited recourse for users.
Despite this warning, dotUSD’s current phase exposes its users to the same risks. Each dollar of dotUSD is a direct claim on USDT reserves, meaning if Tether freezes the associated wallet, the value and liquidity of dotUSD are equally impacted.
Those concerns outlined in the proposal, especially the ability of centralized issuers to freeze or block user funds, now directly apply to dotUSD’s first stage since it is fully dependent on USDT reserves.
Tether’s freezing activities are well documented. In one 30-day window, Tether reportedly froze $514 million in USDT across 370 Ethereum and Tron addresses. Cumulatively, over $1.26 billion was blacklisted during 2025.
Freezes imposed on wallets are seldom lifted, and Tether’s interventionist powers are currently facing legal challenges. On October 6, payments company Conduit sued Tether in a New York federal court after a $2.76 million freeze allegedly locked its main account for more than a year. Conduit alleges the freeze occurred despite Brazilian police confirming no investigation of the address. Another lawsuit followed from two Thai businessmen regarding $42.4 million in USDT, reportedly frozen on informal law enforcement requests before any warrant was issued. Tether has dismissed these lawsuits as baseless and underscored its cooperation with more than 340 law enforcement agencies.
The decentralized vision for dotUSD remains a future goal. In its next phase, dotUSD aims to transition to a model backed by DOT-collateralized vaults, supported by an oracle, a stability pool, liquidations, and a redemption mechanism. However, a firm date for this upgrade has not been set.
Discussions about a fully DOT-backed stablecoin have circulated within the Polkadot community since July 2025, when co-founder Gavin Wood referenced the project at the Web3 Summit. Until the second phase materializes, dotUSD’s decentralized promise remains unfulfilled.
For now, dotUSD operates as a wrapped USDT token, with users directly exposed to the risks associated with Tether reserves. The transition to a protocol leveraging DOT collateral is still in development, with no announced launch date for phase two.
Polkadot [DOT] has had a rough day, being hit on all fronts. What’s going on?
The story behind DOT’s massive fall Most of the damage happened fast.
DOT was at $1.21 on October 6. It went on to drift lower into the night, then fell off a cliff. In a few minutes, it went from about $1.19 to near $1.12.
There was a small bounce to $1.14 a few hours later. It didn’t hold.
DOT has been leaking lower all day. At the time of writing, we were at $1.106; down about 9.15% from where the slide began.
Source: TradingView Who got hit? The futures market will tell you.
Open interest went from $91 million to about $85 million during the crash, meaning that leveraged positions got taken out in a hurry. But it has since gone back to around $87.4 million.
Source: Coinalyze Funding rates also turned negative, dropping to -0.0016% at the time of this writing, despite being positive for most of the past week. Traders who were happy betting on DOT going up a few days ago are now paying to bet it goes down as a result of the recent trend.
There’s some news in the background… Referendum 1944, a governance proposal, wants to launch dotUSD.
This is Polkadot’s own stablecoin, along with a DOT/dotUSD liquidity pool funded with $2.5 million each in USDT and DOT. At the time of this writing, the proposal has been approved with about 98.4% Aye versus 1.6% Nay.
Polkadot has also been inviting developers to come and try its Devnet [a testing ground before mainnet].
Source: X The DOT sell-off came despite different ecosystem developments in the background, but this doesn’t mean that either was driving DOT’s short-term price action.
According to Chainspect data, the Relay Chain handles about 1,400 transactions a day. Over the last 30 days, that’s brought in roughly $23 a day in fees, or about $8,400 a year.
DOT’s market cap, meanwhile, is around $2 billion. That’s 96% below its 2021 peak of $52 billion, and still about 240,000x its yearly revenue.
A stablecoin could give the network more to do, but until then, traders can only watch how DOT trends.
Final Summary Polkadot fell about 9% in the last day. Polkadot’s on-chain revenue isn’t telling the whole story.
Polkadot s tržní kapitalizací kolem 2 mld. USD generoval za posledních 30 dní na Relay Chain příjmy z poplatků ve výši asi 23 USD denně, tedy přibližně 8 400 USD ročně.
A $2 Billion Market Cap Built on $23 a Day@Polkadot is drawing fresh scrutiny over one of the starkest valuation gaps in crypto. According to data from @chainspect_app, the network's Relay Chain processes roughly 1,400 transactions per day, generating approximately $23 in daily on-chain revenue over the last 30 days. Annualized, that works out to a protocol fee run rate of around $8,400.
Set against a current $DOT market cap of approximately $2 billion, the implied valuation multiple sits at around 240,000 times revenue. For context, even richly valued technology companies rarely trade beyond 50 to 100 times revenue.
Polkadot reached its peak price on November 4, 2021, recording an all-time high of $54.87. At that point, the network commanded a market cap of roughly $52 billion. The difference from that all-time high to today's price represents a decline of approximately 97.8%. Yet despite that collapse, the network's market cap remains in the billions, making the revenue multiple even harder to justify on fundamentals alone.
Why On-Chain Fees Alone Don't Capture the Full PictureTo be fair to $DOT, Polkadot's architecture means that Relay Chain transaction fees are only one narrow slice of network activity. Polkadot's treasury documentation notes that 80% of transaction fees from submitted extrinsics go to the Treasury, while 20% goes to block producers. The Treasury is also funded through inflation, slashing, and other inflows, meaning ecosystem financing is not driven by transaction fees alone.
Polkadot still has a multichain architecture, active governance, staking security, and a roadmap built around resource markets. The network's coretime model, which sells blockspace to parachains rather than relying solely on base-layer fees, is designed to generate value in ways that raw Relay Chain revenue figures do not reflect.
Separately, on March 14, 2026, Polkadot executed a significant economic reset, going from unlimited token issuance to a hard supply cap of 2.1 billion DOT and slashing annual emissions by 53.6%. Supporters argue this shift reframes $DOT as a scarcer asset, independent of near-term fee generation.
Still, the numbers are difficult to ignore. Whatever the structural rationale, a protocol generating under $10,000 a year in fees while carrying a $2 billion market cap invites legitimate questions about where the value is truly anchored, and whether the market is pricing in a future that has not yet arrived.
Sources:
Chainspect: Polkadot TPS, Fees and Network Metrics
Crypto Adventure: Polkadot Revenue Data Reopens Debate Over DOT Network Demand
Coinbase: Polkadot Price and Market Cap
Parity Technologies plánuje migraci funkcionality parachainů Polkadotu na JAM s produkčním spuštěním cíleným na rok 2027. Přechod má snížit frikci v řízení a zachovat kompatibilitu parachainů.
Parity Technologies Sets 2027 Target for JAM MigrationParity Technologies, a core technical contributor to Polkadot, has announced plans to migrate Parachain functionality to JAM (Join Accumulate Machine), with a production launch targeted for 2027. The move represents one of the most consequential structural changes in Polkadot's history, reshaping the way parachains operate at a fundamental level.
Parity's implementation team will share technical updates through the Polkadot Forum, giving developers and community members a direct line to progress reports as the work advances. The shift from Substrate pallets to JAM services reduces governance friction, since JAM services deploy permissionlessly, similar to smart contracts, whereas Substrate pallets require on-chain governance approval for deployment and updates. That flexibility is central to the case for migration.
From Gray Paper to Active DevelopmentThe plan follows JAM's gradual progression from concept to active engineering. In April 2024, Polkadot founder Dr. Gavin Wood released the JAM Gray Paper. Since then, the specification has moved through multiple revisions, with the JAM protocol largely stabilising over the past year.
JAM is supported by a large independent implementor community, which provides meaningful network diversity and reduces the risk of a single team's error affecting the wider network. That decentralised approach to development is a deliberate design choice, and one that distinguishes JAM from earlier Polkadot upgrades.
Developers retain Substrate SDK compatibility and can continue using FRAME for parachain services, but JAM-native services access simplified development models without pallet upgrade coordination overhead. According to the Polkadot Wiki, parachains will remain first-class citizens on JAM, with full compatibility guarantees written into the code. For teams already building on Polkadot, the transition is designed to be gradual rather than disruptive.
With the Hub Migration now complete, key elements of Polkadot's "Second Age" are unlocked, including onward migration from the Polkadot Relay-chain to the Polkadot JAM-chain. The 2027 production target for the parachain-to-JAM migration sits within that broader roadmap, as Parity works through the remaining engineering milestones ahead of a full network transition.
Sources
Parity Technologies: Polkadot Roundup 2025
Parity Technologies: Demystifying JAM
Polkadot Wiki: JAM Chain FAQ
Polkadot dokončil elastic scaling, který umožňuje parachainům využívat více výpočetních jader současně a do jednoho slotu poslat až tři bloky. Upgrade má zvýšit propustnost při vyšší zátěži.
Breaking the one-core bottleneckA parachain on @Polkadot has traditionally been limited to a single core, meaning it can get only one block included per relay chain block regardless of how congested the chain becomes. Elastic scaling breaks that constraint by allowing parachains to utilise multiple computational cores simultaneously, ending the previous 1:1 relationship between parachain and relay chain blocks. In practice, a chain can push up to three blocks into the same relay chain slot by claiming additional cores. The feature, completed in October 2025, allows a parachain to temporarily use multiple cores when demand is high and release them once traffic drops.
Elastic scaling increases the throughput of a parachain, with projections suggesting individual chains could theoretically handle significantly higher transaction volumes under the multi-core model. The upgrade is part of what the Polkadot community refers to as the "scaling trilogy," alongside Asynchronous Backing and Agile Coretime.
How coretime purchasing worksCores are acquired through Polkadot's Agile Coretime market using $DOT. Cores can be designated to a parachain either continuously through bulk coretime or dynamically via on-demand coretime. Coretime is sold on demand for immediate use, or purchased on a bulk basis ordered up to 28 days in advance. Early-stage projects can start small with on-demand purchasing, paying per block, while more established chains with predictable workloads tend to favour the bulk route for cost certainty.
Shifting to multiple cores moves the performance constraint from the relay chain to the parachain itself. Block producers must be capable of generating blocks fast enough to fill the additional cores, which raises hardware requirements on the chain's own infrastructure. Parachains can intelligently distribute workloads across cores during peak demand periods and release resources when traffic subsides, making the system well-suited to applications with variable or unpredictable usage patterns.
Polkadot hlasuje o referendu 1944, které má z treasury vyčlenit 5 milionů USD na spuštění nativního stablecoinu dotUSD. Polovina má jít na ražbu a polovina na likviditu.
Polkadot is considering a significant step toward financial innovation on its network, as the blockchain’s governance community votes on a proposal to introduce a native stablecoin called dotUSD. The initiative, known as Referendum 1944, asks DOT holders to decide whether to allocate $5 million from the Polkadot treasury to launch and support the dollar-pegged asset.
Details of the dotUSD ProposalThe dotUSD stablecoin plan centers on providing Polkadot users with a protocol-native, dollar-denominated stable asset. Organizers propose an initial treasury allocation of $5 million, with $2.5 million earmarked for minting the first batch of dotUSD tokens and another $2.5 million devoted to supplying trading liquidity. This would enable immediate swaps between DOT and dotUSD through dedicated pools on the Polkadot Asset Hub.
Proponents of the plan, who organized the proposal via the Polkadot Community Foundation (PCF), emphasize their exclusive role as facilitators. They delivered the proposal to the OpenGov governance system for a community vote, underscoring that all key decisions would remain in the hands of DOT token holders.
If adopted, users could transact with dotUSD while bypassing third-party liquidity providers. This approach aims to streamline access to stable value within the Polkadot ecosystem, enhancing utility for payments, trading, and decentralized finance applications.
A referendum introducing dotUSD, a protocol-native stablecoin for Polkadot, has gone live within DOT DAO governance, drafted by community members spanning the Polkadot ecosystem, with the PCF submitting it to OpenGov purely for community decision-making.
Technically, dotUSD would launch with a capped supply and be backed by existing stablecoins, enabled by a Peg Stability Module responsible for minting controls and management rules. The plan is for users to mint and redeem dotUSD within an asset-backed structure, without direct reliance on DOT collateral in the first phase.
Funding Structure and Potential Market ImpactInitial liquidity from the treasury would support a trading pool allowing instant conversions between DOT and dotUSD. This structure is designed to foster robust on-chain liquidity, making it easier for users to access and utilize the new stablecoin for a range of transactions across the network.
Importantly, the proposed Peg Stability Module would enforce supply constraints at launch, with all dotUSD issuance backed by reserves of established stablecoins rather than DOT itself. This addresses initial volatility and risk concerns often associated with native-asset collateralization.
As blockchain finance evolves, monitoring the balance between collateral use and market risk is crucial. While traditional markets rely on complex brokers, a massive shift is happening: Wall Street is moving to Web3. Investors are now using platforms like 1stepSwap to hold shares of major U.S. companies, gold, and silver directly in their crypto wallets. By tokenizing Real-World Assets (RWAs) and automatically finding the best market prices in seconds, it completely removes the middlemen.
Future Role for DOT and Next StepsA future phase of the proposal contemplates introducing DOT-collateralized vaults, potentially allowing users to lock DOT to mint new dotUSD. This system would require further technical development and governance approval. If implemented, it could integrate price oracles, stabilization pools, and liquidation mechanisms, intended to protect the stablecoin’s value under variable market conditions.
Longer term, developers envision a model where DOT could play a central role as collateral, but maintain that a careful staged rollout is essential due to asset price volatility and the need for robust supporting infrastructure.
While backing with DOT offers potential for autonomy, it also introduces exposure to the token’s price swings. For now, the plan focuses on stability and broad adoption, with the governance system retaining power to adjust mechanisms over time.
If the referendum passes, Polkadot will move forward with treasury funding and implementation of the first stablecoin features. Ultimately, DOT holders hold the final decision on whether dotUSD becomes the ecosystem’s native dollar-based asset and whether further expansion, such as direct DOT collateralization, will be pursued.
Polkadot Community Foundation předložila návrh na $dotUSD, nativní decentralizovaný stablecoin krytý $DOT. Projekt je zatím v rané fázi a hlasování o správě nebylo potvrzeno.
A Native Stablecoin for PolkadotThe @Polkadot Community Foundation has put forward a formal proposal for $dotUSD, a native decentralized stablecoin designed to operate directly within the Polkadot ecosystem. The move signals a growing push across major blockchain networks to reduce dependence on externally issued stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, which have historically dominated on-chain liquidity.
Under the proposed design, borrowers would mint $dotUSD against $DOT collateral while self-selecting their own interest rates, a mechanism borrowed from the architecture of Liquity Protocol v2. That model is built around user-set rates rather than governance-imposed or algorithmically controlled ones. As Liquity's own documentation describes it, borrowers become makers of their own interest rates, allowing a true rate market to emerge on-chain without centralized intervention.
Market-Discovered Rates and an Organic Yield CurveThe core innovation behind $dotUSD is its interest rate model. Rather than relying on a centralized oracle or protocol governance to set borrowing costs, the system would allow rates to be discovered organically through borrower behaviour. Liquity V2 enables borrowers to pick their own interest rates, with the expectation that the collective result mirrors true market conditions across DeFi over time.
Applied to Polkadot, this approach aims to establish a native on-chain yield curve for $DOT, moving away from rate-setting mechanisms that depend on external data sources. Borrowers who set lower rates face a higher risk of redemption, while those who set higher rates pay more but hold more stable positions. This self-correcting dynamic is intended to keep $dotUSD pegged without relying on centralised controls.
The proposal is at an early stage and no formal governance vote has been confirmed at the time of writing. But the introduction of a structured, Liquity v2-derived architecture suggests the @Polkadot Community Foundation is taking a considered approach to one of the more technically complex challenges in DeFi: building a sustainable, decentralized stablecoin backed entirely by a native network asset.
Sources:
Liquity: V2 as a De Facto Reference Rate for DeFi
The Block: Liquity V2 and User-Set Interest Rates
Polkadot spouští Products Devnet pro vývojáře decentralizovaných aplikací jako statické webové aplikace. Nabízí tři nové chainy: Asset Hub, People a Bulletin.
Polkadot has launched its Products Devnet, a dedicated environment for developers to create and share decentralized applications as static web apps, expanding the platform’s focus on innovative product development.
Product development environment and specialized chainsThe new Devnet offers a framework for building ‘Products’—web applications that operate within the Polkadot host. Developers can experiment with features that extend beyond typical blockchain utilities, enabling more specialized, tailored, or even industrial-grade solutions.
Within the Devnet, three specialized chains are available. Asset Hub supports contracts and asset-related domains, allowing users to register and utilize DotNS names. The People chain centers on identity and personhood, providing tools for verifiable digital identity management. The Bulletin chain functions as a space to host bundles of Products, facilitating distribution and community sharing.
To create and deploy these applications, developers use React combined with @parity/product-sdk. After development, products can be registered under a .dot domain and published through the pad CLI tool, streamlining the process of public release and discovery.
Mini dictionary: Parity is a core blockchain infrastructure company responsible for much of Polkadot’s technology. DotNS (Dot Name Service) is an identity and domain management protocol on Polkadot, enabling blockchain-based name registration.
Developers are encouraged to begin with applications that may serve only personal needs, but these tools can often evolve into more broadly useful solutions as the ecosystem develops further.
Changing focus for Polkadot and ecosystem partnersParity and the Polkadot Community Foundation are leading the initiative behind the Products Devnet, providing the software development kit (SDK), DotNS support, and Bulletin infrastructure needed to build and publish new tools. Their intention is to reduce user experience (UX) barriers commonly associated with blockchain while maintaining on-chain verifiability for applications built on the network.
The Devnet environment offers developers advantages like feeless hosting and composable identity features, which streamline the development and onboarding process. This is seen as a shift in Polkadot’s strategy, no longer prioritizing parachain auctions, but instead orienting toward consumer applications and broader use cases with Polkadot 2.0.
Mini dictionary: Parachain auctions were previously central to Polkadot’s ecosystem, allocating slots to projects via competitive bidding. With the Devnet focus, these auctions have become less prominent as consumer products take priority.
Product use cases and future directionThe first applications built with these tools included marketplaces such as Mercado and localdot, on-chain surveys, and decentralized forums. These early projects demonstrated not only the potential for advanced industrial analytics tools and educational resources, but also showcased the variety of products possible within the ecosystem.
Polkadot’s Devnet arrives at a competitive moment in the smart contract space, as Ethereum layer 2 networks and Solana intensify efforts to capture consumer-focused applications. The platform’s adoption and growth will depend on the maturity of its development tools, successful migration to mainnet, and ongoing interest from developers and broader communities.
Polkadot is a decentralized blockchain network designed for interoperability between different blockchains. The platform is developed and maintained by Parity Technologies in collaboration with the broader Polkadot community.
ChainMain FocusAsset HubContracts & asset management, DotNS name registrationPeopleIdentity and personhood featuresBulletinHosting and bundling of Products
DTCC zařadila 21Shares Polkadot Staking ETF pod tickerem TDOT, čímž potvrdila jeho místo v americkém ETF ekosystému. Fond drží $DOT a 40 % až 95 % aktiv stakuje s výnosem 2,04 %.
21Shares' Polkadot Staking ETF has been listed by the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) under the ticker TDOT, a step that formalises the product's place in the US exchange-traded fund ecosystem.
Rebrand Reflects Staking Strategy The DTCC listing coincides with a name change for the fund. The updated name reflects the fund's core strategy: TDOT holds $DOT and stakes between 40% and 95% of its holdings through network validators, currently generating a staking yield of 2.04%. The management fee remains 0.30%.
Background on TDOT That made it the first US spot Polkadot ETF when it began trading in March 2026.
With the rebrand complete and the DTCC listing confirmed, the question for TDOT is whether the staking-forward positioning can rebuild assets toward and beyond its $11 million seed level.
Sources
Crypto Briefing: DTCC lists 21Shares Polkadot Staking ETF shares under ticker TDOT
Nasdaq: 21Shares Launches Polkadot ETF (TDOT) in the United States
The Block: First spot Polkadot ETF launches in US issued by 21Shares
Polkadot ukončil aukce parachain slotů a přešel na Agile Coretime, tedy pronájem blockspace na vyžádání. Nový model má snížit kapitálové nároky a zpřístupnit síť menším týmům.
For years, securing a spot on the @Polkadot network meant winning a competitive, capital-intensive auction and locking large amounts of $DOT for a two-year lease. That model is now gone.
From Auctions to On-Demand Blockspace Polkadot ended its parachain slot auctions on September 19, 2024, when the network enacted runtime upgrade 1.2.0. Existing leases were migrated to the new system automatically, and any leases that had not yet started were cancelled, with locked tokens refunded to holders. The change was a direct response to long-standing criticism of the auction model: costs were hard to predict, slot allocation timelines were unclear, and teams had to commit capital two years in advance at whatever $DOT price the market happened to set on auction day.
The replacement is called Agile Coretime, a flexible, market-driven model for acquiring computational resources on the network. Under the new system, builders can acquire blockspace on-demand or in bulk without significant upfront capital commitments, lowering the barrier for startups and smaller teams that previously could not compete in auctions.
How Coretime Works in Practice Agile Coretime offers two purchasing formats. The first is bulk coretime, where a team buys access to a core for a fixed period of up to 28 days, represented as an NFT on the Coretime Chain. The second is instantaneous coretime, a pay-as-you-go option where teams purchase blockspace on demand, block by block, without any long-term commitment. Renewal orders take priority over new purchases, which shields active chains from sudden price spikes during periods of high demand.
Bulk coretime can also be split into smaller regions and resold on secondary markets, meaning a team running a lighter workload can divide its core allocation and sell unused portions to other projects. This creates a more efficient use of overall network capacity and gives $DOT blockspace a functioning secondary market for the first time.
The shift is part of a broader technical overhaul at Polkadot that also includes Asynchronous Backing and Elastic Scaling, which together allow parachains to dynamically access multiple cores in real time and handle traffic surges without congestion or new contract negotiations.
Sources:
Polkadot Wiki: Agile Coretime for Parachains
Parity Technologies: Polkadot Upgrade 2025
CryptoNews: Polkadot 2.0 Explained: Agile Coretime and What It Changes for Developers
21Shares Polkadot ETF TDOT ve 2. čtvrtletí 2026 prodal DOT za zhruba 107 500 USD na stakingové výplaty, ale realizoval asi 485 600 USD ztrát. Na každý 1 USD výnosu připadlo přibližně 4,52 USD ztrát.
PANews reported on August 18, citing Protos, that the latest disclosure for 21Shares’ Polkadot ETF (TDOT) shows that in the second quarter of 2026, when the fund sold DOT tokens to pay staking yield, every $1 of distribution income was accompanied by about $4.52 in realized losses.
According to regulatory filings, TDOT sold 98,505 DOT in the second quarter, generating about $107,500 in cash to pay staking yield to shareholders. However, due to a sharp decline in DOT’s price, these sales recognized about $485,600 in losses.
Data shows DOT fell about 34% in the second quarter of 2026, and its cumulative decline over the 12 months ended June 30 reached 76%. Because TDOT shareholders receive distributions denominated in U.S. dollars rather than directly receiving DOT staking rewards, the fund needs to sell DOT to convert into cash payments, thereby locking in losses in a low-price environment. In the second quarter, TDOT paid cumulative distributions of about $0.14698 per share, but over the same period the fund’s share price fell from $14.95 to $9.86, a decline of about 34%. Staking yield did not offset the losses caused by the decline in asset prices.
By comparison, other crypto staking funds realized significantly smaller losses in the second quarter. Among them, the Invesco Galaxy Solana fund realized about $0.89 in losses for every $1 of yield paid, while Solana, Sui, and Ethereum staking funds recorded corresponding losses of about $0.74, $0.31, and $0.25, respectively. In addition, TDOT incurred further losses in the second quarter from investor redemptions and management fee payments, bringing total realized losses to about $2.5 million.
Polkadot was once expected to build the “blockchain internet,” using a parachain architecture to achieve cross-chain interoperability and high-throughput execution. But its ecosystem total value locked (TVL) is now less than $100 million, and DOT’s price has fallen about 97% from its all-time high, while market attention continues to decline. At the same time, Grayscale withdrew its Polkadot ETF registration application in August, further reflecting pressure on demand for DOT-related investment products.
Grayscale stáhl registrace ETF pro Cardano, Polkadot a Hedera dva dny předtím, než ADA splnil šestiměsíční seasoning periodu. Firma k tomu neuvedla důvod.
Grayscale withdrew its Cardano, Polkadot, and Hedera ETF registrations in under four minutes on August 7, exactly two days before ADA cleared the SEC seasoning threshold. With Bitwise and Canary still in the race, the retreat says more about the economics of altcoin ETFs than about Cardano itself.
Summary
Grayscale filed three Form RW withdrawals with the SEC on August 7, 2026, pulling its Cardano Trust ETF, Polkadot Trust ETF, and Hedera Trust ETF registrations in a span of 190 seconds, with no shares issued, sold, or distributed under any of the three.
– Cardano completed its six-month CME futures seasoning period on August 9, 2026, two days after Grayscale walked away, clearing the threshold that would have allowed a spot ADA ETF to list under the SEC generic listing standards in as few as 75 days.
– Five other issuers, including Bitwise, Canary Capital, VanEck, and 21Shares, still have active ADA ETF filings, with the earliest possible SEC decision window falling around October 23, 2026.
– Grayscale reported a 20 percent revenue decline in its IPO filing, with GBTC and ETHE generating 88 percent of the firm’s roughly $318.7 million in nine-month revenue while bleeding a combined $30 billion in cumulative outflows since their ETF conversions.
– ADA trades near $0.196 with a $6.55 billion market cap, DOT sits at $0.805, and HBAR has fallen to $0.068, all down more than 60 percent from their all-time highs and collectively representing a fraction of the institutional demand that drove Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF launches.
At 4:33 p.m. Eastern on August 7, 2026, Grayscale Investments filed a Form RW with the SEC to withdraw its Cardano Trust ETF registration. Ninety seconds later, the Hedera Trust ETF followed. Two minutes after that, the Polkadot Trust ETF joined them. Three products, gone in 190 seconds, with identical boilerplate language and no public explanation beyond a statement that the company “no longer intends to proceed with the planned distributions.”
What makes the timing remarkable is not the speed of the filings but the date itself. Cardano’s CME futures contract, which launched on February 9, was two days away from completing its six-month seasoning period, the exact regulatory milestone that would have opened the door for a spot ADA ETF under the SEC’s streamlined listing framework. Grayscale did not just exit the altcoin ETF race. It exited on the finish line.
This piece examines why Grayscale pulled back, what the withdrawal reveals about the economics of altcoin ETFs in a soft market, whether Cardano’s institutional case was ever as strong as its community believed, and what the remaining filers face as they pursue products that the largest crypto asset manager in the world decided were not worth the trouble.
Three withdrawals, one message
The mechanics of the withdrawal are straightforward. Under SEC Rule 477, an issuer can voluntarily withdraw a registration statement before it becomes effective, provided no securities have been sold under it. Grayscale filed its S-1 registration statements for the Cardano, Polkadot, and Hedera trusts in late 2025 and early 2026 as part of a broader push to convert its private trust products into publicly traded ETFs, the same playbook that had already succeeded with GBTC and ETHE.
All three Form RW filings contained identical language. None cited a specific reason for withdrawal. The SEC accepted them without comment. Unlike a rejection, a voluntary withdrawal carries no stigma and no waiting period. Grayscale could refile tomorrow if it chose to.
But the coordinated nature of the withdrawals, three filings dispatched within minutes of each other at the close of a Thursday trading session, suggests a deliberate strategic decision, not a procedural adjustment. This was not a pause. It was a retreat.
The crypto market noticed. ADA fell more than 2 percent in the 24 hours following the news, while DOT dropped nearly 2 percent to $0.805 and HBAR slipped 2.24 percent to $0.068. The declines were modest in absolute terms but notable for tokens whose communities had been counting on ETF approval as a catalyst.
The seasoning clock and what it meant for Cardano
To understand why the timing matters, it helps to understand the regulatory machinery that Grayscale was walking away from.
In September 2025, the SEC approved new generic listing standards for crypto exchange-traded products. The framework allows eligible funds to list without undergoing the full 19b-4 rule-change process that had previously stretched approval timelines to 240 days or more per product. Under the new standards, a crypto asset qualifies for streamlined review if it has traded on a regulated futures market for at least six months.
CME Group launched Cardano futures on February 9, 2026. The six-month clock expired on August 9. On that date, ADA became the newest cryptocurrency to meet the SEC’s eligibility threshold, joining Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP in the small club of assets with a clear path to a spot ETF.
Grayscale knew this. Every issuer in the space knew this. The August 9 milestone had been widely discussed in industry circles for months, with multiple analysts noting that a filing activated on or after that date could see an SEC decision as early as October 23.
Yet Grayscale chose to withdraw two days before the clock expired. The company did not wait to see whether the newly eligible status would generate fresh institutional interest. It did not pause the filing to reassess. It killed it. For a company that spent years lobbying regulators to create the very framework that makes these products possible, the decision to abandon three of them on the eve of eligibility is a striking and deliberate reversal of strategy.
The economics of a product nobody wanted
The most likely explanation for Grayscale’s withdrawal is the simplest one: the numbers did not work.
Launching an ETF is not free. Legal fees, compliance infrastructure, market-making arrangements, custodial agreements, marketing, and ongoing regulatory reporting all carry costs. For a Bitcoin or Ethereum product with billions of dollars in potential demand, those costs are trivial relative to the revenue from management fees. For an altcoin ETF tracking a $6.55 billion asset with tepid institutional interest, the calculus is different.
Consider the existing data points. The Canary Capital HBAR ETF, which launched on Nasdaq in October 2025 as the third crypto asset to receive US spot ETF status, held approximately $49.14 million in net assets as of July 2, 2026. Its market-price return was negative 37.32 percent for the year and negative 63.32 percent since inception. Even at a generous 2 percent management fee, a $49 million fund generates under $1 million in annual revenue, a figure that may not cover the cost of running the product.
The broader altcoin ETF landscape tells a similar story. While XRP ETFs have accumulated roughly $1.5 billion in cumulative inflows and Solana funds have gathered about $1.15 billion, those figures pale next to the tens of billions that flowed into Bitcoin products. Below the top tier, demand drops off sharply. As CryptoSlate reported, “strong demand for three altcoins contrasts with weak, sporadic flows across the rest of the altcoin fund market.”
Grayscale already has a way to offer ADA exposure. Its CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF, trading under the ticker GDLC, tracks an index that includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano. For investors who want a small allocation to ADA within a diversified crypto portfolio, that product already exists. A standalone ADA ETF would have to compete not only with GDLC but also with direct ADA purchases on exchanges, an increasingly frictionless process for institutional buyers.
Grayscale’s fee problem and the IPO calculus
The withdrawal also needs to be read in the context of Grayscale’s broader financial position. The company filed for an IPO in late 2025, planning to list on the NYSE under the ticker GRAY. The S-1 filing revealed a business under significant pressure.
GBTC, charging 1.5 percent annually, and ETHE, charging 2.5 percent, together generate approximately 88 percent of Grayscale’s total revenue, roughly $345 million of an estimated $425 million annually. But both products have been hemorrhaging assets. GBTC has recorded approximately $25 billion in cumulative net outflows since its January 2024 ETF conversion, while ETHE has seen about $4.8 billion leave since July 2024. Investors are rotating into lower-fee alternatives: BlackRock’s IBIT charges 0.12 percent, and Fidelity’s FBTC charges 0.25 percent.
Grayscale responded by launching Mini versions of both products at 0.15 percent, which have attracted $3.3 billion in combined inflows since 2024. The company has also expanded into new product categories, filing for ETFs covering Solana, Chainlink, Zcash, Hyperliquid, and Canton, among others.
But expansion costs money. Every new product requires regulatory filings, compliance oversight, and operational infrastructure. For a company preparing to go public while watching its revenue decline 20 percent year over year, the question is not just “can we launch this product?” but “will this product generate enough revenue to justify the resources it consumes at the expense of higher-priority launches?”
For ADA, DOT, and HBAR, the answer appears to have been no. Meanwhile, Grayscale continues to pursue ETFs for assets where it sees stronger demand or strategic differentiation, including a Zcash ETF that would be the first US-listed privacy coin fund and a Canton Coin product tied to institutional blockchain infrastructure.
What the remaining filers face
Grayscale’s exit does not kill the Cardano ETF. Five other issuers have active filings, and the August 9 seasoning milestone remains valid regardless of who chooses to use it. Bitwise, Canary Capital, VanEck, 21Shares, and at least one additional filer are still in the queue.
But the remaining applicants face a market that has not been kind to altcoin ETF launches. The Canary HBAR ETF’s experience is instructive. Despite being one of the first altcoin spot ETFs in the United States, it launched with just $47.8 million in assets and has struggled to attract meaningful inflows since. The lesson is that regulatory approval alone does not create demand. Without institutional buyers willing to allocate capital to a specific token through an ETF wrapper, the product sits on the shelf.
Cardano has some advantages that HBAR lacked at launch. Its market cap of $6.55 billion is substantially larger. It has 16 consecutive months of net inflows into ADA investment products, according to Blockworks data. Clearstream added ADA to its MiCA-regulated custody earlier in 2026, creating a pathway for European institutional demand. And the Cardano community, whatever its other characteristics, is large and vocal.
But “large and vocal” does not always translate to “willing to buy an ETF.” Much of Cardano’s holder base consists of retail investors who already own ADA directly and have no reason to pay a management fee for wrapper exposure. The institutional demand that drove Bitcoin ETFs, pension funds, endowments, and registered investment advisors seeking regulated access to an asset they could not otherwise hold, may simply not exist at scale for a $0.20 token that remains down more than 90 percent from its all-time high of $3.10.
There is also a structural question about what an ADA ETF would actually hold. Unlike Solana and Ethereum, which have attracted issuers partly because staking yields can offset management fees and generate a positive carry for the fund, Cardano staking within a US ETF wrapper remains untested. Grayscale’s Solana Staking ETF and its Ethereum Staking Mini ETF both offer yield as a differentiator. A plain vanilla ADA spot product without staking would compete for capital against yield-bearing alternatives, a disadvantage that grows more acute as the ETF market matures and investors become more sophisticated about total return.
The fee question compounds the problem. Morgan Stanley launched Ethereum and Solana ETFs at 0.14 percent, setting a new floor for the industry. Any ADA ETF entering the market would face pressure to match or undercut that rate, further compressing the already thin revenue projections for a fund that might attract only a fraction of the assets that Solana products have gathered.
The October 23 decision window, if a filing activates promptly after August 9, will be the first real test. If an ADA ETF launches and attracts meaningful flows, the altcoin ETF thesis survives. If it launches to the same tepid reception that greeted HBAR, the market will have its answer.
The opposing case at full strength
The bearish reading of Grayscale’s withdrawal, that altcoin ETFs are a dead end and institutional demand for anything below the top four crypto assets is negligible, deserves a serious challenge.
First, the timing may not be as significant as it appears. Grayscale could have decided weeks earlier to withdraw and simply waited for a convenient filing window. The proximity to August 9 may be coincidental rather than calculated.
Second, Grayscale’s withdrawal is a single data point from a company with specific financial pressures that do not apply to every issuer. Bitwise, for example, operates a leaner business model and has built its brand around altcoin exposure. A product that does not pencil out for Grayscale, with its overhead and IPO-related cost scrutiny, might be perfectly viable for a smaller issuer willing to accept thinner margins in exchange for market positioning.
Third, the altcoin ETF market is young. Bitcoin ETFs attracted modest flows in their first weeks before institutional allocators gradually built positions over quarters. The same pattern could repeat with ADA, particularly as the October decision date coincides with a period when institutional investors typically make fourth-quarter allocation decisions.
Fourth, Cardano’s fundamentals have continued to develop. The network processed its highest transaction volumes in early 2026, governance mechanisms are active, and the Ouroboros consensus protocol remains one of the few proof-of-stake systems with formal academic verification. An ETF issuer could reasonably argue that the market has not yet priced in these fundamentals.
Fifth, and most important, the thesis would be invalidated if an ADA ETF launches in October and attracts more than $200 million in its first 90 days. That would suggest institutional demand exists and that Grayscale simply miscalculated. It would also likely prompt Grayscale to refile, as the company has shown no reluctance to reverse course when market conditions shift.
The 190-second signal the market missed
There is a detail in the withdrawal filings that has received less attention than it deserves, and that a competitor publication is unlikely to have noticed.
The three Form RW filings were submitted in a specific order: Cardano at 4:33:37 p.m. ET, Hedera at 4:34:55 p.m., and Polkadot at 4:36:47 p.m. The gaps between them, 78 seconds and then 112 seconds, suggest a single operator submitting sequential EDGAR filings, not three independent decisions happening to arrive at the same conclusion.
This matters because the order tracks roughly with market capitalization at the time of filing. ADA, the largest of the three at $6.55 billion, went first. HBAR, at roughly $3.1 billion, went second. DOT, at approximately $1.5 billion, went last. If Grayscale had withdrawn in alphabetical order or reverse chronological order by filing date, the sequence would have been different.
The implication is that even the largest of the three, Cardano, was not considered worth salvaging. Grayscale did not withdraw DOT and HBAR while keeping ADA alive for another few days to see how the seasoning milestone played out. It treated all three as a single portfolio decision, suggesting that the threshold for “worth pursuing” sits somewhere above ADA’s $6.55 billion market cap and below the market capitalization of the assets for which Grayscale is still filing, such as Solana at roughly $80 billion.
That threshold has implications far beyond Cardano. If the cutoff for a viable standalone crypto ETF sits at tens of billions in market capitalization, then the long tail of altcoin ETF filings currently working through the SEC, covering everything from Chainlink to Worldcoin, may face the same economic headwinds. The broader question of whether altcoin ETF demand can sustain product expansion is one the industry has been reluctant to confront.
What to watch
October 23 decision window: If an issuer activates a spot ADA ETF filing promptly after August 9, the SEC’s 75-day review period points to late October. The size of first-week inflows will reveal whether institutional demand for Cardano exists at scale or remains a community aspiration.
Canary and Bitwise filing amendments: Watch for S-1/A amendments from the remaining ADA ETF applicants. Active amendments signal continued commitment. Silence or withdrawal notices would confirm Grayscale’s assessment that the market is not ready.
HBAR ETF flow trajectory: The Canary HBAR ETF’s performance over the next 60 days serves as a leading indicator for ADA. If HBAR flows stabilize or reverse, it suggests growing comfort with altcoin ETF exposure. Continued outflows would validate the bearish thesis.
Grayscale IPO pricing and product roadmap: When Grayscale sets its IPO price and releases an updated product strategy, look for whether altcoin ETFs feature in the forward plan or are quietly dropped from the narrative. The company’s selective approach to new filings, prioritizing niche products with differentiation over large-cap altcoin duplicates, may become the template for the industry.
ADA price action relative to ETF catalysts: If ADA fails to rally on actual ETF approval after failing to rally on eligibility, the disconnect between community expectations and market reality will be impossible to ignore. A sustained move above $0.30 on ETF-related news would challenge the thesis that the token lacks institutional appeal.
The information presented in this article is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk, including the potential loss of all invested capital. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified financial advisors before making any investment decisions. Crypto.news does not endorse the purchase, sale, or holding of any cryptocurrency or financial instrument. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Published August 14, 2026.
Is the ADA ETF still happening without Grayscale?
Yes. Five other issuers, including Bitwise, Canary Capital, VanEck, and 21Shares, have active spot ADA ETF filings. Grayscale’s withdrawal is a business decision by one company, not a regulatory barrier. The August 9 seasoning milestone remains valid for any issuer that chooses to proceed, and the earliest SEC decision window falls around October 23, 2026.
Why did Grayscale withdraw all three at once instead of keeping the Cardano filing?
The coordinated withdrawal, completed in 190 seconds, suggests Grayscale treated ADA, DOT, and HBAR as a single portfolio decision rather than evaluating each asset independently. The most likely explanation is that none of the three met an internal threshold for projected demand, and the company chose to reallocate resources toward products with stronger revenue potential.
What is the CME futures seasoning period and why does it matter?
The SEC’s generic listing standards require a crypto asset to trade on a regulated futures market for at least six months before it can qualify for streamlined spot ETF review. CME launched Cardano futures on February 9, 2026, and the six-month period ended on August 9. Meeting this threshold allows an ETF to list in approximately 75 days rather than the 240 days required under the old per-product approval process.
How much would a Cardano ETF need to attract in assets to be commercially viable?
Based on the Canary HBAR ETF’s experience, a fund with under $50 million in assets generates less than $1 million in annual fee revenue, even at a 2 percent management fee. A standalone ADA ETF would likely need at least $200 million to $300 million in assets under management to cover operating costs and generate meaningful returns for the issuer. By comparison, XRP ETFs have attracted roughly $1.5 billion and Solana funds about $1.15 billion.
Could Grayscale refile for a Cardano ETF later?
A voluntary withdrawal under SEC Rule 477 carries no penalties, waiting periods, or stigma. Grayscale could refile an S-1 registration statement for a Cardano Trust ETF at any time. The company has previously shown willingness to adjust its product strategy based on market conditions, and a surge in ADA institutional demand could prompt a reversal.
What does Grayscale’s withdrawal mean for DOT and HBAR prices?
The immediate price impact was modest: ADA fell about 2 percent, DOT dropped nearly 2 percent to $0.805, and HBAR slipped 2.24 percent to $0.068. The withdrawals removed a potential catalyst for these tokens but did not change their underlying fundamentals. For HBAR, the Canary ETF already exists, so the loss of a Grayscale competitor may actually reduce selling pressure from fee competition.
Are altcoin ETFs still worth pursuing for issuers?
The market is splitting into tiers. Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have attracted tens of billions. Solana and XRP funds have crossed the $1 billion mark. Below that level, flows are sporadic and concentrated among a handful of products. The question is whether assets like Cardano can reach the second tier or whether the viable ETF universe stops at four or five cryptocurrencies.
Should investors buy ADA ahead of a potential ETF approval?
Every previous crypto ETF approval in the United States has followed a pattern where the token price rallied on anticipation and was flat or lower on actual approval day. ADA has already failed to rally meaningfully on its eligibility milestone, suggesting the market may have priced in the possibility. Any investment decision should account for the significant gap between ETF eligibility and actual investor demand for an ETF product. This is educational analysis, not investment advice.
Polkadot [DOT] fell below $0.80 as sellers erased another part of the token’s early-August recovery.
The weakness comes after Grayscale abandoned plans for its proposed Polkadot Trust ETF, with the decision removing a potential US-listed investment product for DOT. Although, before the withdrawal, the token was already losing ground, according to analysis of its price chart.
Grayscale walks away from Polkadot ETF Grayscale submitted its withdrawal request to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on August 7, saying it was not continuing with the planned distribution of the trust’s shares.
Its registration statement had been active since August 2025, but the product never reached the market, and the latest filing provides no reason for the decision.
Importantly, the SEC did not reject the ETF, but it was Grayscale that chose to withdraw its registration before any shares were issued or sold.
The company also withdrew some other proposed products within minutes of the Polkadot filing, making it difficult to see the move as a negative judgement on DOT.
But with this move, Polkadot loses a possible route for investors seeking exposure through a regulated US-listed product, and whether another issuer eventually pursues a DOT ETF remains unclear.
Can Polkadot price recover above $0.80? DOT traded near $0.774 on August 13 after its latest rebound was unable to move beyond $0.87.
The token has now dropped below $0.79–$0.80, an area that previously helped buyers contain declines, but as it is unable to hold that level, it leaves the recovery looking increasingly shaky.
There was an increase in trading activity picked up when DOT turned lower in early August. On-Balance Volume has also continued to fall, suggesting buying interest has weakened alongside the price.
Source: TradingView The next area to watch is around $0.75. Buyers defending that level could give DOT another opportunity to challenge $0.80, and a break below it would instead put $0.70 back in view.
Even a return above $0.80 would only be an early improvement, but DOT would still need to overcome $0.86–$0.90, where its witnessed a sell-off, before the broader recovery becomes more convincing.
Final Summary Grayscale voluntarily withdrew its proposed Polkadot ETF alongside other planned crypto products. DOT has lost $0.80, making $0.75 important for preventing another move towards $0.70.
Grayscale withdrew registration statements for three planned U.S. altcoin exchange traded products on Aug. 7, ending the current registration process for its Cardano, Hedera and Polkadot funds.
Summary
Grayscale withdrew Cardano, Hedera and Polkadot ETF registrations through three Form RW filings on Friday. All three filings state registrations never became effective and no securities were issued or sold. NYSE Arca and Nasdaq had already withdrawn corresponding listing proposals during September and November 2025. SEC generic listing standards now let qualifying crypto products bypass separate exchange rule change filings. Bittensor, Aave, BNB, NEAR and Zcash registrations remained preliminary in recent SEC filings reviewed. SEC records show the three Form RW submissions were accepted between 4:33:37 p.m. and 4:36:47 p.m. ET, a span of exactly 190 seconds.
The filings are withdrawal requests, not SEC rejections. Grayscale said it no longer intends to proceed with the planned distribution of shares under those registration statements. It also confirmed that none had become effective and that no securities had been issued or sold.
Grayscale withdraws three S-1 registrations The Cardano filing sought withdrawal of registration statement No. 333-289948, originally filed in August 2025. The Hedera request covered No. 333-290129, first filed in September 2025, while the Polkadot filing covered No. 333-289949, also first filed in August 2025.
Grayscale Withdraws Registration Applications for ADA, HBAR and DOT ETFs
According to SEC filings, Grayscale filed three Form RW submissions on August 7, withdrawing the S-1 registration statements for the Grayscale Cardano Trust ETF, Grayscale Hedera Trust ETF and Grayscale… pic.twitter.com/haXOpqcOuE
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 10, 2026 Each request gives the same core explanation: the sponsor does not intend to proceed with the planned share distribution. The documents provide no separate commercial, demand related or regulatory reason. They also state that no preliminary prospectus had been distributed.
Meanwhile, the latest withdrawals follow earlier exits on the exchange listing side. SEC records show NYSE Arca withdrew its proposed rule change for the Grayscale Cardano Trust on Sept. 29, 2025. Nasdaq’s proposed rule changes for the Grayscale Polkadot Trust and Grayscale Hedera Trust were both withdrawn on Nov. 3, 2025.
Those exchange proposals were separate from the S-1 registrations withdrawn on Aug. 7. The Cardano review was covered as previously reported, while Nasdaq’s Polkadot proposal appeared in earlier related coverage. The Hedera review also entered the SEC process in March 2025, as crypto.news reported in its earlier coverage.
New SEC rules changed the crypto ETF approval route The regulatory backdrop changed after those original exchange proposals were filed. In September 2025, the SEC approved generic listing standards allowing qualifying commodity based trust shares, including digital asset products, to list without a separate Section 19(b) rule change for each fund.
The faster exchange route does not replace Securities Act registration. A sponsor still needs an effective registration statement before selling shares. That distinction matters here because Grayscale withdrew the S-1 layer itself. A current overview of the U.S. ETF process explains how exchange listing and registration now operate separately.
What happens next for Grayscale’s altcoin ETF slate Under Rule 477(b), an application to withdraw an entire registration statement before effectiveness is deemed granted when filed unless the SEC objects within 15 calendar days. The three requests therefore take effect without a separate approval order unless the Commission intervenes during that window.
The withdrawals do not establish that the SEC rejected ADA, HBAR or DOT products, and they do not prevent Grayscale from filing again later. For now, SEC records reviewed Aug. 10 show preliminary registrations for Bittensor, Aave, BNB, NEAR and Zcash at different stages. The Zcash registration received its third amendment on July 31.
Grayscale also has altcoin products further along. The SEC declared the Grayscale Avalanche Staking ETF registration effective on March 11 and the Grayscale Hyperliquid Staking ETF registration effective on June 2. Those differing statuses show the Aug. 7 filings are not evidence of a companywide retreat from altcoin exchange traded products.
What remains unknown is why Grayscale ended these three registrations together. The filings give no explanation beyond the decision not to proceed, leaving claims about investor demand, economics or regulatory resistance unconfirmed.
Polkadot spustil dvě referenda, která mění staking: zvyšují bezpečnost validátorů a zkracují unbonding nominátorů zhruba z 28 dnů na 24 až 48 hodin. $DOT mezitím mezi 1. a 6. červencem vzrostl asi o 12 %.
Validator Economics Tightened Under Referenda 1909@Polkadot has activated two governance referenda that mark one of the most significant overhauls of its staking architecture in recent years. The proposals were first introduced on June 23 and approved on July 6, 2026.
Referendum 1909 builds on the previously approved 10,000 $DOT minimum self-stake requirement, adding self-stake rewards, 0% commission, and permissionless chilling for under-bonded validators. This addresses a potential security problem: if a critical number of validators do not have sufficient capital at stake, the security model weakens.
Under the updated reward structure, 22.6% of the Dynamic Allocation Program's budget will be earmarked for validator self-stake incentives, while 45.2% will go toward staker rewards, with a concave weighting model applied to prevent large validators from disproportionately dominating the reward pool.
The chill threshold has been lowered to 32%, enabling permissionless chilling of validators whose self-stake falls below the minimum bond, while a safety floor ensures the active validator set cannot be reduced below a safe minimum through this mechanism. Supporters argue this model better aligns validator interests with overall network health, though critics caution that smaller validators could struggle to remain competitive.
Nominator Liquidity Improves Sharply Under Referendum 1910Referendum 1910 removes nominator slashing and shortens the nominator unbonding period from roughly 28 days to about 48 hours, making staking considerably more flexible. Currently, nominators can face losses if they back validators that violate network rules. By eliminating nominator slashing, Polkadot aims to make staking more accessible and less risky for retail participants, while placing greater responsibility on validators to maintain network security.
Today, Polkadot's unbonding period sits at about 28 days, and official guides warn users they must wait nearly a month before withdrawn $DOT becomes transferable. The new design targets unbonding times of roughly 24 to 48 hours, pushing staking liquidity closer to what traders expect in modern DeFi.
The upgrades went live alongside a roughly 12% price increase in $DOT between July 1 and July 6, though on-chain activity remains thin, suggesting the market may be pricing in the improvements ahead of tangible usage growth.
Sources:
Polkadot SubSquare: Referenda 1909 Official Details
Coinpedia: Major Staking Upgrades Live on Polkadot
The Crypto Times: Polkadot Targets Faster Staking Exits
Moonbeam přesouvá GLMR z Polkadotu na Base a ukončuje tak své čtyřleté napojení na Polkadot. Držitelé mají do 31. července možnost vyměnit GLMR 1:1 za novou ERC-20 verzi.
Moonbeam Network, one of the earliest and most prominent parachains on Polkadot, announced on July 3 that it will fully migrate its GLMR token to Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2. The move effectively ends Moonbeam’s four-year relationship with Polkadot and repositions the project within the Ethereum ecosystem.
Holders have until July 31 to bridge their GLMR tokens 1:1 to a new ERC-20 version on Base through a dedicated migration portal. Centralized exchanges are expected to handle the swap automatically for tokens held in custody.
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What’s actually happening here Moonbeam launched in January 2022 as the first parachain on Polkadot. Its entire selling point was giving Ethereum Virtual Machine developers a home inside the Polkadot ecosystem, complete with staking, cross-chain compatibility, and familiar tooling.
Now it’s leaving. The project is rebranding around something called the Moonbeam Protocol, described as a decentralized network focused on AI agent communication and settlement for on-chain economies.
Users currently participating in DeFi protocols on Moonbeam’s parachain need to withdraw their assets before the migration completes. Tokens stuck in liquidity pools, staking contracts, or lending protocols need to be manually unwound before the chain winds down.
What investors should be watching The 1:1 token migration means GLMR holders aren’t being diluted. The more nuanced question is whether the move to Base and the pivot to AI agent infrastructure actually improves the token’s long-term value proposition.
The migration deadline of July 31 creates a compressed timeline that could lead to confusion, lost tokens, or liquidity disruption. Users who don’t actively manage the transition risk complications. The automatic migration through centralized exchanges should catch a large portion of passive holders, but on-chain users need to be proactive.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
DOT se v červnu 2026 obchoduje pod 1 USD na úrovni 0,8758 USD, zhruba 98 % pod historickým maximem 54,87 USD z listopadu 2021. Polkadot zároveň v březnu 2026 zavedl tvrdý limit nabídky 2,1 miliardy DOT.
Polkadot (DOT) is trading at $0.8758 on June 25, 2026 — below the $1.00 psychological support level for the first time in its modern history and approximately 98% below its all-time high of $54.87 reached in November 2021. The token that once ranked in the top 5 by market cap with a $50+ billion valuation now sits at #44 with a market cap of $1.48 billion. This page covers Polkadot’s complete price history, what drove the collapse, and what structural changes the project has made in 2026.
What Is Polkadot? Polkadot is a multi-chain blockchain network designed to solve one of crypto’s most fundamental problems: blockchains cannot communicate with each other natively. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana each operate as isolated silos. Polkadot connects them.
The network was designed by Dr. Gavin Wood — co-founder of Ethereum and author of the Ethereum Yellow Paper — and launched on mainnet in May 2020. It operates through two core architectural components. The Relay Chain is the central coordination layer that provides shared security, consensus, and cross-chain communication. Parachains are independent, application-specific blockchains that connect to the Relay Chain and inherit its security without needing to bootstrap their own validator sets.
This shared security model is Polkadot’s primary technical differentiator. A new blockchain launching as a Polkadot parachain receives the full security of the Relay Chain’s validator network from day one — something Cosmos chains and Avalanche subnets cannot offer, as they must secure themselves independently.
DOT is the native token of the Polkadot network. It serves three functions: governance (voting on network upgrades through OpenGov), staking (securing the Relay Chain with approximately 11% annual yield), and coretime bonding (purchasing blockspace under the Agile Coretime model, which replaced the old parachain slot auctions in 2024–2025).
The official Polkadot website and documentation are available at polkadot.network.
Critical update — March 2026 tokenomics reform: On March 12, 2026, Polkadot enacted runtime upgrade v2.1.0, fundamentally changing DOT’s economic model. Before this upgrade, DOT had an uncapped, inflationary supply issuing approximately 120 million DOT annually — roughly 7–10% inflation with no maximum. After the upgrade: total supply is now hard-capped at 2.1 billion DOT, issuance is cut by over 50%, and 80% of coretime sales revenue plus a portion of fees are burned from circulation. This transforms DOT from an inflationary utility token into a scarcer asset with a defined supply ceiling — one of the most significant tokenomics overhauls in Polkadot’s history.
Polkadot Price History 2020: Launch and Initial Listing Polkadot launched its mainnet in May 2020. DOT was initially priced at approximately $2.70 at its earliest exchange listings and ended 2020 at around $9.28 — a gain of roughly 200% in its first year. The initial rally was driven by strong developer interest, the prestige of Gavin Wood’s involvement, and early anticipation around the parachain auction model. During this period, Polkadot quickly entered the top 10 by market cap, establishing itself alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum as one of the most watched new Layer 0 protocols.
2021: All-Time High at $54.87 2021 was Polkadot’s defining year. The best year for DOT saw the average price reach $29.03 and the token hit its all-time high of $54.87 in November 2021. The rally was fueled by the successful launch of parachain auctions on Kusama — Polkadot’s canary network — in June 2021, followed by the first Polkadot mainnet parachain auction wins in November 2021, with Acala, Moonbeam, and Parallel Finance among the early winners. Retail enthusiasm for the parachain narrative drove DOT to a peak market cap exceeding $50 billion, ranking it among the top 5 cryptocurrencies globally.
The year closed at $26.70, down 51% from the November peak but still 188% above the 2020 year-end price.
2022: Bear Market Collapse In 2022, DOT entered a steep decline, falling from approximately $30 at the start of the year to below $10 by mid-year and stabilizing near $5 by year-end — a loss of roughly 83% over the calendar year. The collapse mirrored the broader crypto bear market driven by the Luna/UST crash in May 2022, the Three Arrows Capital insolvency in June, and the FTX collapse in November.
The parachain model came under significant criticism during this period. Projects that had won parachain slots by locking up millions of dollars in DOT saw those funds depreciate dramatically, while the two-year lock-up structure prevented capital reallocation. The model that had driven 2021’s euphoria became a structural headwind in the bear market.
2023: Consolidation Between $5 and $7 DOT spent most of 2023 consolidating between $5 and $7, closing the year at approximately $8.20 — a 90% gain over the 2022 close and one of the best calendar year performances in the post-crash period. Recovery was driven by improving macro sentiment following the Federal Reserve’s pause on rate hikes and renewed institutional interest in the broader crypto market. Early announcements of Polkadot’s transition away from the parachain slot auction model toward Agile Coretime gave the market a credible narrative catalyst heading into 2024.
2024: Brief Recovery to $10.40, Then Renewed Weakness DOT briefly recovered toward $10.40 in December 2024, riding the broader crypto rally that followed Bitcoin’s ETF approval and the post-halving momentum. However, DOT significantly underperformed relative to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana during the 2024–2025 bull cycle. While BTC reached an all-time high of $126,173 and ETH peaked at $4,951.66, DOT’s recovery was modest and short-lived. The year closed at approximately $6.63, down 19% from the January open of $11.85 — a stark underperformance that signalled a structural market discount was being applied to Polkadot’s architecture.
2025: Sustained Decline Through the Bull Cycle In 2025, DOT weakened considerably, falling from a January high of $7.98 to around $4.30 in March, then drifting below $4 through April and May. By June it dropped toward $3.30, briefly stabilized near $4.00–$4.30 from August to October, then fell to around $2.10 by late November and early December. The year closed at approximately $1.79 — down 73% from the January open.
2025 represented a defining divergence: Bitcoin and Ethereum made new all-time highs while DOT did not come close to its $54.87 peak. Active parachain counts were declining, developer activity was migrating toward Ethereum L2s and Solana, and the parachain slot auction model was broadly viewed as having failed to generate sustainable ecosystem growth. The market delivered a clear verdict.
2026: Sub-$1 Territory and Structural Reforms In 2026, DOT remained under pressure across every quarter. The token traded between $1.66 and $2.33 in January, fell to a cycle low near $0.84–$0.85 in the May–June selloff, and is currently trading at $0.8758 on June 25. This represents an approximately 98% drawdown from the $54.87 all-time high — a level that was once unthinkable for a top-5 asset.
However, 2026 has also brought the most significant structural reforms in Polkadot’s history:
March 2026 hard supply cap: Runtime upgrade v2.1.0 permanently capped DOT’s maximum supply at 2.1 billion tokens, cut issuance by 50%+, and introduced burn mechanics tied to coretime sales revenue.
Agile Coretime model: Replaced the parachain slot auction system with an on-demand blockspace market, dramatically lowering the cost for new developers to build on Polkadot. Over 150 new decentralized applications joined in Q1 2026.
21Shares TDOT ETF: The first regulated institutional vehicle for DOT exposure launched in 2026, with $11 million in initial AUM — providing infrastructure for institutional allocation to scale.
JAM protocol (roadmap): Polkadot’s next major architectural upgrade — replacing the Relay Chain with a general-purpose decentralized computation environment — is targeting Q3–Q4 2026 milestones on testnet.
Is Polkadot Dead in 2026? It’s the question every DOT holder is asking. The honest answer is: no, but the market has delivered a harsh verdict.
DOT is down approximately 98% from its all-time high and trading below $1.00 — a price level that would have seemed impossible during the 2021 bull cycle when Polkadot was a top-5 asset with a $50 billion market cap. The drop from #5 to #44 by market cap reflects a fundamental shift in how the market values interoperability infrastructure relative to high-throughput execution chains.
Three structural problems defined the 2022–2026 decline. First, the parachain slot auction model required projects to lock millions of dollars in DOT for two-year periods, pricing out smaller teams and generating artificial scarcity without proportional ecosystem growth. Second, Ethereum’s Layer 2 ecosystem — Arbitrum, Optimism, Base — solved cross-chain communication within Ethereum’s liquidity-rich environment without requiring a separate relay chain, directly undermining Polkadot’s core value proposition. Third, Solana captured the developer narrative for high-speed execution, leaving DOT without a clear competitive identity in the 2024–2025 cycle.
The 2026 picture is structurally different. The March supply cap ended DOT’s inflationary headwind. Agile Coretime lowered barriers to building on Polkadot. The JAM protocol — if it delivers on Q3–Q4 milestones — represents the most ambitious pivot in Polkadot’s history, expanding the network beyond interoperability into general-purpose decentralized computation. Whether the market re-rates DOT on these fundamentals before year-end is the central question for current holders.
Where to Buy Polkadot (DOT) Binance — world’s largest exchange by volume, deep DOT/USDT liquidity, DOT staking available. Bybit — spot and perpetual DOT pairs with competitive fees. Coinbase — U.S.-regulated platform, DOT available for spot purchase with insured custody. Kraken — established 2011, DOT staking with competitive APY available on-platform. KuCoin — wide DOT trading pairs, good access to Polkadot parachain ecosystem tokens. Gate.io — broad parachain token selection including Moonbeam, Astar, and other DOT ecosystem assets. OKX — DOT derivatives and spot trading with Web3 wallet integration.
Frequently Asked Questions What is Polkadot (DOT)? Polkadot is a multi-chain Layer 0 blockchain network designed by Dr. Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum, and launched on mainnet in May 2020. It connects independent blockchains called parachains through a central Relay Chain that provides shared security and cross-chain communication. DOT is the native token used for governance, staking with approximately 11% annual yield, and purchasing blockspace under the Agile Coretime model. As of March 2026, DOT's maximum supply is hard-capped at 2.1 billion tokens following the v2.1.0 tokenomics upgrade. More information is available at polkadot.network.
What is Polkadot's all-time high? Polkadot's all-time high is $54.87, reached in November 2021 during the parachain auction launch period. As of June 25, 2026, DOT trades at approximately $0.88 — around 98% below that record. The 2026 cycle low is approximately $0.84, reached during the May–June 2026 broad crypto market selloff alongside Bitcoin's retest of its $59,102 cycle low.
Why has Polkadot dropped so much from its all-time high? DOT's 98% decline from its 2021 peak reflects three structural problems. The parachain slot auction model locked up millions of dollars in DOT without generating proportional ecosystem growth. Ethereum's Layer 2 ecosystem addressed cross-chain communication within Ethereum's existing liquidity base, reducing demand for a separate relay chain. And Solana captured developer mindshare for high-throughput execution, leaving Polkadot without a clear competitive identity during the 2024–2025 bull cycle. DOT underperformed Bitcoin and Ethereum significantly through both the 2022 bear market and the 2024–2025 bull cycle.
What changed in Polkadot's tokenomics in 2026? On March 12, 2026, Polkadot enacted runtime upgrade v2.1.0, permanently capping DOT's maximum supply at 2.1 billion tokens. Before this change, DOT had unlimited inflation issuing approximately 120 million new tokens annually at a 7–10% rate. The upgrade cut issuance by over 50% and introduced burn mechanics: 80% of coretime sales revenue plus a portion of network fees are now removed from circulation. This was the most significant tokenomics change in Polkadot's history and represents the first time DOT's supply trajectory has reversed direction.
What is the JAM protocol and why does it matter for DOT? JAM — Join Accumulate Machine — is Polkadot's next major architectural upgrade, designed to replace the Relay Chain with a general-purpose decentralized computation environment. Rather than simply connecting blockchains, JAM expands Polkadot's capabilities to support arbitrary computation, positioning the network as infrastructure for AI agents, ZK proofs, and applications beyond standard DeFi. JAM is targeting Q3–Q4 2026 milestones on testnet. Progress toward those deliverables is the primary near-term price catalyst for DOT and the clearest measure of whether Polkadot can differentiate itself in the next market cycle.
Polkadot governance has approved a proposal to implement a 10,000 DOT validator self-stake minimum, making nominators unslashable and reducing unbonding periods from 28 days to as little as 24 hours.
Polkadot's governance has approved a proposal to establish a 10,000 DOT minimum self-stake requirement for validators. The approved upgrade introduces significant changes to the network's staking mechanics, including eliminating slashing risk for nominators and drastically reducing unbonding times from approximately 28 days to as little as 24 hours.
The proposal represents a comprehensive restructuring of Polkadot's validator requirements and staking incentives. By setting a higher self-stake minimum, the protocol aims to increase validator commitment and security while simultaneously improving the user experience for token holders participating in the network through nomination.
The unbonding period reduction is one of the most substantial changes, allowing users to withdraw staked tokens significantly faster than the current timeline. Combined with nominator protection from slashing penalties, the upgrade is designed to make participation in Polkadot's proof-of-stake consensus more attractive and user-friendly.
Polkadot 2.0 nahradil dvouleté aukce slotů systémem Agile Coretime, který umožňuje kupovat výpočetní kapacitu měsíčně nebo po blocích času. Vývojáři tak už nemusí zamykat velké množství DOT na roky dopředu.
Polkadot 2.0 replaces the old two-year slot auction model with Agile Coretime, a flexible system that lets developers buy network compute time on a monthly basis or even block by block. This change went live in September 2024 and was finalized with the release of Polkadot SDK version 2509 in October 2025, completing the three-pillar Polkadot 2.0 upgrade alongside Asynchronous Backing and Elastic Scaling.
For developers, the practical difference is significant: launching a parachain no longer requires locking up large amounts of DOT for years at a time. You pay for what you use, when you need it.
What Was Wrong with the Old Parachain Slot System?Before Polkadot 2.0, projects that wanted to run a parachain (a custom blockchain that plugs into Polkadot's shared security) had to win a slot through a candle auction. Those auctions required teams to lock DOT tokens for lease periods of up to two years. Only the highest bidders secured a spot.
This created real barriers:
Small and mid-size teams needed to raise or hold massive amounts of DOT just to get started.Once a slot was won, the team paid for continuous blockspace whether or not they were using it.If a project's traffic was low for a few months, it was still burning through its lease.New projects with promising ideas but limited capital were simply priced out.The auction model also created unpredictable costs. Project budgets depended on DOT's market price at the time of the auction, introducing a layer of financial risk that had nothing to do with the actual work of building.
How Does Agile Coretime Actually Work?In Polkadot's architecture, a "core" is the virtual abstraction of computing power that the Relay Chain provides to secure a parachain's blocks. Think of it as a processing slot. Agile Coretime is the system that controls how those cores get assigned and purchased.
There are two main ways to obtain coretime today:
Bulk coretime: A team buys access to a core for a fixed period, up to 28 days, represented as an NFT on the Coretime Chain. This is suitable for parachains that need to produce blocks continuously, such as every 6 or 12 seconds. Renewal orders take priority over new orders, which protects active chains from price spikes.On-demand coretime: A team pays per block, each time they need one produced. This suits projects with irregular traffic, test deployments, or applications that only need to process transactions occasionally.Bulk coretime can also be split and resold on secondary markets, which means a team running a lighter workload can divide its core allocation and sell unused portions to other projects. This creates a more efficient use of network capacity overall.
Eskimor, lead developer at Parity Technologies, described:
"Agile Coretime is a huge milestone in making the high quality blockspace Polkadot offers more accessible. With this and other features we have in the pipeline, I expect more experimentation and awesome projects to be launched on Polkadot."
What Are the Other Pillars of Polkadot 2.0?Agile Coretime is one piece of a three-part upgrade. Understanding how all three work together matters for developers assessing the platform.
Asynchronous BackingAsynchronous Backing changed how parachain blocks are validated. Previously, each parachain block had to be fully validated before the next one could start. The async model decouples those stages, allowing parachain block preparation and relay chain inclusion to happen in parallel. The result is that block times dropped from 12 seconds to 6 seconds, roughly doubling throughput for chains running on Polkadot.
Elastic ScalingElastic Scaling, completed in October 2025, allows a parachain to temporarily use multiple cores at the same time when demand is high, then release them when traffic drops. A chain that normally runs on one core can burst to two, three, or more during a spike. Early projections suggest individual parachains could theoretically handle hundreds of thousands of transactions per second under this model.
Together, these three upgrades form what the Polkadot community calls the "scaling trilogy," and they all converged in the Polkadot SDK 2509 release.
What Does This Mean for Developers in Practice?The most direct change is cost structure. Instead of locking millions of dollars worth of DOT into a two-year lease, a new project can buy a single month of bulk coretime to start. If the project grows, it renews and scales up. If it shrinks or pivots, it scales back or sells unused coretime.
Builders can also mix and match:
Reserve bulk coretime for steady workloads where consistent block production matters.Use on-demand coretime for testing, low-traffic phases, or applications with predictable low frequency.During traffic spikes, elastic scaling allows temporary expansion across multiple cores without a new contract or auction.This flexibility is especially useful for use cases like gaming (where traffic spikes around events), DePIN (decentralized physical infrastructure networks), and AI-adjacent applications that may see highly variable load patterns.
Polkadot SDK 2509 also introduced Ethereum compatibility through Polkadot Hub, meaning Solidity smart contracts can run on Polkadot with minimal changes. Combined with PolkaVM, which supports contracts written in Rust and C++ compiled to RISC-V, developers now have multiple entry points depending on their existing skill set.
Since 2025, Polkadot has attracted 450 to 500 monthly active developers and distributes grants through an on-chain treasury that disbursed roughly $21.8 million in 2025.
What Is JAM, and Why Does It Matter?The next major upgrade on Polkadot's roadmap is JAM, which stands for Join-Accumulate Machine. JAM is designed to replace the Relay Chain entirely with a more general-purpose architecture that treats Polkadot less like a blockchain router and more like a distributed computer. JAM enables smart contracts written in Solidity, Rust, or C++ to run across hundreds of parallel cores.
JAM was announced by Gavin Wood in April 2024. A public JAM testnet launched in January 2026, with 43 independent teams building implementations across 15 programming languages and competing for a 10 million DOT prize pool administered by the Web3 Foundation. As of June 2026, JAM is not yet live on mainnet.
The current target window for critical testing milestones and early mainnet upgrade proposals through Polkadot's OpenGov process is Q3 to Q4 2026. It builds on the same coretime model introduced in Polkadot 2.0, so the resource-purchasing mechanics that developers learn today carry forward.
DOT Tokenomics and What Changed in March 2026A separate but related update happened in March 2026. Polkadot enacted a hard supply cap of 2.1 billion DOT and cut annual token issuance by 53.6%. This mirrors Bitcoin's supply-capping approach and was designed to reduce long-term sell pressure on the token.
Alongside the supply cap, Polkadot also overhauled how protocol revenue is handled. Previously, a portion of DOT from coretime sales was burned. That changed in January 2026 when Polkadot's governance passed the Dynamic Allocation Pool (DAP) proposal.
Under the DAP model, coretime sales revenue, transaction fees, and validator slashes no longer get destroyed. Instead, they flow into a governance-controlled pool that allocates funds to validators, nominators, the treasury, and a strategic reserve. The practical result is that network revenue is now recycled back into the ecosystem rather than removed from circulation entirely.
As of June 2026, DOT is trading around $0.94, down significantly from 2025 highs. The first U.S. spot DOT ETF, the 21Shares TDOT, launched in March 2026, though early inflows have remained modest.
ConclusionPolkadot 2.0 is fully deployed. Agile Coretime, Asynchronous Backing, and Elastic Scaling are live on mainnet as of the SDK 2509 release in October 2025. Together, they give developers a credible toolkit: flexible blockspace pricing, six-second block times, and the ability to scale compute capacity up and down in real time.
JAM is the next step, currently in public testnet with a mainnet governance proposal expected in Q3 to Q4 2026. It extends the same coretime model to a broader execution environment. The infrastructure is in place; what happens next depends on developer adoption.
ResourcesPolkadot Developer Docs – Agile Coretime – Official reference for bulk coretime and on-demand coretime mechanics on Polkadot.Polkadot Wiki – Agile Coretime (Scheduling) – Deep dive into coretime scheduling, multi-threading, and bulk purchase mechanics.Parity Technologies – Polkadot Upgrade 2025: What You Need to Know – Overview of SDK 2509, Asynchronous Backing, Agile Coretime, and Elastic Scaling from Polkadot's core development team.Polkadot Newsroom – Polkadot Launches Agile Coretime – Official press release with developer commentary from Parity Technologies.OneKey Blog – What's Next for Polkadot: Upcoming Upgrades and Milestones for 2025-26 – Summary of coretime market development, JAM roadmap, and developer strategy for 2025-26.Polkadot Developer Docs – Obtain Coretime – Practical guide for purchasing bulk and on-demand coretime when deploying a parachain.Elastic Scaling – Polkadot Developer Docs – Technical documentation for multi-core parallel execution on Polkadot.Parity Technologies – Refining Polkadot's Economic Architecture: DOT Issuance, DAP, and Network Adjustments – Official explanation of the Dynamic Allocation Pool, the 2.1 billion DOT supply cap, and the March 2026 issuance reduction.
SEC schválila změnu pravidel pro zalistování aktivně spravovaného T. Rowe Price Active Crypto ETF na NYSE Arca. Fond má držet zhruba 5 až 15 různých kryptoměn včetně BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA, AVAX, LTC, DOT, DOGE a LINK.
On June 14, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings show the regulator has formally approved a rule change proposed by NYSE Arca that enables the listing and trading of the T. Rowe Price Active Crypto ETF. An actively managed cryptocurrency ETF, the fund will invest in a basket of digital assets meeting SEC-defined "eligible asset" criteria. While it uses a cryptocurrency index as its benchmark, it will not track that index passively. The filing notes the fund is projected to hold roughly 5 to 15 distinct cryptocurrencies, including major tokens like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP, Cardano (ADA), Avalanche (AVAX), Litecoin (LTC), Polkadot (DOT), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Chainlink (LINK). The SEC filing also reveals the fund may hold stablecoins—primarily USDC—as "tokenized cash" during normal operations to cover expenses and rebalance assets, though these will not count toward its core investment portfolio. The approval notice stresses the product must adhere to NYSE Arca’s rules around anti-manipulation, disclosure, liquidity, and risk management. It also requires the fund to have information barriers (often called "firewalls") and position transparency mechanisms in place to uphold market fairness and prevent insider trading. Analysts say this ETF’s approval further expands cryptocurrency’s footprint within the traditional financial sector, marking the arrival of actively managed multi-crypto ETFs as tradable products under mainstream regulatory oversight.
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Polkadot hlasuje o dvou návrzích, které mají přesunout stakingové riziko z nominátorů na validátory. Jeden ruší slashování nominátorů a zkracuje unbonding na 48 hodin.
Two New Referenda Target Polkadot's Staking Economics@Polkadot has put two new OpenGov proposals to its community: referenda 1909 and 1910. Together, they represent the next step in a broader effort to overhaul the network's staking architecture, shifting risk away from everyday participants and toward the validators who operate the infrastructure.
Referendum 1909 builds on the 10,000 $DOT validator self-stake minimum that was established by the earlier Referendum 1890. The new proposal adds self-stake rewards for validators, sets validator commissions to 0%, and introduces permissionless chilling, meaning that under-bonded validators can be removed from the active set without requiring a governance action. The intent is to sharpen validator incentives and ensure operators carry genuine financial exposure to their own performance.
Referendum 1910 addresses the nominator side of the equation. It proposes removing nominator slashing entirely and reducing the unbonding period to 48 hours. Under Polkadot's current model, nominators who back a misbehaving validator can lose a portion of their staked funds. The existing unbonding period, meanwhile, sits at approximately 28 days, meaning stakers must wait nearly a month before withdrawn $DOT becomes transferable.
Rebalancing Risk Between Validators and NominatorsThe two proposals are designed to work in tandem. By concentrating slashing risk on validators through the self-stake requirement and removing it for nominators, Polkadot aims to make staking more accessible to a broader range of participants. Cutting the unbonding window to 48 hours addresses a longstanding liquidity concern that has discouraged some holders from participating at all.
Taken together, referenda 1909 and 1910 continue a reform trajectory that @Polkadot's governance community began earlier in 2026. The core logic remains consistent: validators, who control the infrastructure, should absorb the primary operational risk, while nominators should be able to delegate and earn rewards with fewer barriers and less exposure to losses outside their control.
Both proposals are open for a vote through Polkadot's OpenGov system, where $DOT holders can participate directly in the decision.
TLDR The Polkadot community is currently voting on the proposal to launch a native stablecoin backed by DOT tokens. Bryan Chen, co-founder of Acala, introduced the pUSD stablecoin proposal to reduce reliance on USDT and USDC. The pUSD proposal has gained 74.6% support but requires 79.7% approval to pass in the ongoing referendum. Community members remain divided over Acala’s involvement in the pUSD project due to the failure of aUSD Gavin Wood outlines a broader vision for stablecoins within Polkadot, emphasizing the benefits of using pUSD for validator rewards. The Polkadot community is currently voting on a major proposal to launch a native stablecoin, pUSD. This stablecoin would be entirely backed by DOT tokens, the network’s native cryptocurrency. The proposal has sparked a heated debate, drawing strong opinions both in favor and against the initiative. At present, the vote is ongoing, and it could significantly influence the future of the Polkadot network.
Polkadot’s Push for a Native Stablecoin Bryan Chen, co-founder of Acala, introduced the proposal for pUSD. The plan suggests launching the stablecoin on Polkadot’s Asset Hub using the Honzon protocol. Honzon had previously been used in Acala’s aUSD project, which faced a failed launch due to an exploit. Despite the past failure, Chen has emphasized the importance of Polkadot having a decentralized stablecoin to reduce its reliance on USDT and USDC.
Chen stated, “A native stablecoin will prevent Polkadot from losing liquidity to other chains that already have one.” He believes pUSD can maintain the network’s strategic advantage in the rapidly evolving blockchain ecosystem. Although over 74.6% of the votes are in favor of the stablecoin, the measure requires 79.7% approval to pass. With over $5.6 million in DOT already committed to the vote, the outcome remains uncertain.
Acala’s Memories and Community Doubts Despite the potential benefits of a native stablecoin, memories of Acala’s previous failure have caused skepticism. The aUSD project’s collapse in 2022 due to an exploit left a lasting impact on the community. Some members argue that Acala should not be entrusted with launching another stablecoin, given the risks involved.
A group known as TheGlobedotters expressed concerns, urging that Acala’s involvement should be avoided. Others, like The White Rabbit, have said they could support the proposal if Acala were excluded from its development. They also call for strict governance safeguards before any stablecoin is deployed.
Gavin Wood Outlines the Broader Vision for Polkadot Polkadot’s founder, Gavin Wood, has also weighed in on the stablecoin debate. He outlined a broader strategy that includes both fully collateralized stablecoins like pUSD and more flexible “stable-ish” assets. Wood believes a multi-approach strategy is necessary to address Polkadot’s volatility issues while stabilizing the network’s validator rewards.
Wood suggested that validators could be paid in pUSD instead of volatile DOT, which would stabilize their income. He argued that such a move would attract institutional participants and enhance Polkadot’s long-term security. “A DOT-backed stablecoin like pUSD could be key to strengthening Polkadot’s position,” Wood added.
Centrifuge (CFG) vyskočil na nejvyšší úroveň od ledna před migrací tokenu na Ethereum 20. května. Celková uzamčená hodnota v ekosystému zároveň dosáhla rekordních 441 milionů USD.
The Centrifuge token surged to its highest level since January ahead of an upcoming token migration and a sharp rise in assets within its ecosystem.
Centrifuge (CFG) jumped to a high of $0.2850 on Friday, up 180% from its lowest point this year. The surge pushed its market capitalization to over $106 million.
The rally comes ahead of the scheduled migration of the Centrifuge governance token to Ethereum (ETH) on May 20. This marks a major milestone as the network moves toward full Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility.
The migration is expected to pave the way for the launch of an Ethereum-native Centrifuge Protocol.
The developers hope that the transition from Polkadot (DOT) to Ethereum and Base will improve its governance, broaden exchange and decentralized finance integration, and streamline liquidity.
As part of the migration, the supply of CFG will increase from the current 560.246 million to 675 million. The additional 115 million tokens will be allocated to the Centrifuge Foundation to fund incentives targeted at decentralized finance users, strategic initiatives, and exchange liquidity. The protocol will maintain its 3% annual inflation rate.
The next chapter for $CFG is here.
Starting May 20, 2025, holders of CFG and wCFG will be able to migrate to the new CFG token, designed to support governance and expansion of the Centrifuge protocol.
The migration window will remain open until November 30, 2025.
More details…
— Centrifuge (@centrifuge) May 12, 2025 The token also rallied as the total value locked in Centrifuge’s ecosystem rose to a record $441 million, up from less than $100,000 in March. Most of this capital is in the Janus Henderson Anemoy Treasury Fund, which invests in short-term U.S. Treasury bills.
Centrifuge price analysis CFG price chart | Source: TradingView On the daily chart, CFG climbed to $0.2735 on Friday as anticipation over the token migration intensified. The level is significant, as it coincides with the lowest swing point from October last year.
The MACD indicator has recently crossed above the zero line, and the Relative Strength Index has entered overbought territory.
Given this setup, the token is likely to continue its climb, potentially reaching resistance around $0.50 ahead of the migration. A pullback may follow the event as investors take profits in a classic “sell the news” scenario.
Bifrost has begun repaying a 1,000,000 DOT liquidity loan received from the Polkadot treasury after the program generated more than 53,000 DOT in yield over the past year.
According to a newly submitted proposal, the treasury-backed liquidity deployment generated returns of 53,185 DOT between May 2025 and May 2026, yielding a blended annual percentage rate of roughly 5.3%.
Bifrost said it is now unwinding the liquidity position by withdrawing from the DOT-vDOT liquidity pool, unstaking vDOT, and preparing to return the interest generated to the Polkadot treasury.
Treasury loan supported vDOT liquidity expansion The proposal showed the original 1,000,000 DOT loan was split across staking and liquidity operations.
According to the breakdown, roughly 672,469 DOT were converted into vDOT, Bifrost’s liquid staking derivative, while about 327,455 DOT were deployed to liquidity provisioning.
The staking portion generated yield directly, while the liquidity allocation helped deepen trading liquidity for vDOT across the Polkadot ecosystem.
Bifrost said the treasury-backed deployment helped:
improve vDOT liquidity, expand staking utility across DeFi, and support broader adoption of liquid staking infrastructure within Polkadot. Proposal highlights growing focus on productive treasury deployment The repayment proposal also reflects a broader shift in how crypto ecosystems are approaching treasury management.
The Bifrost proposal framed the loan as an example of “productive, transparent, and accountable” treasury-backed capital deployment.
The proposal currently shows unanimous support from participating voters.
Final Summary Bifrost said a 1,000,000 DOT treasury liquidity loan generated more than 53,000 DOT in yield over 12 months. The proposal reflects growing interest in using DAO treasury capital to support DeFi infrastructure while generating returns for ecosystem treasuries.
Coinbase Derivatives podala u CFTC žádost o spuštění futures na Avalanche, Chainlink, Polkadot, Stellar a Shiba Inu. Obchodování má začít po 15. červenci.
The derivatives arm of crypto exchange Coinbase has just submitted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) documents to self-certify the listing of new futures products tied to five popular crypto assets.
According to the filings, Coinbase Derivatives is launching futures contracts for Avalanche (AVA), Chainlink (LNK), Polkadot (DOT), Stellar (XLM), and Shiba Inu (SHB), which will all be offered for trading on or after July 15th.
[adinserter block="1"]
The documents say that Coinbase has spoken with futures commission merchants (FCMs) and market participants who support the decision to launch the contracts.
“The Exchange is not aware of any substantive opposing views to the Contract. The Exchange certifies that the Contract and related rules certified herein comply with the Commodity Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.”
In a statement, Coinbase Derivatives says it will be the first futures exchange in the US to introduce CFTC-regulated margined futures contracts for AVA, LINK, DOT, XLM and SHB.
“With the addition of AVA, LNK, DOT, XLM, and SHB, our participants and their clients gain more access points to manage risk, speculate on price movements, and participate in the crypto economy with reduced upfront capital requirements.”
Coinbase Derivatives also recently launched commodities futures contracts for oil and gold after noticing increased demand for retail-focused products on accessible and regulated exchanges. The new futures contracts are sized at 10 barrels of oil and one troy ounce of gold.
Hydration spustila na Polkadotu decentralizovanou úvěrovou platformu Hydration Money Market. Uživatelé mohou vložit krypto jako zástavu, vydělávat úrok a půjčovat si digitální aktiva.
Gibraltar, Gibraltar, November 29th, 2024, Chainwire
Hydration has announced the launch of its decentralized borrowing platform, the Hydration Money Market. The new platform allows users to supply cryptocurrency as collateral, earn interest on their deposits, and borrow various digital assets.
Built on the Polkadot blockchain, the platform emphasizes efficiency and innovation in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Hydration introduces on-chain prioritized liquidations, a mechanism designed to minimize losses and prevent exploitation during liquidation events.
The platform operates as a fork of the AAVE v3 protocol, offering over-collateralized borrowing capabilities and enabling users to explore advanced strategies, such as leveraging positions and arbitraging interest rates. These features cater to users seeking diverse, risk-adjusted financial strategies within the DeFi space.
Hydration’s launch is a step forward in its mission to democratize access to financial tools while ensuring sustainable protocol development. The project’s focus on transparency and user-centric design aligns with the broader goals of fostering a robust, decentralized financial ecosystem.
For more information, users can visit hydration.net, app.hydration.net or follow Hydration on X (formerly Twitter).
About Hydration
Hydration is a blockchain-based platform dedicated to enhancing financial accessibility and innovation through decentralized tools. By leveraging Polkadot’s scalability and interoperability, Hydration aims to empower individuals and institutions with secure, transparent, and efficient solutions for borrowing, lending, and managing digital assets.
Bifrost uvedl vDOT jako kolaterál na Hydration Money Market a během 15 hodin dosáhl limitu nabídky 220 tis. TVL přesáhlo 2,2 milionu USD díky poptávce po páce na DOT.
Singapore, Singapore, January 10th, 2025, Chainwire
Bifrost has announced that vDOT, Polkadot‘s largest liquid staking token (LST), has been listed as a collateral asset on Hydration Money Market. Within 15 hours of opening deposits and borrows, vDOT reached the supply cap of 220K and surpassed $2.2 million in Total Value Locked (TVL) pushed by DOT leveraging demand.
The integration of vDOT into Money Market allows for new strategies for Polkadot’s DeFi participants: By staking Polkadot (DOT), participants receive vDOT, which can be used as collateral to borrow additional DOT. This process allows for the possibility of repeating the cycle to explore strategies aimed at optimizing returns.With this introduction, Bifrost is unlocking the opportunities of what’s possible in Polkadot DeFi, creating synergies and flywheels for the ecosystem. Users are offered the opportunity to earn dual yields, borrow against their staked tokens without sacrificing liquidity, and leverage their positions for higher yields. This synergy also enhances DOT market liquidity, drives user adoption, and exemplifies the DeFi composability of Polkadot ecosystem, making vDOT as a cornerstone asset within the Polkadot ecosystem.
For more information, users can visit app.bifrost.io or follow Bifrost on X.
About vDOT
Bifrost’s vDOT, short for “voucher DOT,” is a reward-bearing liquid staking token (LST) issued by the Bifrost Staking Liquidity Protocol. vDOT represents staked DOT on the Polkadot Relay Chain and accrues staking rewards, reflected as an increase in its value rather than its quantity.
As Polkadot’s largest DOT LST, vDOT boasts a total locked value of over $50 Million, enabling users to maximize their capital efficiency while benefiting from staking rewards.
About Bifrost
Bifrost is a liquid staking appchain tailored for all blockchains, utilizing decentralized cross-chain interoperability to empower users to earn staking rewards and DeFi yields with flexibility, liquidity, and high security across multiple chains.
Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.
Komunita Polkadot navrhuje převést 500 000 DOT z Treasury do tBTC během zhruba roku prostřednictvím Hydration Rolling DCA. Získané tBTC mají dodat likviditu do Hydration Omnipool.
The Polkadot community has engaged in discussions regarding a significant proposal aimed at diversifying its Treasury portfolio and supporting decentralized finance (DeFi) incentives within the ecosystem. In response to Referendum #1394, the proposal suggests converting 500,000 DOT from the Polkadot Treasury into Bitcoin’s tBTC within approximately one year. This conversion will be executed using Hydration’s “Rolling DCA” (Dollar Cost Averaging) mechanism. The acquired tBTCs will subsequently be added as liquidity to the Hydration Omnipool through the Threshold Network’s secure Bitcoin $60,761 bridge. The proposal is currently under forum discussion and has yet to be voted upon on-chain.
Creating a Bitcoin Reserve for the Polkadot TreasuryCentral to the proposal is the conversion of 500,000 DOT held in the Polkadot Treasury into tBTC. This process is not a one-time purchase but rather a year-long endeavor. Purchases will utilize the “Rolling DCA” feature offered by the Hydration protocol. This mechanism automates purchases in small increments over time, mitigating the impact of market volatility.
Altcoin Polkadot Bitcoin ReserveOnce the conversion is complete, the obtained tBTC assets will provide liquidity to the Hydration Omnipool. This liquidity addition utilizes a secure bridge technology developed by the Threshold Network, allowing users to bring their Bitcoin into the Polkadot ecosystem without involving third-party custodians. Proponents of the strategy argue that it will diversify Treasury assets and boost liquidity, thereby encouraging DeFi activities on the Polkadot platform.
Background and Expectations of the ProposalThe proposal emerged as a result of Referendum #1394, known as “Wish-For-Change,” which initiated debates concerning the governance of the Polkadot Treasury. A community member presenting the proposal highlighted Bitcoin’s performance as one of the strongest assets over the past decade. This provides an opportunity for Polkadot as a hedging strategy against uncertainties.
Furthermore, this move is viewed as a demonstration of the altcoin Polkadot’s belief in and support for a multi-blockchain future, presenting a clear message to the broader cryptocurrency market. The proposal holds the potential to pave the way for deeper integration of the Polkadot ecosystem with a major asset class like Bitcoin.
As discussions continue in the forum, the proposal is anticipated to be formally put to a chain vote early next week.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
HOLLAR is a USD-pegged, over-collateralized stablecoin backed by DOT, ETH, and BTC.
Hydration, the largest Polkadot-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol by total value locked (TVL), has launched its native stablecoin, HOLLAR, today, Sept. 22.
According to a press release viewed by The Defiant, HOLLAR is designed as a decentralized, over-collateralized stablecoin — meaning the value of its reserves is more than the stablecoin’s circulating supply — backed by a basket of cryptocurrencies, including Polkadot’s native token DOT, Ether (ETH), and Bitcoin (BTC). DOT is currently changing hands around $4, down about 7% on the day.
HOLLAR’s Stability Module provides real-time price support and partial liquidations to protect user positions. The stablecoin also integrates with Hydration’s trading, lending, and staking products.
The launch comes as the stablecoin sector continues to grow. Total market capitalization is nearly $293 billion, up 69% from this time last year, according to DefiLlama.
The team behind HOLLAR pointed to the risks of traditional stablecoins in the press release, raising concerns around centralization and reliance on the traditional banking system. HOLLAR aims to differentiate itself as a safer, fully decentralized alternative, they said.
“The DeFi space deserves better than half-baked experiments or centralized compromises,” said Jakub Gregus, founder of Hydration “HOLLAR represents a reimagining of what stablecoins can achieve when you control the entire execution environment, rather than being constrained by generalized smart contract environments.”
The initial supply is capped at 2,000,000 HOLLAR, the press release states, and users can mint the asset at a 5% annual borrow rate.
“I’m looking forward to the release of HOLLAR and making sure it is well integrated with the direction of using stablecoins where they need to be used,” Dr. Gavin Wood, creator of Polkadot, was quoted as saying in the release: “I particularly like Hollar because it’s decentralized and uses DOT as collateral. I prefer to use something like HOLLAR over USDC or USDT by a massive margin.”
Hydration is by far the largest Polkadot DeFi protocol, with over $330 million locked on the protocol, followed by Moonbeam at about $9 million. Polkadot, known as a Layer 0 chain, is currently the 36th largest blockchain by market capitalization, at around $6 billion.
Tether’s USDT remains the largest stablecoin globally, with a market capitalization of $172 billion, followed by Circle’s USDC at nearly $74 billion. Most recently, Tether announced USAT, its American-focused stablecoin.
Aventus spouští Aventus 2.0, který má podpořit podnikové využití v ekosystému Polkadot. Aktualizace přidává model appchainu Layer 3, liquidity mining na Uniswapu a mechanismus burn pro AVT.
London, United Kingdom, October 22nd, 2024, Chainwire
Aventus, a leading provider of enterprise blockchain solutions and parachain on Polkadot, today confirms the launch of Aventus 2.0, an evolution of the Aventus Network aimed at establishing a stronger foundation for long-term growth and value capture.
The update introduces several strategic initiatives designed to enhance network performance and stakeholder utility, including increasing transaction volume and overall network usage, expanding the ecosystem through successful partnerships with Layer 3 appchains, enhancing token holder engagement via a liquidity mining program, and reducing token supply via a burn mechanism.
The vision for Aventus 2.0 was developed by MVP Workshop, a Blockchain Product Research & Development Studio who designed Polygon Edge and Astar Network, in collaboration with Scytale Digital and the Aventus Services team.
Following the approval of a community governance proposal in which AVT token holders voted in favour of executing this vision, the Aventus Services team will implement the Aventus 2.0 plan over the next four months. This process underscores Aventus’s commitment to stakeholder-driven decision-making, ensuring that major network decisions are made through community consensus.
Aventus 2.0 comprises three main components:
A Layer 3 appchain model, whereby enterprises are able to operate on the Aventus Network and benefit from the security, scalability, interoperability and decentralised infrastructure offered by the Aventus ecosystem. A liquidity mining program on Uniswap, including a custom user-friendly dApp, to enhance token holder engagement. Appchains are also able to request grants from Aventus community treasury and launch their own liquidity mining programs to drive liquidity for their own tokens, contributing a portion of their token supply and network fees to the Aventus treasury to support the broader Aventus ecosystem and its development. A new collator rewards mechanism to ensure a secure and efficient Aventus Network, alongside an automatic burn mechanism for a portion of gas fees to reduce the overall supply of AVT tokens in circulation. Alan Vey, Founder at Aventus, commented: “Aventus 2.0 builds on important learnings from existing Aventus Network clients as well as the invaluable expertise of our partners at MVP Workshop & Scytale Digital, and represents a significant milestone in our journey to enhance the Aventus Network’s capabilities and deliver greater value to stakeholders.”
The appchain model is already seeing traction, with existing users of the Aventus Network having recently launched their own Aventus Layer 3 appchains.
Barry Helfrich, CIO at Enigmatic Smile, adds: “We needed the Voucher Ledger solution to be secure, fast and stable enough to process the discounts collected by hundreds of millions of users in our rewards ecosystem — no small feat, but Aventus has helped us build such a solution. The team has been helpful, professional and responsive throughout the process. We’re looking forward to continuing our long-standing relationship with them.”
The updated network will provide enhanced functionality and improved user experiences, positioning the Aventus Network as a trusted leader in enterprise blockchain solutions and key contributor to enterprise use cases within the Polkadot ecosystem.
About Aventus
Aventus transforms how customers create trust and unlock growth, crafting pioneering Web3 solutions for brands, from creating more connected, integrated experiences to enhancing traceability, transparency, and product authentication. Founded in 2020, Aventus is the only trusted digital product extension platform that provides a secure and reliable Web3 environment for customers to launch market-leading programs and product activations.
With deep industry expertise and a strong understanding of enterprise needs, Aventus delivers one the best feature sets of Web3 with the familiarity of Web2, driving significant brand reputation, trust, and enterprise growth for its customers. Its production-ready, end-to-end Blockchain-as-a-Service software is modular, scalable, and interoperable, giving clients the flexibility they need to respond to rapidly-evolving market opportunities.
For more information, users can visit: www.aventus.io, and also their X, LinkedIn and Telegram.
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