Cryptocurrency has existed for some time with bitcoin being the earliest and the most lasting digital currency. This digital cash is built on a mechanism known as bitcoin technology. If you have heard about bitcoin, we believe you must have come across this word. This technology creates a faster and more efficient way for businesses to transmit, receive and track orders using secure data. However, over the years, other cryptocurrencies have been created in a bid to fill the lapses found in bitcoin, the reason why Polkadot was created. What is Polkadot, and how does it work? This article will throw more light on this technology. 

Polkadot (DOT) is a software that seeks to motivate a global network of computers to operate a blockchain where users can handle their blockchain, and it connects different specialized blockchains into a unified network. It was founded in 2016 by Garvin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum, alongside Peter Czaban and Rober Habermeier. It is commonly referred to as a multi-chain network because it joins networks together. It allows cross-blockchain transfers of any type of data, not just tokens, thus allowing users the ability to exchange with a wide variety of blockchains in the Polkadot network, thereby saving money and resources. 

Why it was created?
Polkadot was created as a scaling solution for blockchains whose transaction process required that every node validates each transaction and it scales through parachains whose nodes need only to validate the transaction on the parachain. Independent transactions can be validated on different parachains thereby increasing transaction capacity with each parallel parachain. Note that, parachains are connected to the central chain that stores the main parachain blocks, thereby allowing communication across parachains.

In addition, Polkadot’s pooled security grants access to the launching of new parachains without having to find new validators to secure them. There is therefore maximum understanding among users since they will not have to compete for exclusive validator resources. 

Polkadot’s consensus mechanism
More so, Polkadot’s consensus is accomplished on two consensus high techs which comprises one for block productions and the other for finality. This is because of the scalability limitations found in the instant finality consensus protocol that allows for fast production of blocks and, at the same time, a great number of validators are permitted to participate in the consensus. One of which is the genesis from all valid and available parachains wherein the right to create a relay chain block for a time slot is randomly assigned to a validator while the other consensus requires that instead of voting on a single block, each validator rather votes the highest block he deems valid. Since multiple blocks can be finalized simultaneously, validators can take longer than one block time to attain finality.

Polkadot’s creation
In summary, given that Polkadot was created by a co-founder of Ethereum, one might be tempted to think that they have the same properties. However, they are similar in that both networks operate the main blockchain where transactions are finalized and allow for the creation of many smaller blockchains that leverage their resources. In addition, both technologies also use staking instead of the mining process as a means of keeping the network in synchrony. Also, developers can use Polkadot’s development framework to simulate a copy of the Ethereum blockchain that can be used in custom blockchain designs.