1. Acala Network: A decentralized finance (DeFi) hub on Polkadot, providing cross-chain liquidity, stablecoins, and other financial services.

2. Moonbeam: Moonbeam focuses on bringing Ethereum-compatible smart contracts to Polkadot, allowing developers to port their Ethereum projects seamlessly.

3. Plasm Network: Plasm Network specializes in building layer two solutions, enabling scalable applications and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).

4. Phala Network: Phala Network focuses on privacy-preserving computation, providing a secure environment for confidential data processing and execution.

5. Bifrost: Bifrost aims to bridge the gap between different Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchains, allowing users to transfer and stake their assets across networks.

6. ChainX: ChainX enables the transfer of Bitcoin and other assets onto Polkadot, fostering interoperability between different blockchain ecosystems.

7. Darwinia Network: Darwinia Network focuses on cross-chain asset transfers and bridges, facilitating seamless value exchange between different networks.

8. Crust Network: Crust Network offers decentralized storage solutions, allowing developers to build applications that store data securely across multiple chains.

9. Khala Network: Khala Network leverages TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) technology to provide a privacy-focused and scalable blockchain platform.

10. Robonomics: Robonomics focuses on integrating blockchain with the Internet of Things (IoT), enabling autonomous economic agents and machine-to-machine communication.

11. Karura: Karura is a decentralized financial hub on Kusama, Polkadot’s canary network, offering various DeFi services such as lending, stablecoins, and decentralized exchange.

12. Shiden Network: Shiden Network is a smart contract platform built on Polkadot, aiming to provide a scalable and interoperable environment for decentralized applications.

13. Unique Network: Unique Network focuses on NFT (Non-Fungible Token) solutions, including NFT marketplaces, gaming, and digital art platforms.

14. KILT Protocol: KILT Protocol is a blockchain identity and credentials solution, enabling verifiable and self-sovereign digital identities.

15. Litentry: Litentry is a decentralized identity aggregator that enables users to manage and control their digital identities across multiple blockchains.

16. Robonomics Parachain: Robonomics Parachain aims to connect robots and smart cities to the Polkadot network, enabling autonomous economic agents and machine-to-machine communication.

17. StaFi: StaFi offers liquid staking solutions, allowing users to stake their PoS tokens and receive liquid assets in return, while still participating in network consensus.

18. Encointer: Encointer is building a decentralized universal basic income (UBI) platform, aiming to provide an equitable and inclusive monetary system.

19. SubDAO: SubDAO provides a framework for decentralized governance and management of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) on Polkadot.

20. Basilisk: Basilisk is a privacy-focused DeFi protocol on Polkadot, offering anonymous trading, lending, and yield farming opportunities.

Polkadot’s Origin and Focus:

Polkadot was founded by Dr. Gavin Wood, one of the co-founders of Ethereum, to address the scalability and interoperability challenges faced by blockchain networks. The project was developed by Parity Technologies, a blockchain infrastructure company. Polkadot’s focus lies in facilitating interoperability between different blockchains and enabling them to communicate and share information seamlessly. It achieves this through its unique architecture, which consists of a central relay chain that connects to multiple parachains. The relay chain ensures security and consensus across the network while parachains provide specialized functionalities and applications. #parachains @polkadot #BTC

Introduction:

Gavin Wood is a visionary figure in the realm of blockchain technology. With his deep knowledge of computer science and a passion for decentralized systems, Wood has played a crucial role in shaping the blockchain landscape. From his early involvement in co-founding Ethereum to his groundbreaking creation of Polkadot, Wood’s contributions have been pivotal in advancing blockchain innovation.

Early Background and Ethereum:

Before the creation of Polkadot, Gavin Wood made a significant impact on the blockchain world as one of the co-founders of Ethereum. Hailing from England, Wood studied computer science and obtained his Ph.D. from the University of York. He possessed a strong background in distributed systems and cryptography, which laid the foundation for his groundbreaking work.

Wood played a critical role in designing the Ethereum blockchain. His contributions included developing the Solidity programming language, which allowed developers to create smart contracts on the Ethereum network. Smart contracts became a transformative concept, enabling decentralized applications (DApps) and revolutionizing the way contracts are executed and enforced.

The Creation of Polkadot:

Inspired by his experience with Ethereum, Gavin Wood recognized the need for greater interoperability and scalability among blockchains. This realization led him to embark on a new venture, resulting in the creation of Polkadot.

Launched in 2017, Polkadot is a multi-chain platform that aims to connect different blockchains and facilitate seamless communication between them. Wood’s motivation behind Polkadot was to address the limitations faced by existing blockchains, such as Ethereum, including scalability issues and lack of interoperability.

Polkadot employs a unique architecture known as a “parachain.” These parachains run in parallel and can interact with each other through a central relay chain, known as the Polkadot Relay Chain. This architecture enables the transfer of assets, data, and functionality between different blockchains, unlocking a new era of blockchain interoperability.

Wood’s vision for Polkadot extends beyond interoperability. He recognized the need for governance mechanisms that empower stakeholders and promote decentralized decision-making. To address this, he implemented a sophisticated governance model on the Polkadot network, allowing token holders to participate in the decision-making process through a mechanism known as on-chain governance.

Polkadot’s Impact and Future:

Since its launch, Polkadot has garnered significant attention and support from the blockchain community. Its innovative approach to interoperability and governance has made it an attractive platform for developers and blockchain projects. Polkadot has also spawned a vibrant ecosystem, with various parachains and decentralized applications being built on its network.

As the blockchain industry continues to evolve, Wood’s work on Polkadot has positioned him as a key figure in shaping the future of decentralized systems. His contributions to blockchain technology, from Ethereum to Polkadot, have paved the way for scalable, interoperable, and community-driven solutions that hold the potential to transform industries beyond finance.

Conclusion:

Gavin Wood’s journey from co-founding Ethereum to creating Polkadot showcases his relentless pursuit of blockchain innovation. His deep understanding of computer science, combined with his visionary thinking, has fueled the development of groundbreaking technologies. With Polkadot, Wood has set a new standard for blockchain interoperability, opening up exciting possibilities for decentralized applications and cross-chain communication. As the blockchain ecosystem continues to evolve, Gavin Wood’s contributions will undoubtedly continue to shape the industry’s trajectory for years to come.#polkadot #ETH #parachains #bitcoin

What is #Moonriver (MOVR)?



Moonriver is an #Ethereum-compatible blockchain environment built on the Kusama network. It is

intended to function as a parachain, helping crypto projects expand their reach to new users and markets

with a multi-chain approach.



On Kusama, parachains are custom blockchains that feed into the main blockchain and heart of the

Kusama network, called the Relay Chain. By being integrated into the Relay Chain, #parachains benefit

from the Relay Chain’s base features.



The Moonbeam Foundation created Moonriver to provide an ethereum-compatible smart contract

platform to its community, and is also releasing Moonbeam (GLMR), a similar platform for Polkadot, later in

2021.



Moonriver is intended to function as the “canary network” for Moonbeam on Polkadot, meaning that new

code would ship to Moonriver first, where it can be tested and verified under real economic conditions,

before being shipped on Moonbeam.



Moonriver’s native cryptocurrency, MOVR, should play a key role in maintaining and operating the

Moonriver network. It is expected to be used for paying transaction fees, supporting smart contract

execution, incentivizing collators for producing blocks to support the network, and facilitating Moonriver’s

on-chain governance mechanism.



MOVR is expected to be airdropped to community members who use their KSM, Kusama’s cryptocurrency,

to vote for the application to go live as a parachain on Kusama in a process called a Parachain Auction.



MOVR Token Launch & Issuance



Access to Kusama parachain slots is provided to projects for fixed periods of 6-48 weeks, with Moonriver

needing to go through an auction to win access to one of the 100 slots.



During a parachain auction, Kusama holders can bond their KSM in support of the project they believe

should receive a parachain slot. At the end of a determined period of time, the project with the most KSM

committed to their campaign generally wins access to a parachain slot, allowing them to operate on

Kusama’s network for a 6-48 week period.



If Moonriver wins an auction, supporters are expected to receive Moonriver’s MOVR token.



Moonriver (MOVR) Network Design



Moonriver is intended to work as a smart contract platform, allowing developers to redeploy their

ethereum dapps in a substrate environment with minimal friction. This means that the smart contracts

that power Ethereum dapps will not need to be rewritten or reconfigured for the Karura network.



To access these features, the Moonriver platform will offer these main services to developers:



EVM implementation – Allows for Ethereum-based smart contracts to be migrated to the Kusama environment.

Web3 compatible API – Allows Ethereum-based tools, such as popular Ethereum wallet Metamask, to be used with Moonriver

Bridges – Allows for token transfers, state visibility, and message passing with Ethereum and other chains like Bitcoin.

Built-in integrations for assets like DOT and ERC-20s, and infrastructure services like Chainlink and The Graph.



Moonriver’s native cryptocurrency, MOVR, plays a key role in maintaining and operating the Moonriver

platform, and can be used for executing smart contracts, incentivizing nodes, paying for transaction fees

and facilitating governance.

Genesis Token Allocation

When the Moonriver network launched, the total supply for MOVR tokens was 10 million. A portion of the

network tokens has been reserved to ensure the network maintains a parachain slot on the Kusama

network.

A significant portion of the network (30%) was fairly and permissionlessly distributed as part of the initial

crowdloan. The remaining balance is distributed to teams building on Moonriver and held by the

Moonbeam Foundation to support long-term protocol and network development. Notably, there is no

“Founders reward” and the PureStake team developing Moonriver does not own any of the tokens at

network genesis.



Conclusion



Moonriver is an exciting new blockchain platform that offers ethereum compatibility and the ability to

create custom blockchains that feed into the Kusama network. With the launch of MOVR, the platform's

native cryptocurrency, community members have the opportunity to participate in the platform's growth

and development.