Created in 2016 and properly launched in 2020, Polkadot isn’t really a blockchain. Or at least not in the sense most projects use the word. It is above all a protocol that lets blockchains talk to each other and exchange with one another, something they can’t do natively.

Interoperability between chains is a problem that was spotted very early, as soon as Bitcoin and Ethereum were no longer alone on the market. It’s no accident that the man behind Polkadot is Gavin Wood, who, after a stint at Microsoft, co-founded Ethereum.

Polkadot’s native token is DOT. In mid-November 2024, DOT trades at around $4.9, and it is one of the few major cryptos still showing a negative YTD performance. At its peak, DOT changed hands for more than $50, but despite a rebound in H1 2024 during the crypto market’s timid recovery, the price has been sliding relentlessly ever since.

Still, with a market cap of nearly $7.5bn, Polkadot is the 18th-largest crypto. Admittedly far behind Bitcoin ($1,743bn), Ethereum ($369bn) and oddities such as Dogecoin ($54bn), Shiba ($14bn) or Pepe ($8bn), but ahead of projects that made plenty of noise, like Uniswap ($4.9bn) or Polygon ($2.8bn). Someone really ought to look into the bottomless pit that is Polygon one day…