Polkadot Testnet Paseo Goes Live With Smart Contract Capabilities

Polkadot has just made some promising steps toward smart contract functionality. As per a blog post, the team behind Polkadot has asked the community to vote on a network upgrade, and they have voted in favour of the proposal.

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Upgrade to Help Developers Build

Alejandro_R0GUE from the development team said that for years, Polkadot has been a leader in blockchain technology but has struggled with growth due to its complex development process and lack of accessible tools for smart contract developers, who are key to Web3 growth.

The Pop Network aims to bridge this gap by offering an ink!-enabled parachain with easy-to-use APIs for smart contracts, simplifying Polkadot’s advanced features, he explained in the post.

This platform, using only the DOT token, enhances onboarding and usage, allowing developers to build unique cross-chain applications with minimal complexity. Pop Network is live on the Paseo testnet, showcasing its potential to empower real-world applications on Polkadot.

Polkadot Price Struggles in Current Market

DOT, the native token of the Polkadot blockchain, is the 14th largest crypto asset currently trailing behind TRON. Polkadot has a market cap of US$9.3bn (AU$14bn) and currently trades at US$6.52 (AU$9.83), which is well below its all-time high (ATH) of US$55 (AU$83) in November 2021.

This means DOT is 88% down from its ATH – like many other altcoins DOT has struggled to gain momentum and has not seen a lot of the current bull market action.

Polkadot is a sharded, open-source multichain protocol that facilitates the connection and security of a network of specialised blockchains, allowing for the transfer of data and assets across different chains. Known as a layer-0 metaprotocol, it supports decentralised web foundations (Web3) and autonomously updates its codebase via on-chain governance.

Polkadot facilitates interoperability among public and private chains, oracles, and future technologies through its Relay Chain. The native DOT token is employed for staking, governing, and bonding parachains.

Key components include the Relay Chain, parachains, parathreads, and bridges to external blockchains like Ethereum.

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