What is Polkadot (DOT)? How does it work?

Polkadot is a scalable, interoperable and secure network protocol for the next generation web. It is supported by the Swiss-based Web3 Foundation. The Polkadot Network allows interchain data transfers by connecting blockchains to each other. This way, decentralised applications can receive data from open, semi-open or private blockchains running independently of each other.

How Does Polkadot Work?
The fragmented multi-chain network structure that can perform transactions in parallel is called “parachain” (parallel chain). The ability to perform parallel processing provides a scalable, high-capacity network. The Polkadot Network uses the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. You can find details on Proof-of-Stake in our article What is Proof-of-Stake? How does it work?

The Polkadot Network consists of four components:

Relay Chain, which is the main blockchain of the Polkadot Network. Other blockchains are linked to this chain. This chain also provides security in the network.

Parachain, which is an abbreviation of parallel chain. It operates in parallel with the Polkadot Network and gives the network the ability to perform multiple transactions.

Parathread, which is an abbreviation of parallel threads. It operates similarly to parallel chains but offers a more flexible and economical pay-as-you-go model.

Bridge Chain, where other blockchains that do not support Polkadot’s governance protocol can be connected. It acts as a bridge between different blockchains such as Bitcoin or Ethereum to the Polkadot Network.

Polkadot Consensus Roles
There are four important consensus roles in the Polkadot Network. Nominators ensure the security of the main chain by choosing reliable validators with their DOT shares. Validators validate the proof presented by Collators operating in parallel chains and retain the main chain by making consensus with other validators. Collators manage users’ shards and provide proof of these actions to validators. Fishermen monitor the network constantly and report any unusual situation to the validators. Collators and parallel chain full nodes can handle this task.

Polkadot Governance Roles
Council members are elected to represent passive shareholders in their role in making new elections and rejecting dangerous or harmful elections. The team developing the Polkadot project is defined as the Technical Committee. The Technical Committee may propose urgent elections in cases that require a decision in a short time and may request followed-up voting and integration with the council members.

How to Store Polkadot (DOT)?

DOT, which is the cryptocurrency asset of the Polkadot Network, can be stored in desktop or mobile wallets or hardware wallets. If you wish, you can create a Polkadot wallet and manage your DOT balance with web browser add-ons. Some of the Polkadot (DOT) supported wallets that the developers have listed on their website include the Signer mobile wallet, the Polkadot {.js} browser plugin, or the Polkadot-JS online wallet developed by Polkadot’s developer team, Parity Technologies. Alternative wallets can be found on the Polkadot Wiki page (https://wiki.polkadot.network/docs/en/build-wallets)