Este artículo también está disponible en español.
Robust Developer Engagement on Polkadot
The third quarter of 2024 has been an eventful period for Polkadot, as highlighted by the recent performance report from Messari. The report provides a comprehensive look into the blockchain network’s growth and financial status. A major highlight from the report is the strong developer engagement on Polkadot. According to Electric Capital, the network boasted around 2,400 monthly active developers as of July 2024. Of these, 760 were full-time contributors, placing Polkadot fourth among top blockchain networks, following Ethereum, Base, and Polygon.
Adding to this, Artemis recorded an average of 630 weekly active core developers and 760 ecosystem developers in Q3, indicating a dynamic and active development community. This level of engagement suggests a thriving ecosystem that continues to attract and retain talent.
Key Initiatives Driving Polkadot Forward
In the third quarter of 2024, Polkadot initiated several strategic programs to enhance its ecosystem. The Decentralized Futures program, supported by a significant $20 million fund alongside 5 million DOT tokens, has been instrumental in fostering innovation within the network. This initiative has provided grants to a variety of projects focusing on areas such as marketing, business development, governance, and technology. Some of the prominent projects that received backing include AirLyft, DotPlay, and BlockDeep Labs.
Another noteworthy development is the introduction of the Cross-Consensus Message Format (XCM). This standardized messaging protocol enhances communication between different consensus-driven systems, including rollups, thereby adding flexibility and interoperability to the network.
Despite these advancements, Polkadot’s transfer performance in Q3 experienced some fluctuations. Daily XCM transfers averaged about 1,000, marking a 34% decrease quarter-over-quarter (QoQ). Conversely, non-asset transfer use cases, identified as “XCM Other,” rose by 5%, averaging 200 daily transfers. Overall, total daily XCM messages averaged 1,300, reflecting a 29% decline QoQ. Nevertheless, a large portion of Polkadot’s network activity continues through Polkadot rollups.
Market Trends: DOT Market Cap and Transaction Dynamics
Polkadot’s market performance has been characterized by considerable volatility throughout the year. Between Q3 2023 and Q1 2024, DOT’s market capitalization surged by 150%, climbing from $5 billion to $13 billion. However, this upward trend did not persist, and the market cap retraced in the following quarters, including Q2 and Q3 2024. By the end of Q3 2024, DOT’s market cap had diminished to $6.3 billion, representing a 27% QoQ decline. This decline resulted in DOT’s market cap ranking dropping from 14th to 15th, although it remains the seventh largest base layer network.
One of the contributing factors to Polkadot’s market dynamics is its transaction fees, which have generally been lower compared to its competitors due to the network’s structural design. During Q3 2024, transaction fees remained consistent with historical averages, amounting to $84,000—marking a 44% QoQ decrease. Fees denominated in DOT also decreased by 21%, totaling 17,000.
In contrast, the Polkadot Treasury saw active utilization, with 9.5 million DOT allocated for proposals, 7.4 million for bounties, and 2.5 million burned. A significant milestone was reached with the approval of Polkadot Referendum 457 in Q2 2024, which diversified the treasury with stablecoins USDT and USDC, allowing treasury proposals to be denominated in these stablecoins. By the close of Q3 2024, the treasury balance was $122 million.
Address Activity and Price Movements
Daily active addresses on the Polkadot network dropped to 6,200, marking a 26% QoQ decrease. Similarly, daily returning addresses fell to 5,300, a 23% QoQ decline, and daily new addresses decreased to 900, representing a 38% QoQ reduction. Despite these declines, the DOT token has exhibited resilient price action. Over the past four days, DOT’s price has consolidated above the $8 mark. Remarkably, the token has been one of the top performers since Donald Trump’s election on November 5, achieving a substantial 96% gain over the monthly timeframe.
