The company behind Polkadot development announces the development of Statemint, one of the first commons chains that will provide functionality to deploy everything from stablecoins to CBDCs and NFTs on special-purpose parachains on the Polkadot blockchain.
Statemint, a generic asset parachain created by Parity Technologies, the company developing the blockchain high perfomance Polkadot, will be integrated into Polkadot parachains to provide functionality to deploy different types of digital assets, ranging from tokenized artworks in NFTs (non-fungible tokens) to stablecoins (stablecoins) and central bank digital currencies (CBDC).
The new generic asset parachain allows several of Polkadot's own functionalities to be available within the parachains, or secondary blockchains, that are created within the Polkadot network, and also within its testnet. Kusama.
According to reported Joe Petrowski, research analyst at Parity Technologies, Statemint will improve the way a parachain can track ownership of a base-layer asset, extending this capability to any other type of digital asset, such as NFTs, CBDCs, and stablecoins, without the need to launch a new network or blockchain for each one.
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Optimizing the governance model
Polkadot uses an auction mechanism that allows it to determine the winner of parachain slots on the network. However, as Petrowski explains, the auction mechanism does not work effectively for all parachains, especially those that could be considered public good parachains, such as Statemint. To change this, governance on the Polkadot and Kusama blockchains can now award parachain slots through public voting, rather than just through the auction mechanism.
The new governance framework that Statemint introduces to Polkadot will help optimize the network and implement new potential use cases that improve its usability and functionality. Additionally, for developers, these types of parachains, which are granted slots through governance, provide core functionality that is not susceptible to the “free rider” problem, as can occur if only the auction mechanism is implemented.
Economy, performance and functionality
On the other hand, Statemint will also help combat the problem of high commission fees. Polkadot developers explain that anyone will be able to deploy any type of digital assets on the Polkadot and Kusama networks, as long as they deposit collateral in the native tokens of each of these blockchains; that is, in DOT, from Polkadot, and KSM, by Kusama.
Most on-chain tokenized assets are issued as smart contracts; but for Polkadot, the use and implementation of smart contracts to give standardized functionality to an asset is something that is destined for inefficiency and generating high commission fees for its management.
As explained by the development team, platforms that implement smart contracts must measure each step of the contract's execution; but such measurement repeatedly wastes a system's resources according to the complexity. Therefore, Polkadot developers have devised a viable alternative that allows for reliable and secure execution, without the need for the contract to measure each step of the execution every time it is deployed.
Polkadot offers a solution to this, as its parachains can code the interface of assets directly into the blockchain, ensuring fast and cheap execution of common functions. By coding the functionality of assets directly into the chain, the system does not need to meter standard function calls, because the logic will already be recorded and the system will know what fee to charge.
Any type of assets
Statemint will enable a range of entities, from content creators to artists, companies and central banks, to deploy their assets on the Polkadot network. All of this while ensuring low and very affordable commission rates.
Statemint governance will be in charge of token holders of the relay chain, known as the “Relay Chain”, and so named because it provides security and a guarantee of secure passage of messages between the different parachains of the network.
Thus, these holders are the ones who will exercise governance and who will have control over the direction of the chain. In addition to deciding on different aspects of the network, such as registering an asset without requiring a deposit, changing parameters such as the deposit amount and proposing updates to the logic and functionality of Statemint. Governance may also decide on providing funds to cover the costs of maintaining the infrastructure, as well as for its development or for the execution of full nodes, among others.
Developers believe that deploying and maintaining Statemint as a parachain with on-chain governance will showcase the true power and potential of the Polkadot community to organize and provide utility to all applications and users on the network.
Although the date for the launch of Statemint has not been set, its development is expected to be completed soon, and users will be able to enjoy these new features.
Staking on Ledger
Lastly, DOT users and holders can now custody their assets and stake them from the hardware wallets Ledger. Recently, the Polkadot team announced that the wallet manufacturer's physical devices are compatible with the parachain network's cryptocurrency.
At the time of this edition, DOT is trading at a value of $38,2 USD, showing an 11% growth in the last few hours, and a market capitalization that already exceeds 37 billion dollars; which gives this cryptocurrency the sixth place among the most important cryptoassets in the industry by capitalization.
Continue reading: Polkadot prepares to launch its parachains on the mainnet in 2021
