A Core-Centric Roadmap: How Polkadot is moving away from Parachains and auctions
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5 min read
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7 hours ago
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Parachain Auctions, the traditional method for projects to gain a foothold in Polkadot, are now contrasted by the upcoming Coretime model. They differ in two major ways: how to get them, and what to do with them. Understanding these differences is vital for projects looking to navigate the changing Polkadot ecosystem, and why Lastic is a crucial piece to this process.
How to get them: Parachain Auctions vs. Coretime Sales
In Polkadot, understanding the mechanics of how projects secure their place within the ecosystem is essential. In the past, projects have utilized the Parachain Auction process to secure a slot on Polkadot, but very soon, projects will secure themselves using Coretime Sales. These mechanisms, while aiming to achieve similar end goals, operate under different principles and structures. So how does getting a place on Polkadot differ with coretime?
1. Transaction Mechanism: Bond vs. Purchase
- Parachain Auctions: Projects participating in these auctions place a bond, essentially locking up a certain amount of DOT tokens. This acts as a security deposit for the duration of their slot and a commitment to the network.
- Coretime Sales: Here, projects make an outright purchase. This implies a direct transaction where DOT is exchanged for Coretime, eliminating the concept of a refundable bond.
2. Procurement Method: Auction vs. Lease
- Parachain Auctions: As the name suggests, slots are secured through a bidding process. Projects place their bids, and the highest or most suitable bid wins the slot.
- Coretime Sales: This operates on a leasing model. Instead of bidding, projects lease Coretime for their requirements, offering more flexibility and straightforwardness in procurement.
3. Duration: 2 Years vs. 1 Month
- Parachain Auctions: These provide a longer-term commitment, with a maximum length of 2 years. This suits projects looking for stability and a guaranteed spot in the ecosystem, but also creates a larger uncertainty as to what the network will look like and the cost will be in that time.
- Coretime Sales: In contrast, Coretime offers shorter commitments, with a maximum lease length of just 1 month. This is ideal for projects needing temporary or experimental access to the network.
4. Minimum Commitment: 6 Months vs. 1 Block
- Parachain Auctions: The minimum commitment here is 6 months, emphasizing a longer-term involvement.
- Coretime Sales: Extremely flexible, Coretime’s minimum lease is as short as 1 block (for Instantaneous Coretime), catering to very short-term needs in a pay-as-you-go fashion.
5. Availability: 1 Slot vs. Multiple Cores per Sale
- Parachain Auctions: Each auction typically offers one slot, making it a competitive and high-stakes environment.
- Coretime Sales: Coretime Sales allow for the procurement of more than one core at a time, increasing availability and reducing competitive pressure. How many will be sold at each sale remains undetermined at this time.
6. Renewals: No guarantee vs. Guaranteed renewals
- Parachain Auctions: Once a parachain’s slot expires, they must re-engage with a new slot auction at an entirely unknown price that depends on the demand around the time the project will need to extend their slot.
- Coretime Sales: Projects will be able to renew their monthly cores hassle-free in a guaranteed fashion by re-purchasing their core in a time before their core goes on sale again. They will also have reliability in the price of renewal using a rent-controlled function provided by Polkadot, guaranteeing the price does not increase more than 5% in current proposals.
7. Cost Implications: $16,700 vs. ???
- Parachain Auctions: On average, securing a parachain slot can be quite costly, with estimates around $16,700 per month.
- Coretime Sales: We can only speculate right now, but coretime will be made much more affordable, with our estimates considering a monthly cost for Coretime in the ranges from $1,000 to $4,000. This will make it a more accessible option for many projects.
The transition from Parachain Auctions to Coretime Sales marks a significant evolution in Polkadot’s ecosystem. While Parachain Auctions offer long-term stability for larger projects willing to invest substantially, Coretime Sales introduce flexibility, affordability, and accessibility, catering to a broader range of projects with varying needs. Understanding these differences is crucial for anyone looking to navigate and leverage the opportunities within the Polkadot network.
What to do with them: Beyond Just Parachains
The introduction of the CorePlay model marks a pivotal shift that revolutionizes how Polkadot can be utilized. CorePlay transcends the limitations of the pre-Coretime/Coreplay era that predominantly focused on parachains.
The Era Before CorePlay: Before CorePlay, Polkadot’s utility was primarily tethered to its parachains. These independent blockchains, operating under the main Relay Chain, offered interoperability and scalability. However, the system had its limitations in terms of flexibility, efficiency, and the broader scope of applications.
What is CorePlay?
CorePlay brings a paradigm shift. It’s not just an upgrade; it’s a complete reimagining of Polkadot’s infrastructure. Here’s how:
- Modular Validation: By breaking down parachains aka “tasks” into “Work Items” and bundling them into “Work Packages,” CorePlay introduces a modular approach to validation. This not only streamlines the process but opens doors to a wider array of applications beyond just managing parachains.
- Flexibility and Generalization: CorePlay generalizes the contents of Work Packages, allowing for a broader range of applications to be developed and integrated within the Polkadot ecosystem. This flexibility paves the way for innovations that were previously constrained.
- Performance Optimization: With native implementations and fixed-function registrations, CorePlay optimizes performance. This efficiency is crucial for diverse applications that demand high throughput and reliability.
- Future-Proofing Polkadot: CorePlay’s compatibility with future developments and its emphasis on testing, security, and privacy position Polkadot as a forward-thinking platform, ready to adapt and evolve with the blockchain landscape.
Beyond Parachains: Expanding the Horizon
With CorePlay, Polkadot transcends its identity as a mere facilitator of parachains. The model opens up a universe of possibilities:
- Diverse Dapp Development: Developers can leverage the enhanced framework to build a wide range of decentralized applications (dApps) that go beyond the scope of parachains.
- Bringing back Synchronicity: Actors/Tasks will be able to talk to each other synchronously, which allows for synchronous composition. It will be possible to do all sorts of rich frameworks when we know that the actors are executing in the same execution environment and they’re being executed by the same core at the same time.
- Faster and Cheaper ZK Proving: With parachains being generalized into “Tasks” or “Authorizers,” Coretime is assigned to parameterized functions that can include simple proof systems like PKI signatures and more exotic cryptography such as zk-SNARKs.
The CorePlay model is not just an update; it’s a revolutionary leap for Polkadot. It transforms the platform from being parachain-centric to becoming a versatile, efficient, and future-proof ecosystem. As we venture into this new era, the potential applications of Polkadot are only limited by our imagination. The introduction of CorePlay marks the beginning of a new chapter, not just for Polkadot but for the entire blockchain world.