'Internet of Blockchains' Project Polkadot to Launch First Proof-of-Concept

Parity Technologies and Web3 Foundation will soon launch the first proof-of-concept (PoC) of their blockchain interoperability protocol, Polkadot.

Developed by Gavin Wood, an ethereum co-founder and the founder of Parity Technologies, the technology aims to allow chains to communicate with each other, while also facilitating upgrades automatically without system-wide upgrades or hard forks.

While the interoperable elements are yet to be constructed, the PoC advances a building block within the Polkadot protocol that allows developers to build upon the system using this unique governance method.

"It’s really the heart of Polkadot in a way, technologically," Jutta Steiner, the CEO of Parity Technologies, told CoinDesk.

The governance aspect of Polkadot will be available for testing on the ethereum-based Kovan testnet, the companies said. Wood also carried out a live demonstration at the Community Ethereum Development Conference (EDCON) earlier this month, in which he demonstrated how token holder votes – the key metric in assuring that changes occur – could be used for nefarious ends.

"It's basically building that toolkit that you need to then develop a different parachain, to further build on the relay chain itself, but that all relies on that core engine," Steiner said of the newly released PoC.

She added:

"Part of it is that you can start with an arbitrary governance mechanism, like state transition function, and change it live on-chain and even to a point where you kill it and no further blocks were added. That was what Gavin showed off at EDCON."

Parity and Web3 said in a statement that the next Polkadot PoC will "implement parachain candidate agreement and networking."

Further, they plan to officially launch the Polkadot network in the third quarter of 2019.

UPDATE: The article has been updated to indicate the launch, originally scheduled for Wednesday, has been delayed.

Polka dot boxes image via Shutterstock