Title: Polkadot’s JAM Chain Upgrade: A Game-Changer for Decentralized Networks
In a recent interview with Bullish CEO Tom Farley, Polkadot creator Gavin Wood revealed his focus on developing the next iteration of the Polkadot protocol, known as JAM Chain. This upgrade aims to address Polkadot’s historical struggles in building an active user base for decentralized applications (dApps) and expand the utility of the DOT token.
Polkadot faced challenges with adoption due to its complex ecosystem, which made it difficult for developers to get started. Unlike Ethereum, Polkadot’s relay chain did not support smart contracts natively, requiring developers to use parachains instead. This limited both the user base and the utility of the DOT token.
The upcoming JAM upgrade will streamline Polkadot’s development process by allowing developers to deploy smart contracts directly on Polkadot’s Layer 0, eliminating the need for parachains. This change is expected to attract more users and provide a direct use case for the DOT token beyond staking and governance.
JAM will offer a general-purpose environment that can be classified as Layer 1, with services running on JAM considered Layer 1.5. This upgrade will enable the creation of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and wallets without relying on centralized intermediaries, similar to Ethereum.
Furthermore, JAM will increase the utility of DOT tokens by allowing them to be used as deposits to increase data, code, and state capacity in services. The upgrade sets a target throughput of 850MB/s, surpassing the capabilities of Ethereum 2.0 and Solana.
While the gray paper for JAM Chain is still in development, with the goal of reaching version 1.0 by next summer, the timeline is subject to uncertainty in software and protocol development. However, as the upgrade is rolled out, it is expected to introduce permissionless code execution, paving the way for self-sovereign DAOs and wallets.
In conclusion, Polkadot’s JAM Chain upgrade represents a significant step towards enhancing decentralized networks and expanding the use cases for the DOT token. This development has the potential to revolutionize decentralized finance, governance, and identity management, offering new opportunities for both developers and users in the world of blockchain technology.