Polkadot 2023 Ecosystem Development Annual Report: Major Events and 10 Predictions

2023 is a year of reflection, turning points, and the beginning of innovation, and the entire industry may welcome a new atmosphere in 2024. This article reviews the significant developments in the Polkadot ecosystem in 2023 and makes 10 predictions for 2024.

Review of Important Events in 2023

Ethereum upgrade Layer 2 is heating up

In 2023, Ethereum Layer 2 upgrades became the market focus:

• The Arbitrum project successfully launched its native governance token ARB.
• Ethereum completes the Shanghai upgrade, unlocking over 16 million ETH
• Cancun Upgrade Plan is progressing, expected to be implemented in March-April 2024

Polkadot 1.0 officially delivered, Polkadot 2.0 proposed

• In July, Polkadot officially announced the delivery of version 1.0, achieving all the functionalities outlined in the white paper.
• In June, Dr. Gavin proposed Polkadot 2.0 ------ "Polkadot is a multi-core computer"
• Controversial reduction and Polkadot OpenGov governance will be launched in the second half of the year.

The rise of blockchain tools, multi-chain ecosystems become mainstream

2023 ushered in a wave of blockchain tool releases:

• Optimism launches OP Stack
• Arbitrum launches Arbitrum Orbit
• zkSync releases ZK Stack
• Starknet launches Starknet Stack
• Polygon launches Polygon CDK

Modular New Concept Proposed

• Celestia launched a large-scale genesis airdrop at the end of September, attracting market attention.
• There are currently over 30 modular blockchain concept projects.
• The concept of modular blockchain originates from the contemplation of traditional monolithic blockchain architecture.

Inscriptions and Fairlaunch are setting off a new wave

• ORDI has become the leader in the inscription track, achieving a ten-thousandfold growth.
• The concept of fair issuance (fairlaunch) promotes the popularity of the inscription concept.
• Other chains are following suit by launching their own inscription protocols.

BTC Ecological Awakening

• The Bounce platform actively embraces the BTC ecosystem, launching several highly anticipated projects.
• TurtSat platform successfully launched multiple BTC ecological projects
• The BTC ecosystem applications are rapidly developing, filling the ecological gap.

The DePIN concept is gaining popularity

• The term DePIN was proposed by Messari at the beginning of the year.
• Covers multiple categories such as computing market, wireless WiFi, data, service market, etc.
• Projects like Helium Mobile and DIMO have attracted attention.

Exploring Multi-Chain Development in the Polkadot Ecosystem Projects

• Phala Network brings off-chain computation to the Polygon ecosystem.
• Astar announces collaboration with Polygon to launch Astar zkEVM
• Manta Network launches Manta Pacific
• Parallel Finance collaborates with Arbitrum

Regulatory oversight continues to strengthen

• The US SEC takes regulatory action against multiple exchanges
• Regulatory measures include submitting user identity information, complying with anti-money laundering rules, etc.
• Polkadot's DOT is classified as software and is not subject to CEX regulatory restrictions.

Polkadot further decentralization

• Launching the OpenGov decentralized governance platform
• The Web3 Foundation launched the Decentralized Future Plan

10 Predictions & Outlook for 2024

1. The four key technologies of Polkadot are about to be launched: Agile Core Time, On-Demand Parachains, Ethereum Snowbridge, Kusama Bridge.

2. New developments after Polkadot 2.0: elastic scaling technology, DAO primitives expansion, etc.

3. ETFs can revitalize the industry: Approval of the BTC ETF will boost market confidence and attract more institutional investors.

4. The BTC ecosystem may experience explosive growth: BTC Layer 2, cross-chain applications, etc. will emerge in large numbers.

5. Inscription gives rise to new gameplay: combining airdrop Tokens, issuing NFT whitelist, and other new models.

6. RWA may become a hot track in 2024: expected to challenge a market scale of 100 billion dollars.

7. DePIN may usher in a wave of application implementation: more hardware infrastructure projects that can be widely applied are emerging.

8. Chain and application further explode: a Chain Summer similar to the DeFi Summer of 2020 may occur.

9. More "Web2.5" cases: The combination of traditional enterprises and blockchain cases will increase.

10. GameFi is worth looking forward to: The Polkadot ecosystem may see high-quality GameFi products.