Summary
- Polkadot’s entry into the DeFi segment will set it up for competition against Ethereum, but its efficiency will help it make gains.
- Polkadot is also making moves towards NFT, another promising growth segment.
The DOT price was on the upswing today. The cryptocurrency rose by 9.5% in 24 hours to trade at $36.5 at the time of going to press. The latest gains also meant that DOT was 3.1% higher than it was 7 days ago. Polkadot’s market capitalization is now $34 billion, securing it the sixth spot in the cryptocurrency market rankings.
Going head-to-head against Ethereum
Non-fungible Tokens (NFT) may turn up on Polkadot sooner than was anticipated, and this is credited to Kusama, its auxiliary network. As Ethereum currently hosts a major part of the non-fungible token market, excessive gas fees have vexed retail users hence their exploration of alternative blockchains.
Success in NFT will be a major gain for Polkadot, which has been among the altcoins hyped as potential substitutes for Ethereum, despite its short existence in the crypto-market.
Polkadot is on the brink of establishing itself in the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) segment. Acala Network, its DeFi platform, announced that it had won a slot on Rococo testnet. The announcement was made last Friday and now sets Polkadot on an ecosystem dominated by Ethereum. Polkadot’s high blockchain efficiency will give it confidence that a successful run in this segment is possible.
To leverage the current boom in blockchain trends such as DeFi, Polkadot has teamed up with Zeitgeist, which is to launch its native prediction platform. This roll-out will enable Polkadot to offer diverse investment opportunities to its users. Ordinarily, crypto-exchanges handle a limited number of derivatives and cryptocurrency pairs. With that in mind, Zeitgeist (ZTG) intends to defy this norm by offering thousands of different combinations.
Zeitgeist has confirmed the conclusion of its seed capital venture, worth $1.5 million. ZTG made this confirmation alongside its affiliates (Karura, Acala, and Kusama). Decentralized prediction markets will enhance decision-making for users of the platform and help steer mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Efficiency paying off
In another development, FireProtocol has made it official; it is crossing over to Polkadot. The announced move from Huobi’s Heco blockchain aims at lowering gas expenses for users as well as enhancing platform efficiency.
FireProtocol has resolved to make adjustments that solidly orient it for the days to come. By critically choosing the ideal smart contract platform as a host for their decentralized network, FireProtocol has pegged its long-term success on Polkadot.
Despite Heco being operational as a smart contract platform and as a centralized DeFi, it has some intrinsic shortfalls. The main ones include limited performance capabilities and lack of guarantees on sustainable platform upgrades. These two flaws informed FireProtocol’s decision to jump ship. Currently, Heco is unable to furnish FireProtocol with the development capabilities and functionality it requires, and Polkadot should be able to provide these.
Polkadot has the following strengths: network upgrade process that is more straightforward, cross-chain capabilities, high transactional turnover, and greater freedom for purchasers and developers. These four game-changers were considered by FireProtocol while sealing the deal for an alternative network. Other networks were considered, but Polkadot carried the day.
Technical analysis
DOT/USD will find the first support at $33.9, while the second support will be at $35.3. If the bulls take control, then it is likely that the price will attempt to break the resistance level at $38.2.
