Polkadot Launch Roadmap

Polkadot development is on track to deliver the most robust platform for security, scalability and innovation. Polkadot will launch the genesis block in mid-2020 with one relay chain and launch several parachains soon afterward, eventually ramping up to 100 parachains.

Current Phase

Nominated Proof of Stake

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  • PoA

    Web3 Foundation will launch Polkadot in Proof of Authority mode. During this time, most users will be able to:

    Claim tokens from their Ethereum contract,
    Stake tokens and declare their intent to validate or nominate.

    Validators will also be able to set their Session keys in preparation for Proof of Stake, and Web3 Foundation will be able to use the Sudo key to manage the chain and enable more features.

    Advancing to the Next Phase

    Once the network is running smoothly and has a sufficient number of well staked validators, we will enable Nominated Proof of Stake with a Sudo call to change eras, and therefore perform the first validator election.

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  • Current Phase: NPoS

    During Nominated Proof of Stake, the network will run with a decentralized set of validators. During this phase, Web3 Foundation will use Sudo to increase the number of validators in the set.

    Advancing to the Next Phase

    Once Web3 Foundation is confident that the network is working well - no slashing due to client issues, functioning validator elections - the Sudo key will issue a runtime upgrade that enables Polkadot's governance system.

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  • Governance

    With Polkadot's governance system enabled, it can elect the first Council and Technical Committee and start accepting public proposals. While the Sudo key might still be needed for a few operations, governance can take over most of the chain's decisions.

    Advancing to the Next Phase

    With a Council and Technical Committee in place, someone can make a proposal for a runtime upgrade that removes Sudo functionality from the chain.

  • Remove Sudo

    Polkadot runs without the Sudo module. Root calls will only be dispatchable via governance.

    Advancing to the Next Phase

    Without Sudo, Polkadot is fully in the hands of the token holders. Most likely, the first feature they will enable is token transfers with a runtime upgrade.

  • Enable Balance Transfers

    Polkadot allows balance transfers.

    Advancing to the Next Phase

    To enable remaining functionality, Polkadot's governance will need to pass one (or a series of) runtime upgrades.

  • Enable Core Functionality

    Once governance enables parachain auctions and XCMP, Polkadot will have a fully functional Relay Chain. Where it goes from here is up to the token holders.

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