This is blockchain unbounded.
Parachains are advanced, next-generation layer-1 blockchains that transcend the limitations of legacy networks. Specialized and interconnected, parachains make up a diverse ecosystem of independent platforms, communities, and economies improving the way we connect online.
Parachains = Possibilities
While other blockchain protocols only allow developers to build dapps using smart contracts, Polkadot gives them full control over the underlying blockchain itself. This flexibility gives parachain developers the maximum freedom to optimize for any use case—which means better and more secure dapps and services for all.
A parachain for every purpose.
Parachains can be built for any blockchain use case, from DeFi to identity and supply chain, gaming and NFTs, IoT, DAOs, and much more. They can also take on various forms depending on their intended function, including:
Independent token economies
Parachains with their own tokens, fee structures, and economic ecosystems.
Common good parachains
Designed for the benefit of the entire Polkadot ecosystem, common good chains typically use Polkadot’s native token, DOT.
Bridge parachains
Bridges allow Polkadot parachains to connect to external networks like Kusama, Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Parachain hubs
Parachains that provide a range of functionality to serve a broader community or use case, for example DeFi hubs and governance hubs.
Smart contract parachains
Platforms for building and hosting smart contract based dapps and services, with support for Wasm-VM and/or EVM.
Parathreads
Pay-as-you-go parachains for early stage networks and those that don’t need continuous connectivity to Polkadot.
Parachains as autonomous agents
Parachains can act autonomously based on the will of their communities to participate in Polkadot governance and allocate on-chain treasuries. This opens the door to new decentralized funding models, from project funding to decentralized sovereign wealth funds and even cross-chain mergers and acquisitions.
Parachains as digital nation states
With their own communities, rules, economies, governance, treasuries, and relationships with external chains, parachains are akin to decentralized digital nations. Polkadot allows them to come together, communicate and share security guarantees for the betterment of the entire ecosystem. A free alliance of sovereign chains.
Auctions & Crowdloans
Parachains connect to Polkadot by leasing an open slot on the Relay Chain via auction, which involves locking up a bond of DOT for the duration of the lease. DOT holders can help their favorite parachains win an auction, potentially earning a reward in return, by contributing to a crowdloan and temporarily locking their own DOT for the parachain’s bond.