Polkadot in the Web3 Space: Technologically Advanced but User Experience Needs Improvement

Polkadot has always been like a "talented but taciturn" engineer in the Web3 space — strong in technical capabilities and innovative, but there remains a certain distance between it and the users.

As a pioneer of modular blockchain, Polkadot has taken the lead in implementing innovative features such as cross-chain interoperability, secure sharing, and quick chain launching, once garnering attention comparable to Ethereum. However, beyond the technology, it has also set quite a few usage barriers. The auction price for Polkadot's slots is high, and the total locked value of Hydration is currently only $40 million; although the launch of Kaito briefly sparked a rise in discussions related to Polkadot, users' understanding of its true value remains unclear.

In the long run, bystanders can't help but ask: Do we really need so many blockchains?

In response, PolkaVM gave a straightforward reply – rather than discussing grand visions, it focuses on getting the code to run. It does not emphasize the "modular paradigm", nor does it mention the "collaborative economy", and it does not try to persuade you to become an advocate for any infrastructure. Instead, it utilizes RISC-V technology to almost seamlessly migrate Solidity contracts to Polkadot, presenting an alternative "back to basics" approach (it is worth mentioning that Gavin Wood is one of the main founders of EVM).

Introduction to PolkaVM

PolkaVM is a new type of execution environment created by the Parity team, with its core not based on "compatibility", but on the innovation of the underlying architecture. It is based on RISC-V—a modern register-based chip architecture—designed to replace the traditional EVM stack logic. This change brings faster speeds, higher resource utilization efficiency, and a mode of operation closer to the hardware level.

The main features of PolkaVM include:

1. Register architecture + 64-bit system: Closer to modern CPU design, improving execution efficiency;
2. Multi-dimensional Gas Billing Model: Supports fine-grained measurement in various aspects such as execution time, memory usage, cross-contract calls, and zero-knowledge proof computations.
3. Compatible with the Solidity toolchain: You can directly use tools such as Remix, Hardhat, and MetaMask without needing to learn new technologies or modify contract logic;
4. Multilingual support potential: In the future, it is expected to interface with the LLVM toolchain and natively support programming languages such as Rust and C.
5. User experience optimization: Automatically simplify complex operations such as existence deposits, making interactions more lightweight.

PolkaVM is now live on the Westend testnet (AssetHub), and developers can connect directly to test.

In summary, PolkaVM is not just a compatibility layer, but a complete rewrite of the underlying system: it builds the next-generation execution environment using tools familiar to developers, laying the foundation for complex business and zero-knowledge applications.

Progress of PolkaVM's Practical Applications

While many "new virtual machines" are still in the theoretical conceptual stage, PolkaVM has already achieved several key practical deployments, proving its utility as an execution environment.

1. Uniswap V2 successfully deployed to the PolkaVM testnet: The PaperMoon team has successfully ported Uniswap V2 completely to PolkaVM, and this complex structure with frequent interactions of the automated market maker (AMM) system operates stably. This marks the beginning of the "practical contract" phase of PolkaVM.

2. Safe multi-signature contracts run trustlessly for the first time on PolkaVM: The Mimir team from the Polkadot Asia Hackathon has successfully deployed the institutional-grade multi-signature system Safe on the testnet. This is the first actual custody tool running on PolkaVM. Safe is widely used by numerous DAOs and foundations, and its successful migration indicates that PolkaVM can not only run ordinary contracts but also support important on-chain fund security applications.

3. The toolchain has been initially improved, and mainstream development tools can be used normally: Although PolkaVM adopts a brand new RISC-V architecture and register-based execution model at the underlying layer, it maintains compatibility with existing development practices, allowing teams familiar with Solidity to get started with zero barriers. Currently, developers can use the following tools to fully interact with the PolkaVM testnet:

   • Remix: Supports online writing, compiling, and deploying of Solidity contracts, suitable for quick experimentation and introductory teaching.
   • Hardhat: Provides a complete configuration tutorial, supporting local development, testing, and deployment of PolkaVM contracts.
   • MetaMask + Ethers.js: Front-end developers can directly call the RPC interface of AssetHub Westend to complete DApp development and interaction in a standard Ethereum manner.

These operations do not require the installation of dedicated plugins or modification of the toolchain, reflecting PolkaVM's design philosophy of "changing the core without changing habits," and are gradually approaching a "plug-and-play" development experience.

The Potential and Current Limitations of PolkaVM

PolkaVM has completed a key leap from 0 to 1: it has achieved the implementation of the RISC-V architecture, integration with mainstream toolchains, and the successful deployment of the first batch of practical contracts. However, to evolve from "feasible" to "mainstream," there is still a distance to cover in terms of daily use by developers.

1. The ecosystem is still in its infancy: Although the deployment of Uniswap V2 and Safe multi-signatures is a positive signal, mainstream contract forms such as stablecoins, NFT protocols, lending markets, and GameFi have not yet been fully developed on PolkaVM. The current contract ecosystem is still in its early stages. The Polkadot community encourages projects to go on-chain through hackathons and funding programs, but the overall developer momentum still needs to be further stimulated. Compared to Ethereum L2 or emerging EVM chains, PolkaVM currently lacks "explosive projects" with network effects.

2. The toolchain needs improvement: Although basic development tools are available, the toolchain for PolkaVM is still not complete. There is currently a lack of officially packaged TypeScript SDK, CLI tools, and deployment templates, requiring developers to manually integrate various components. Common indexing tools such as The Graph have not yet been adapted for PolkaVM, and front-end frameworks and sample templates are not systematic. While the JSON-RPC interface supports standard EVM toolchain calls, the relevant documentation is still in its early stages, and there is insufficient explanation and packaging for advanced RPC methods.

This leads to a dilemma for some developers where "contracts can be written but applications are difficult to deploy," especially for small and medium-sized projects lacking infrastructure support. However, since PolkaVM is still in the testnet phase, its current "immaturity" actually provides an opportunity for developers to participate in construction and seize the ecological advantage.

3. The incentive mechanism has not yet been clarified: PolkaVM is still in the testnet phase, with the mainnet expected to launch in the third quarter. The official detailed incentive plan has not yet been announced. For large projects, this means "there's no need to rush into action"; but for small teams, this is precisely a great opportunity to get involved.

The sparsity of the ecosystem actually means a higher density of attention: PaperMoon and Mimir have deployed Uniswap V2 and Safe multi-signature on the testnet, quickly gaining official retweets from Polkadot and community attention. In the Ethereum ecosystem, such deployments are no longer newsworthy, but in PolkaVM, they have become a shortcut to "being seen."

Moreover, the threshold for the PolkaVM toolchain is not high, as mainstream development tools are fully integrated, and it is even possible to run the testnet locally. The real challenge lies not in the technology, but in whether one is willing to start earlier than others.

In fact, there are already resources and business development collaborations within Polkadot that are being promoted, but they have not yet been made public. If action is only taken after the incentive policies are implemented, it may have already missed the information dividend period. The earlier you participate, the easier it is to leave your mark in the ecosystem. For small teams willing to layout in advance, this could be a key positioning opportunity before the next round of ecosystem explosion.

4. PolkaVM is the starting point for the reconstruction of the execution layer of Polkadot: Recently, Parity completed the migration of the relay chain functionality to the Asset Hub: core modules such as staking, governance, and account balances have been fully switched, and the existential deposit has been reduced from 1 DOT to 0.01 DOT. These changes have simplified the structure and lowered the barriers to entry, indicating that Polkadot is shifting from a "technical marvel" to "practicality."

Polkadot VM is building a new execution environment based on RISC-V, natively supporting more complex on-chain business logic. In the future, it may accommodate high-performance scenarios such as AI agents and on-chain inference, bridging the performance gap of WASM.

Polkadot provides developers with a "low barrier to entry, gradual upgrade" development path: first test product logic with smart contracts, and once mature, seamlessly migrate to a dedicated independent application chain. This "incremental scalability" model is relatively rare in other public chain ecosystems.

PolkaVM has not introduced new concepts but has quietly updated the underlying engine. The developers' coding methods remain unchanged, but the execution model and system philosophy have been comprehensively updated. True innovation often does not rely on glamorous narratives but is reflected in the underlying technological advancements that are "operable, interoperable, and scalable."