Polkadot enters the product era | Gavin Wood releases the Second Era strategy, with mobile applications becoming the new gateway to Web3

Polkadot Second Era Launch: From Protocol to Mass Market Product

At the Sub0 Conference, Dr. Gavin Wood delivered a 30-minute yet information-dense speech, officially announcing that Polkadot has entered the “Second Era.” This marks a strategic shift for Polkadot from solely protocol development to a comprehensive build-out of “protocol + platform + consumer-facing products.”

Parity has clarified a three-layer advancement path in this transition: the protocol layer has completed validation, the platform layer is underway, and the product layer is expected to launch in 2026. What is the core driver behind this strategic adjustment? Parity Vice President of Engineering Pierre straightforwardly states—Polkadot’s biggest shortcoming in the past was not technical flaws but the lack of truly life-improving applications. Outside DeFi, interest is minimal; even the blockchain summit’s ticketing system still relies on Web2 infrastructure.

Polkadot Mobile: Redefining On-Chain Entry

The launch of the Polkadot Mobile app is positioned as the “Portal Platform”—a project led directly by Gavin. Attendees during the speech had the opportunity for a limited-time demo experience. This app will not only integrate the Project Individuality identity verification system but also serve as the user’s primary gateway into the Polkadot ecosystem.

Project Individuality is the technical cornerstone of this plan. Using zero-knowledge proofs and Bandersnatch Ring VRF technology, it identifies real users without requiring phone numbers, passports, or biometric data, leveraging cryptography and game theory. This system will seamlessly coordinate between the Polkadot People Chain, Polkadot Hub, and Polkadot Mobile, creating a verification infrastructure for a decentralized society of “real humans.”

Incentive Mechanism Reimagined: Web3 Toward Genuine Users

Gavin’s first OpenGov proposal, “Polkadot People Initiative: Incentives for Mass Polkadot Activation Campaign,” is currently progressing through voting. This is not a traditional airdrop but a systemic experiment—encouraging real human participation in Web3 rebuilding through incentive mechanisms.

Funds are transparently and automatically distributed: early user registration rewards, ongoing incentives for genuine governance participation, with a weekly airdrop pool of $250 and a monthly $2,500, all automatically disbursed via smart contracts without manual intervention. This reflects Polkadot’s evolution from an airdrop economy to a society of intelligent individuals.

Major US Asset Managers Enter: DOT Becomes Mainstream Asset

On November 7, WisdomTree filed an S-1 registration statement with the SEC, planning to launch a spot crypto fund tracking the CoinDesk 20 Index—WisdomTree CoinDesk 20 Fund. The fund will directly hold 20 leading digital assets, including DOT, covering the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap globally.

Currently, DOT is priced at $2.10, down -0.66% in 24 hours, with a circulating market cap of $3.47 billion and 1,322,473 addresses holding tokens. WisdomTree’s entry not only provides institutional investors with a compliant crypto basket but also signifies formal recognition of DOT’s ecosystem value.

Grayscale’s Polkadot Trust ETF is also progressing. According to the latest SEC guidance, it could become effective in late November (if accelerated) or early December (if amended).

Ecosystem Applications Accelerate Deployment: Hydration Builds On-Chain Financial Operations System

Hydration clarified its positioning at Sub0—not as a DeFi protocol but as an application chain born specifically for decentralized finance. It integrates functions like swaps, lending, stablecoins, and perpetual contracts into one platform, akin to “Uniswap + Aave + Curve + MakerDAO in one.”

Over the past year, Hydration has deployed three core modules: OmniPool, a main trading pool enabling asset swaps within a single pool; a lending module combining Aave v3 and protocol-level partial liquidation; and Hollar stablecoin with an automatic stabilization mechanism.

Most anticipated is the rains project—a on-chain application combining smart wallets, savings accounts, credit lines, and gamification mechanics. Users registering will automatically create on-chain accounts, with future support for QR code payments (initially in Argentina and Brazil), essentially an on-chain version of Revolut.

Technical Breakthroughs Upend Old Assumptions: Major Progress in Cryptography Research

Web3 Foundation researchers Elizabeth Crites and Alistair Stewart published a new paper directly overturning the widely relied-upon Reed-Solomon mathematical conjecture underlying current SNARK systems. These conjectures are central to Ethereum’s Proximity Prize research and are key efficiency assumptions for mainstream SNARKs like FRI and DEEP-FRI, which aim for “small proofs + fast verification.”

This breakthrough means the industry will reassess the efficiency and security boundaries of zk-proof systems—truly foundational results in cryptography and coding theory research.

Economic Model Innovation: DAP Brings Financial Autonomy

Web3 Foundation scientist Jonas released a draft of the Dynamic Allocation Pool (DAP), aiming to evolve the Polkadot economy from “reliance on issuance” to sustainable growth driven by “income + reserves.”

DAP consolidates all issuance and protocol revenue into a single fund, coordinating payments to validators, treasury, and nominators. Validator rewards adopt a “fixed salary + DOT incentives” model, targeting an economic contribution value close to 90,000 DOT per validator. Nominators become low-risk, liquid staking pools, which can be unlocked in as little as one day.

The treasury will receive both DOT and stablecoins, aligning with operational expenses. More importantly, Polkadot will establish a “strategic reserve”—storing DOT during issuance peaks and consuming it during issuance declines as a stable peg for DOT stablecoins.

Asset Hub Upgrade Fixes Issuance Anomalies, Restoring Staking Yields

Polkadot Asset Hub has completed version 2.0.2 upgrade, fixing the abnormal annual issuance of DOT. Daily issuance has now returned to 328,797 DOT/day (about 120 million DOT/year), meaning staking yields are back to normal levels.

Hong Kong Government Strategic Recognition: Web3 Gains Policy Acceptance for the First Time

Polkadot became the first blockchain ecosystem officially recognized as a “Key Enterprise” by the Hong Kong government, a historic first for Web3. Typically, “OASES Key Enterprises” target multinational giants like ARM and GSK, but Polkadot is the first to be included as a “decentralized network.”

This allows the Polkadot community to directly participate in Hong Kong’s fintech policies and digital asset framework development, becoming an “actor in institutional building” rather than just a regulated entity. The Polkadot Community Foundation established a subsidiary in Hong Kong to sign a strategic cooperation agreement with the government on behalf of the DAO—an uncommon move globally, marking the first time a decentralized organization has formally partnered with a government as a legal entity.

Mainstream Tech Stage Emerges: TechCrunch Disrupt Attracts Thousands of Developers

Polkadot made its debut as a blockchain project at TechCrunch Disrupt. The pink booth attracted nearly 10,000 Web2 and AI entrepreneurs over three days, with Acurast, Frequency, and Magenta Labs demonstrating Polkadot’s capabilities as a “usable, deployable infrastructure” to developers.

This event proves that Polkadot is striving to step into the mainstream tech stage rather than remaining confined within the Web3 niche.

Ecosystem Investment Continues: Acurast Completes $11 Million Funding

Acurast announced the completion of an $11 million funding round, with investors including Gavin Wood. The project aims to turn smartphones into “privacy computing nodes,” showcasing Polkadot’s ecosystem extending toward consumer endpoints.

Harbour Industrial Capital (HIC), a VC focused on the Polkadot ecosystem, has become its second LP through Web3 Foundation. HIC states the ecosystem is significantly undervalued, focusing investments on real products, PMF validation, reasonable valuations, and Polkadot’s technological applications. Polkadot Blockchain Academy has become a key talent source for HIC’s investments.

Looking Ahead: Polkadot Builder Party Heading to the Finish Line

The Polkadot Builder Party hackathon is entering its final countdown, with project submissions due by 11:45 PM GMT on November 17, 2025. Additionally, Mandala announced three new collaborations during Sub0: Bitlayer bringing permissionless Bitcoin access, INC Finance DAO platform integration, and AORUS enabling physical gold on-chain.

Bifrost Foundation proposed a treasury investment plan, suggesting the allocation of treasury funds into mature DeFi protocols via holding yield-bearing parachain tokens. Although there are objections (mainly concerns over over-reliance on inflation, governance complexity, and insufficient risk assessment), if this approach proceeds smoothly, future DeFi protocols within the Polkadot ecosystem could generate sustainable, predictable revenue for the treasury, significantly enhancing ecosystem financial sustainability.

Polkadot is transforming from a purely technical network into a financial infrastructure—only the beginning of the true battle of the Second Era.