The Polkadot Network (DOT) parachute auction got off to a great start. While two protocols fought it out to the end, it was finally Acala Network (ACA) that won the bidding against its rival Moonbeam. More than 32 million DOTs have been gleaned by the decentralized finance platform (DeFi), which is worth more than $1 billion at the time of writing.
The first auction of parachains Polkadot (DOT) for Acala (ACA)
Expected for many months, the Polkadot parachute (or para-chain) auction began in early November. It goes without saying that the auction was a success with a battle between the two favorites, Acala Network and Moonbeam.
As a reminder, these auctions allow anyone to deposit their DOTs by supporting the participating projects. The DOTs are blocked on-chain and, in exchange, the winning project rewards the investors who have supported them by granting them tokens native to the winning protocol.
Acala and Moonbeam exchanged the top spot several times during the week. But in the end it was Acala, a DeFi platform, that won the first auction, beating its rival by a few hundred thousand DOTs.
In total, more than 81,000 wallets contributed to Acala, with a total value exceeding $1.3 billion at the time the auction was won, which was yesterday at noon.
Polkadot (DOT) sees success in parachain auctions
Acala is a decentralized finance platform running on the Polkadot network. It is also compatible with Ethereum. Together with Moonbeam, a decentralized smart contracts platform, it is the most anticipated project of the Polkadot ecosystem.
For the latter, founded by Gavin Wood, co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain (ETH), the parachain auctions are a real test for the future.
First of all, these auctions confirm the success of participatory loans (crowdloans) on Kusama (KSM), the sister blockchain of Polkadot. It was Karura (KAR), the Acala protocol deployed on Kusama, that won the first slot in the network.
Secondly, this auction system is simply a first for the entire crypto sphere. Unlike Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), the tokens deposited are not “given” to the project, but blocked thanks to a smart contract for a determined period.
The blocking is thus planned for 96 weeks, which leaves ample time for the winning protocol to deploy its project and make it profitable. At the end of these almost two years of blocking, the DOTs are returned to their owner.
It goes without saying that the success of the project has been great, with about 70 million DOTs already deposited. Moreover, the suspense aspect plays an important role, with a winner designated only at a given moment.
What happens next for Acala (ACA) after winning the first auction?
The first slots of parachains will be activated around mid-December and the first five winning projects will be online on December 17. Unlike Kusama, there is no particular advantage to having won the auction first for Acala.
What is certain, however, is that Polkadot projects are in the spotlight. Indeed, it is possible to participate in the auctions via numerous exchange platforms.
In addition to Just Mining for the French platforms, Kraken and Binance also allow you to deposit your DOTs and receive in exchange, directly on the exchange, the tokens of the winning project to which the user has contributed.
The next few months will be important for Acala Network, the other projects and the whole Polkadot ecosystem in general. The future of one of the most promising blockchains of recent years is at stake.
