Polkadot Sees Surge in Active Users, Reaching New Highs

Polkadot has recently seen a remarkable increase in activity. This April, the network reached a new high for monthly active accounts since it began using parachains in early 2022. From the end of 2022 to now, the number of active accounts more than doubled, reaching about 650,000 by the end of April. 

While these numbers are smaller compared to blockchain giants like Ethereum and Solana, which had 15.4 million and 36.2 million active addresses, respectively, it is clear that Polkadot is on an upward trend, and that is good news for its ecosystem.

Distinct from blockchains like Ethereum and Solana, Polkadot employs a modular architecture centered around a Relay Chain that connects multiple parachains, such as Centrifuge and Sora, each designed for specific applications. 

Among these, Moonbeam notably stands out. It is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible parachain that supports Ethereum’s Solidity smart contracts, making it one of the most vibrant and dynamic environments within the Polkadot ecosystem. Over 60% of the active addresses during the reported period were attributed to Moonbeam, totaling 397,515 addresses.

Moonbeam’s compatibility with Ethereum is a big plus as it makes it easier for developers familiar with Ethereum’s coding language, Solidity, to work with it. This ease of use is a big part of why Moonbeam is doing so well.

Other parachains that contributed to the growth include Nodle, a smartphone-based decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) and Astar Network.

Adding to the excitement around Polkadot is the planned JAM upgrade, a proposed major revision aimed at overhauling Polkadot’s core infrastructure. This upgrade plans to replace the Relay Chain with a more streamlined, modular design, effectively transforming Polkadot into a cloud-like infrastructure service and converting all parachains into an application layer service. 

Importantly, this change proposes to resolve one of the longstanding issues with the $DOT token by making it the primary gas token for dApps built directly on the JAM blockchain. Furthermore, a token-burning mechanism is planned, which could potentially decrease the supply of $DOT.

However, it is important to note that the JAM update is expected to go live within the next 15 months. This means it might take some time for the network to fully transition to this new setup. 

Despite promising developments, these advances have yet to correlate with a significant improvement in the price performance of the $DOT token. Over the past year, $DOT has seen only about a 24% increase—a modest gain compared to the broad crypto market. How these strategic updates will affect the token’s value moving forward remains a key point of interest for both investors and industry observers.