How Did Polkadot Bring Governance On-Chain?

In the first episode of Season 7, host Conor Svensson interviews Bill Laboon, Head of Education and Grants at the Web3 Foundation. 

Key Moments:

•  Bill's journey into the blockchain world, triggered by his fascination with hash functions.
•  His early interest in Bitcoin and Ethereum, leading to full-time involvement in the blockchain industry. 
• Polkadot's innovative approach as a foundation for other blockchains and its scalability-focused architecture.
• The concept of parachains and how developers can build their blockchains using Substrate or the Polkadot SDK.
• Polkadot's on-chain governance, where referenda are voted upon and enacted by the code itself.
• Contrasting Polkadot's on-chain governance with Ethereum's more traditional approach.
• The potential use cases of Polkadot beyond DeFi, including government regulatory agencies and real estate ledgers.
• Polkadot's scalability which makes it suitable for various applications.

Standout Quote:

"Polkadot is really best described as a bet against blockchain maximalism. That it makes sense to have different blockchains that can do different things. However, all of these blockchains share the same security, right? So if you're part of the Polkadot network, your parachain is as secure as any other parachain."

Resources:

 • Web3 Foundation: Nurturing and stewarding technologies and applications in the fields of decentralised web software protocols.
• Polkadot: Learn more about the Polkadot network and its innovative approach to blockchain interoperability and scalability.
• Substrate/Polkadot SDK: Explore the software development kit that allows you to create your own blockchains and parachains on the Polkadot network.
• Governance on Polkadot: Dive into the concept of on-chain governance and how it empowers participants to propose and implement changes to the Polkadot ecosystem. • Polkadot Wiki: A comprehensive resource to explore all aspects of Polkadot.

Contact Bill Laboon: Twitter | LinkedIn

Bill Laboon is the Head of Education and Grants at Web3 Foundation. Prior to the Web3 Foundation, he spent five years teaching Computer Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Bill also has several years of experience in software engineering and management. He is the author of two books: A Friendly Introduction to Software Testing, an undergraduate textbook; and Strength in Numbers, a near-future novel set in a world in which cryptocurrency has eliminated traditional money.

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