Next Things to See on Polkadot

Polkadot Decoded 2024 saw an engaging panel titled “What’s Next? Things We’d Love to See on Polkadot“, featuring insights from industry leaders Alex Bird, Chrissy Hill, Raul Romanutti, Kerstin Larsson, and Ben McMahon. This discussion, held at the Ecosystem Showcase Stage, delved into the future of Polkadot, covering key areas such as OpenGov funding, enterprise adoption, UX for developers, and more.

Polkadot Ecosystem Showcase Panel Key Highlights:

1. OpenGov Funding and Governance Raul Romanutti opened the panel with an in-depth look at the OpenGov model and its evolution from Governance 1. He highlighted the increased ease of submitting proposals and the positive community participation in voting. However, Raul emphasized the need for a hybrid governance model, combining direct democracy with representation, and improved UX for bounties and collectives.
2. Optimistic Project Funding (OPF) Ben McMahon introduced the concept of Optimistic Project Funding (OPF), recently approved through OpenGov. OPF aims to redirect a portion of inflation funds to specific projects based on community voting, providing substantial incentives for popular projects. This approach is designed to attract more developers and projects to the Polkadot ecosystem by ensuring a more direct and lucrative funding mechanism.
3. Enterprise Adoption Kerstin Larsson discussed the challenges and opportunities in enterprise adoption of blockchain technology. She identified three main barriers: complex communication, data privacy concerns, and interoperability beyond the ecosystem. Kerstin emphasized the need for simplified language, private sidechains for data-sensitive industries, and stronger cross-ecosystem collaboration to enhance enterprise adoption.
4. UX for Developers Berto shed light on the importance of improving UX for developers within the Polkadot ecosystem. He highlighted the advancements in one-click deployment of chains, core time purchases, and the necessity of making it easier for developers to deploy contracts on parachains. Berto also pointed out the need for more applications and user-friendly interfaces to drive adoption and usage.
5. Interoperability and Collaboration Chrissy Hill concluded the panel with a call for greater interoperability and collaboration not only on the technical side but also among the community. She stressed the importance of connecting with other protocols and ecosystems to ensure a cohesive and integrated blockchain industry.