Polkadot is complicated as hell! This 24-tweet thread is a beginner's guide to @Polkadot $DOT and @KusamaNetwork $KSM in simple English.

What is Polkadot? Kusama? Parachains? Crowdloan and Parachain slot auction?

Comment with other questions and share if you learn something ⤵️

What is Polkadot?

@Polkadot is a platform on which blockchain networks are built and connected into one unified network. These connected chains, called parachains, form a living organism of networks all in sync and secure. This forms the foundation on which Web3 will be built.
Dr. Gavin Wood, @gavofyork, founded @Polkadot after inventing the Ethereum Virtual Machine and the Solidity programming language for #Ethereum as the co-founder and CTO. Ethereum wasn't going to scale, and thus, Polkadot was born in 2017. https://t.co/2fo4DIsJiG
Blockchains built for Polkadot use a dev framework called Substrate (@substrate_io), the easiest and most advanced blockchain-building framework for coders.

Think of it as drag-and-drop blockchain consensus, or even easier, like Music EQ with dials up & down on certain features.
Ethereum is a one-size-fits-all chain. This doesn't work at scale.

Dev teams use @Polkadot's Substrate framework to build custom chains for a specific use/vertical, such as @AcalaNetwork for DeFi, @PhalaNetwork for Privacy, @chainlink for Oracles, or @hydra_dx for liquidity.
@Polkadot's Substrate framework can also be used to build broad, more general-purpose chains such as @MoonbeamNetwork for Ethereum-compatible smart contracts on Polkadot (for ETH teams going multi-chain) or @Plasm_Network for a general Dapp platform (dubbed ETH2 on @Polkadot)
See a repository of the hundreds of @Polkadot and @KusamaNetwork projects at https://t.co/bMPslMhX8c
Each chain built on @Polkadot is a "parachain".

Legacy networks like #Ethereum are called "layer 1" chains. These are single blockchains, operating in isolation. Parachains are also layer 1 chains. Polkadot is one level below, a "layer zero" multi-chain growing to 100+ networks.
Legacy networks of course will not go away bc Polkadot has launched.

@Polkadot will be bridged to existing networks like @ethereum and #bitcoin via bridges built by teams like @InterlayHQ (BTC), @snowfork_inc (ETH), @ChainSafeth & @centrifuge (ETH), @chainx_org (BTC), and more.
So, now you understand @Polkadot better. What is @KusamaNetwork?

Kusama is essentially the exact same code/archtr as Polkadot, but its on-chain governance moves 4x faster (7 days) and there are lower barriers to entry for teams to get a slot on the network (more on this below).
@kusamanetwork is a mainnet where all @Polkadot code moves after being rigorously tested on testnets such as Westend or Rococo. https://t.co/XhVYprXwoo

The model is Testnet->Kusama mainnet->Polkadot mainnet.

This ensures code is as flawless as possible before going to @Polkadot
The code coming to @KusamaNetwork first does bring some risk, which is why Kusama is sometimes referred to as a cypherpunk heaven. This is for lean, fast teams who want to ship code fast.

For the sim/difs between @Polkadot and Kusama, check out this post: https://t.co/3aYG3jWTgo
To serve the needs of both communities/networks, many teams will actually launch on both @Polkadot and @KusamaNetwork.

Teams like Acala are launching @AcalaNetwork on Polkadot and @KaruraNetwork on Kusama. @purestakeco is similarly launching Moonbeam (DOT) & Moonriver (KSM).
The @Polkadot $DOT and @KusamaNetwork $KSM ecosystems will also be bridged, providing ability to communicate between the networks.
So, now what is a Crowdloan and Parachain slot auction?

@Polkadot has 100+ parachain "slots" (see below) which must be 'leased' for access to Polkadot's security and ability to communicate with other chains.

In fact, no team is "built on Polkadot" until they win an auction!
To occupy a parachain slot, any team must win a candle auction using DOT (on @Polkadot) or KSM (on @KusamaNetwork). Tokens for this auction can be gathered in a variety of ways, such as self-funding, VC, or a community-driven "Crowdloan".

Candle auction: https://t.co/6ZI6hwNux1
When a team wins the auction, they immediately gain access to this specific parachain slot, and all the tokens used in the auction are then locked for the duration of the @Polkadot parachain’s lease (usually 1-2 years), removing the tokens from circulating supply.
Many teams will host a Crowdloan to gather tokens for the auction. In a Crowdloan, people will contribute/lock their DOT or KSM in support of a parachain's auction. In return they are issued some of the parachain's native token. All principal is returned after the ~1-2 yr lease.
You can read more detail on the Crowdloan process coming up for the Acala team's @KaruraNetwork's Crowdloan and parachain auction on Kusama in my blog post here: https://t.co/KnW1MIfhoJ
Going forward, @KusamaNetwork parachain auctions will start, then @Polkadot parachain auctions will begin soon after. There will be parachain auctions then happening on a recurring basis, in theory, in perpetuity. If a team doesn't win one auction, they can simply try again.
The plan for @Polkadot and @KusamaNetwork is to have 100+ parachain slots occupied at once, with the ability to continue scaling up from there.

This will enable an meta-infrastructure running myriad blockchains and applications on those chains, all in sync and sharing security.
What does Web3 built on @Polkadot and @KusamaNetwork look like?

Just like the databases/protocols powering the apps we use every day, end users and consumers shouldn't even know Polkadot and Kusama are there: Web3 apps that operate as good or better than their Web2 counterpart.
The best ways to learn more about Polkadot basics would be to watch @BillLaboon and my Polkadot for Beginners video - https://t.co/c2OjPdsGW9 (@Polkadot's most viewed video ever), you can spend hours in the incredibly well-done Polkadot wiki https://t.co/xCWLMHz7Nw,
You can subscribe to a fantastic @Polkadot and @kusamanetwork ecosystem newsletter run by Bruno @bitfalls called DotLeap at https://t.co/ScKdyXtwkD

More from Tech

Recently, the @CNIL issued a decision regarding the GDPR compliance of an unknown French adtech company named "Vectaury". It may seem like small fry, but the decision has potential wide-ranging impacts for Google, the IAB framework, and today's adtech. It's thread time! 👇

It's all in French, but if you're up for it you can read:
• Their blog post (lacks the most interesting details):
https://t.co/PHkDcOT1hy
• Their high-level legal decision: https://t.co/hwpiEvjodt
• The full notification: https://t.co/QQB7rfynha

I've read it so you needn't!

Vectaury was collecting geolocation data in order to create profiles (eg. people who often go to this or that type of shop) so as to power ad targeting. They operate through embedded SDKs and ad bidding, making them invisible to users.

The @CNIL notes that profiling based off of geolocation presents particular risks since it reveals people's movements and habits. As risky, the processing requires consent — this will be the heart of their assessment.

Interesting point: they justify the decision in part because of how many people COULD be targeted in this way (rather than how many have — though they note that too). Because it's on a phone, and many have phones, it is considered large-scale processing no matter what.

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https://t.co/6cRR2B3jBE
Viruses and other pathogens are often studied as stand-alone entities, despite that, in nature, they mostly live in multispecies associations called biofilms—both externally and within the host.

https://t.co/FBfXhUrH5d


Microorganisms in biofilms are enclosed by an extracellular matrix that confers protection and improves survival. Previous studies have shown that viruses can secondarily colonize preexisting biofilms, and viral biofilms have also been described.


...we raise the perspective that CoVs can persistently infect bats due to their association with biofilm structures. This phenomenon potentially provides an optimal environment for nonpathogenic & well-adapted viruses to interact with the host, as well as for viral recombination.


Biofilms can also enhance virion viability in extracellular environments, such as on fomites and in aquatic sediments, allowing viral persistence and dissemination.
@franciscodeasis https://t.co/OuQaBRFPu7
Unfortunately the "This work includes the identification of viral sequences in bat samples, and has resulted in the isolation of three bat SARS-related coronaviruses that are now used as reagents to test therapeutics and vaccines." were BEFORE the


chimeric infectious clone grants were there.https://t.co/DAArwFkz6v is in 2017, Rs4231.
https://t.co/UgXygDjYbW is in 2016, RsSHC014 and RsWIV16.
https://t.co/krO69CsJ94 is in 2013, RsWIV1. notice that this is before the beginning of the project

starting in 2016. Also remember that they told about only 3 isolates/live viruses. RsSHC014 is a live infectious clone that is just as alive as those other "Isolates".

P.D. somehow is able to use funds that he have yet recieved yet, and send results and sequences from late 2019 back in time into 2015,2013 and 2016!

https://t.co/4wC7k1Lh54 Ref 3: Why ALL your pangolin samples were PCR negative? to avoid deep sequencing and accidentally reveal Paguma Larvata and Oryctolagus Cuniculus?