Polkadot news

Stablecoin competition spikes as PayPal, Plasma, and Polkadot’s Hydration unveil new projects to extend dollar‑pegged assets across finance. Plasma introduces Plasma One, a neobank aimed at users who trade stablecoins but lack user‑friendly savings and spending tools, prioritizing regions with limited U.S. dollar access. Hydration offers the HOLLAR stablecoin, over‑collateralised by DOT, ETH, and BTC, featuring a Stability Module that maintains the peg, adds yield, and uses partial liquidations to reduce risk. PayPal expands its payments reach by investing in the blockchain Stable, enabling its PYUSD stablecoin to operate on Stablechain with LayerZero‑enabled interoperability for cross‑network merchant and peer‑to‑peer transfers. These initiatives arrive amid the U.S. Treasury’s GENIUS Act and an advance notice of proposed rulemaking that are shaping a dedicated regulatory framework, with analysts saying final rules could push the market beyond $2 trillion and determine competitive advantage.

Hydration has launched HOLLAR, a $1 stablecoin built for Polkadot that relies on over‑collateralization with DOT, ETH, wrapped BTC, USDT, and USDC and a Stability Module inspired by Aave’s GHO to cap the peg and trigger intelligent buybacks when the token trades below $1. The protocol also runs partial automated liquidations at the start of each block, mitigating sudden user losses, and currently charges a 5.12 % annual interest rate on minted HOLLAR, funneling proceeds into yield strategies. As a Polkadot‑native runtime, Hydration can embed features directly at the runtime level, enabling tighter integration, arbitrage opportunities, and additional yield generation across its products. While avoiding pure algorithmic manipulation, the design still exposes risks to peg integrity under extreme market stress and introduces new smart‑contract attack vectors.

Polkadot has flipped its scarcity switch, with an 81 % vote approving Referendum 1710 to cap the total DOT supply at 2.1 billion, making it effectively deflationary. The change replaces the current annual issuance of 120 million DOT with a schedule that cuts new supply roughly every two years, leaving about 1.91 billion in circulation by 2040 instead of the nearly 3.4 billion projected under the old model. Despite DOT’s underperformance, on‑chain data shows a record 5 million addresses holding the token, reflecting growing adoption and bullish sentiment. Analysts say the scarcity narrative could support price pressure, but the effect will hinge on how issuance cuts, staking rewards, and liquidity interact, with risks if rewards fall too much. DOT trades at $4.19, down 92 % from its all‑time high, and investors are cautioned that supply tightening may already be priced in amid macro‑economic and liquidity uncertainties.

The Polkadot decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) recently approved a hard cap of 2.1 billion for its native DOT token, the first such cap in the network’s history. Under the old model, total supply could grow to more than 3.4 billion by 2040, but the new framework implements biannual issuance reductions every two years on Pi Day, aiming to gradually curb inflation; the current circulating supply is about 1.5 billion. The decision is accompanied by the launch of Polkadot Capital Group, a new division designed to connect Wall Street firms and other institutional investors with Polkadot’s infrastructure for asset management, banking, venture capital, exchanges, and OTC trading. Despite expectations of long‑term scarcity, DOT’s price fell roughly 5 % from $4.35 to $4.15 following the announcement. The Web3 Foundation did not respond to a request for further comment.

Polkadot’s native token DOT fell almost 5 % in the last 24 hours after users approved the “Wish for Change” proposal, which caps total supply at 2.1 billion and ends the network’s open‑ended issuance of about 120 million tokens annually. With 1.6 billion DOTs already circulating—about 76 % of the cap—the new framework will taper inflation from March 2026 and reach roughly 1.91 billion in 2040, versus the old 3.4 billion estimate, with the final limit expected around 2160. The change is part of a broader effort to stabilize economics and shift toward alternative revenue streams, coinciding with the return of co‑founder Gavin Wood to Parity Technologies. Despite the structural shift, the token’s price remains weak, trading near $4.20 and down nearly 5 % today, a decline that adds to a 34 % loss in value this year.

Polkadot announced the creation of Polkadot Capital Group, a capital‑market arm aimed at attracting Wall Street investors and strengthening ties with traditional finance in the current bull run. The division will use data‑driven education and real‑time adaptation to guide institutional participants in identifying opportunities within the network. At the same time, co‑founder Gavin Wood confirmed his return as CEO, replacing Björn Wagner, to accelerate execution now that core architecture is complete and market momentum is rising. These moves follow the ecosystem’s recent struggles to compete with peers such as Ethereum and Solana, where Polkadot’s stable‑coin holdings sit at roughly $88 million against billions for rivals. With its DOT token losing over 40 % of value this year, the leadership shift and capital outreach are intended to restore relevance and confidence.

Polkadot has launched a capital markets division, Polkadot Capital Group, to connect institutional finance with its multichain ecosystem. The move follows increasing demand from traditional investors and clearer U.S. regulation, including the GENIUS stablecoin act and new crypto market bills. The division aims to facilitate asset‑management, banking, venture‑capital, exchange, and OTC opportunities and to demonstrate practical use cases in DeFi, staking, and real‑world asset tokenization. Lead David Sedacca says the unit is actively courting partnerships with asset managers, brokers and allocators. Headquartered in the Cayman Islands, Polkadot capitalizes on its 24th‑largest blockchain ranking, with a market cap near $6.1 billion and a multichain architecture that supports interoperable parachains. The launch aligns with broader industry shifts, as firms like Prometheum, Digital Asset and Polygon accelerate tokenization of securities and bonds to meet institutional appetite.

Polkadot has launched Polkadot Capital Group to engage traditional finance and investment firms. The new arm will provide data‑driven education, market insights, and partnership opportunities to asset managers, banks, and venture capitalists. Its focus includes explaining centralized and decentralized exchange technologies, real‑world‑asset tokenization, staking, and DeFi benefits. The rollout comes as Polkadot upgrades to its 2.0 network, replacing the two‑year parachain auction lease with an Agile Coretime, pay‑as‑you‑go system. This shift removes capital and technical hurdles, aiming to make the network more accessible to institutional investors. By coupling educational support with a more flexible infrastructure, Polkadot seeks to modernize financial infrastructure and create new opportunities for the institutional market.

Polkadot (DOT) remains undervalued amid a bullish altcoin cycle, trading around $4.15—more than 90 % below its 2021 peak—despite 50‑plus percent of its supply locked in staking. Technical analysis shows the token shattered the $4.30 resistance and formed a higher low, signaling a potential uptrend that could lift the price to about $5.30 in the near term. Analysts cite a growing parachain ecosystem, cross‑chain connectivity and a steady supply of active stakers as factors that may curb sell‑pressure and catalyze a rally. Some forecasters, including CryptonautX, project that DOT could reach $10 by September 2025 if capital inflows, real‑world demand and a forthcoming ETF announcement materialize. Long‑term support for DOT will hinge on the network’s ability to attract developers, users and liquidity beyond staking incentives.

Analysts highlight three altcoins—Theta Network, Polkadot, and Toncoin—as likely to break out in July amid recent positive news. Theta’s token THETA is seen as undervalued by Michael Van De Poppe, citing a strong FC Seoul partnership that could lift it significantly. Polkadot ended a slump after Grayscale removed it from its Digital Large Cap Fund; analysts see weakening selling pressure and a near‑breakout. Toncoin’s launch of the TAC mainnet and EVM integration with Telegram keep the asset above $2.7, pointing to a breakout from a descending triangle. Lower Bitcoin dominance and analysts’ bullish outlooks suggest a broader altcoin season could validate these undervalued coins in the second half.