Gavin Wood, founder of Kusama and Polkadot, has announced the launch of parachain slot auctions.

So, what should the crypto market expect from the upcoming auctions, and how will the introduction of this technology affect the existing balance of power?

What is Polkadot and how does it differ from Kusama?

Polkadot is a project that realizes interoperability between different blockchains. The mainnet was launched in May of 2020 but the final stage of the launch is approaching now.

While Kusama is great for bold experimentation and early-stage deployment, Polkadot is more conservative.

Governance on both Polkadot and Kusama is designed to be decentralized and permissionless, giving a say in how the network runs to everyone who owns the native token (DOT for Polkadot, KSM for Kusama).

What is the parachain auction and how will its launch happen?

There are many projects that intend to build on Polkadot and Kusama, and each will need their own parachain slot. The individual blockchains that connect to Polkadot are called ‘parachains.’ Not all blockchains can be connected freely, and you have to get a ‘slot’ at an auction.