Check out the latest developments compiled by PolkaWorld for everyone, and why this is important!
The AssetHub of Westend has successfully migrated staking and governance functions. This marks Polkadot's official transition from a complex relay chain to a lightweight relay chain architecture. As of the publication date, the @subscan_io block explorer has been the first to complete the migration adaptation!
The subsequent schedule is as follows:
• @kusamanetwork: Staking, governance, and balances will migrate to AssetHub on August 15.
• @Polkadot mainnet: Expected to migrate in mid-September.
• The reserve location of DOT will move from the relay chain to AssetHub, but the asset ID remains unchanged; parallel chains need to update the XCM configuration path as soon as possible.
1. What is the migration of the 'reserve location'?
Assets in Polkadot adopt a Multi-Asset model, where each asset (including DOT) has a 'reserve chain', which is where this asset is actually stored and measured.
Currently, the reserve chain of DOT is the Relay Chain.
After this migration, the reserve chain of DOT will change to AssetHub, but the asset ID remains the same. This means:
The essence of DOT remains unchanged; it's still DOT.
It is merely its storage address, changing from 'main chain' to 'system parallel chain'.
2. Why migrate? What is the significance behind it?
This is actually a key step in the overall architectural transformation of Polkadot, with the goal of:
1. Minimize the role of the relay chain: The Relay Chain will focus on consensus and validation, and will no longer carry out functions such as execution and governance.
2. Increase flexibility and upgradability: AssetHub is easier to adapt to new features, such as localized governance, upgrade logic, and asset expansion.
3. Unified asset processing logic: In the future, all assets will be uniformly managed in AssetHub, enhancing consistency in inter-chain operations.
3. What impact does this have on DOT holders?
Although the migration itself will not change the DOT you hold, its impact cannot be ignored, especially in the following aspects:
1. Wallets/apps may encounter issues of 'unable to read balance'.
If certain wallets (such as Ledger or some light wallets) have not updated the XCM configuration path, users may not see their balance or experience transaction failures during transfers or cross-chain operations.
2. The XCM cross-chain path will change.
All parallel chain projects (Acala, Moonbeam, Hydration, Astar, etc.) must timely adjust the path definition for DOT, otherwise they may not be able to correctly receive or transfer DOT.
3. Increased user cognitive threshold.
Users are accustomed to 'DOT on the Relay Chain', and after the migration, they may mistakenly think the asset is 'lost', requiring guidance and education from wallets and applications.
4. Potential transaction and liquidity risks.
If DEX or liquidity pools reference the old path configuration, it may cause temporary fund locks or transaction interruptions; developers need to adapt as soon as possible.
4. What should developers do?
The Polkadot team has explicitly called on all parallel chain projects:
Update the XCM path as soon as possible.
Test the DOT usage logic of AssetHub.
Check all transactions and bridging services related to DOT.
You can refer to the Substrate documentation and the AssetHub page on Subscan for adaptation.
5⃣ This is not just a technical update, but the starting point of an ecological upgrade.
Although this migration seems 'underlying', it will:
Change the technical positioning of the entire DOT asset.
Improve the efficiency and flexibility of inter-chain interactions;
Reduce the complexity of the relay chain, making it more suitable for executing JAM and Elastic Scaling resource scheduling.
For DOT users, just ensure that the wallet or DApp you use can correctly identify AssetHub. For developers, this is a necessary architectural update that must be responded to promptly.
Want to know more about the latest developments in Polkadot? Check out the latest article from PolkaWorld (Breaking news! Polkadot is expected to complete the migration in mid-September! Elastic scaling is nearing completion!)