All You Need to Know About Polkadot 2.0
Introduction
Polkadot 2.0 brings a major evolution to the Polkadot network, introducing groundbreaking improvements in blockspace utilization, transaction efficiency, and scalability. This article breaks down the key concepts behind Polkadot 2.0 — Blockspace, Coretime, Asynchronous Backing, Agile Coretime, and Elastic Scaling — in a way that’s easy to grasp for beginners. If you want to dive deeper into the technical details, we’ve linked relevant resources throughout the article.
Blockspace and Coretime
WTF is Blockspace?
To understand Polkadot 2.0, we first need to understand blockspace. Blockspace is the product that blockchains create, encompassing its security, computing, storage capability, etc., as its end product. Every blockchain produces blockspace, but its quality, availability, and flexibility vary greatly.
For example:
- Bitcoin: produces highly secure blockspace but is limited in functionality (only really balance transfers) and has low throughput.
- Ethereum: introduced smart contracts, making blockspace more versatile and has increased throughput compared to Bitcoin.
- Polkadot: offers a unique, highly flexible approach to blockspace, optimizing efficiency and scalability.
For a deeper dive, check out these articles:
WTF is Coretime?
Think of Coretime like a computer’s CPU cores:
- A CPU has multiple cores, and different programs require varying amounts of computing power.
- Similarly, Polkadot will allocate cores/coretime dynamically based on demand.
- Some rollups (similar to programs) may need more cores/coretime, while others require less.
We will talk about Agile Coretime a bit later on.
So what is Polkadot 2.0?
Polkadot 2.0 introduces three key upgrades:
- Asynchronous Backing: cuts parachain block times in half while increasing execution time 4x — resulting in 8x more blockspace.
- Agile Coretime: allows projects to purchase coretime either in bulk (monthly) or on-demand.
- Elastic Scaling: enables parachains to utilize more than one core to boost performance.
Let’s break these down further.
Asynchronous Backing
Why it matters:
- Accelerates transaction confirmation times.
- Boosts overall network capacity.
- Reduces parachain block times from 12s to 6s (2x improvement).
- Increases available compute time per block from 500ms to 2s (4x improvement).
Primary user impact: faster block times mean smoother user experiences when interacting with dApps — transactions confirm 50% faster.
For more details:
Agile Coretime
Previously, Polkadot required projects to secure parachain slots via auctions, locking them in for 96 weeks — often with community-funded crowdloans.
With Agile Coretime:
- Projects can still buy bulk coretime (similar to leases) valid for 1 month.
- New: they can now purchase coretime on-demand, reducing barriers to entry.
This flexibility makes Polkadot’s computing power far more accessible to a wider range of projects.
More info:
Elastic Scaling
Elastic Scaling allows Polkadot rollups to use multiple cores, just like a high-performance CPU:
- 1 core = 6s block times
- 2 cores = 3s block times
- 3 cores = 2s block times
This is a game-changer for industries requiring high-speed transactions, such as:
- Gaming
- DeFi
- Enterprise applications
More on Elastic Scaling:
The Spammening: Real-World Performance Test
Skeptical? That’s fair. Many blockchains promise scalability but fall short when stress-tested.
Polkadot did something different — it battle-tested its upgrades in the wild with the Spammening on Kusama (Polkadot’s canary network).
Key results:
- Kusama achieved 143,000 TPS at 23% capacity.
- Scaling this to 100% means 623,000 TPS — far beyond other blockchains.
- A single rollup with just one core hit over 10,000 TPS in a production environment.
These results prove that Polkadot’s scaling solutions aren’t just theoretical — they work in real conditions.
What’s Next?
- Elastic Scaling is not yet live on Polkadot but is expected soon.
- Peaq’s testnet results show impressive transaction speeds
- Basti’s transaction speed improvements also demonstrate Polkadot’s potential.
- Polkadot remains the most advanced scalable blockchain ecosystem.
Stay tuned for further updates as these features roll out!
Final Thoughts
Polkadot 2.0 is not just another upgrade — it’s a fundamental shift in how blockspace is allocated and used, making Polkadot the most efficient and scalable blockchain network to date.
With:
- Faster transactions
- More flexible access to compute power
- Proven scalability in real-world stress tests
Polkadot is shaping up to be the best choice for developers, enterprises, and high-performance applications in Web3.
This article was written by the Nova Wallet content team.
About Nova Wallet
Nova Wallet is the ultimate mobile wallet with support for 100+ networks and over 200 assets. With features such as Staking support for 13+ assets, Hardware Wallet integrations for Ledger and Polkadot Vault, DApp Support for both Substrate and EVM chains, Push Notifications, NFTs, and advanced features such as Proxy account support — Nova Wallet is the fastest, most convenient and secure mobile wallet for the Polkadot Ecosystem. Nova Wallet is fully open-sourced and is funded by the Polkadot Treasury.
Developed by Novasama Technologies.
About Novasama Technologies
Novasama Technologies develops user-focused applications for the Polkadot ecosystem. Our portfolio includes Nova Wallet, the leading mobile app for the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems available on iOS and Android devices; Nova Spektr the full-spectrum Polkadot Desktop Wallet available on macOS, Linux, and Windows; Telenova, the beginner-friendly self-custodial wallet built into Telegram; and Polkadot Vault, the air-gapped hardware wallet for the Polkadot ecosystem.
