## Building for the Web 3 Ecosystem

Polkadot is leading and bringing seminars, presentations, and a $15,000 prize pool to ETHDenver  as part of the world's biggest Ethereum hackathon. Polkadot offers a $15,000 prize pool as part of the ETHDenver BUIDLathon (hackathon). Since 2018, ETHDenver has brought blockchain and crypto engineers, designers, enthusiasts, cypher-punks, and the decentralised technology community to Denver, Colorado.  The inquisitive minds who have gathered here for the BUIDLathon "hackathon" are looking for ways to innovate, to create breakthrough ideas for the next phase of the Internet, Web3.

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Polkadot is a decentralised network that may be used for various purposes. It's a layer-0 blockchain architecture at its core, supporting many self-sovereign blockchains with common security and interoperability services. In a word, this implies that parachains built on Polkadot may be optimised from the start for everything from DeFi to gaming to smart contracts to privacy...the possibilities are endless. These parachains can also host level 2 dapps, such as Solidity/EVM deployments. This opens up an exciting new phase for Web3 with trustless bridges to other networks like Ethereum and Bitcoin and the capacity to interoperate.

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 ![Building Blockchain as a Community ](https://cdn.hackernoon.com/images/7rEmNIeHNFOBfZZtUMQerOZIGGH3-hib3nj0.jpeg)

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**Urban Osvald, Developer Relations Partnerships Lead, W3F, said: **

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> *We’re thrilled to be back at ETHDenver. Not only is it a refreshing change of pace to participate in an in-person event, but also to see how the entire Polkadot ecosystem has grown. We have over twenty hours of Polkadot content, from in-depth Substrate workshops led by Parity core engineers to dozens of ecosystem projects showcasing their tech in presentations, workshops, and panel discussions. I’m confident that this year ETHDenver will be a splashing success!*

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With new parachains being introduced to the Polkadot ecosystem regularly, the community is constructing new parachains for a chance to win a piece of the $15,000 prize pool. This sum is divided 50/50 across the hackathon's virtual and in-person components.

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Polkadot is based on Substrate, a blockchain-building platform that is modular. You may easily develop and deploy your own blockchain using its pre-built components. Substrate allows for forkless updates, making changes as technology and needs evolve easy. Substrate blockchains may function independently or integrate with Polkadot and Kusama, its wild-cousin canary network.

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The Polkadot ecosystem also has a vibrant community that includes everyone from seasoned developers to those intrigued by the technology and its potential applications.

## Understanding How Polkadot Parachain Auctions Work

A parachain auction is an open, permissionless auction that allows parachains (substrate-based independent blockchains) to connect to the Polkadot or Kusama Relay Chains. The auctions' goal is to distribute parachain slots to projects that desire to use either network. The main goal is to have up to 100 parachains operating simultaneously. These will, however, be opened in phases, with 20-30 parachains functioning within the first year.

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These parachain slots are limited to stimulate competition and the most efficient use of fixed Relay Chain resources. Because the number of available slots is limited, prospective parachains must outbid one another to get a lease, both for the original launch and renewal after the lease has expired. Leases on Kusama, for example, are limited to 48 weeks, whereas Polkadot allows for a 96-week commitment.

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 ![Decentralized Community-based Blockchain Development for Infrastructure Building](https://cdn.hackernoon.com/images/7rEmNIeHNFOBfZZtUMQerOZIGGH3-13c3nry.jpeg)

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Only successful parachains with traction, active use, and a sustainable token economic model may keep a slot while abandoned or failing parachains relinquish their lease to more promising challengers.

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In addition to the apparent bootstrapping goal, the crowd loan feature provides a few other reasons. For starters, it distinguishes between initiatives and the tokens provided. This is a key contrast from a direct fundraising mechanism such as a public auction since the donated tokens may only be used to earn a slot and must be returned if that objective is not accomplished. Second, projects must develop a passionate community to back their crowd loan campaign. 

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While this is a part of other fundraising efforts outside of Polkadot, the frequent nature of the auctions means that many potential projects are fighting for each individual's KSM or DOT tokens, which can only be used to support one project at a time. The approach is built on a competitive spirit and a feeling of fairness.

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