Polkadot Wiki

Polkadot Wiki

  • Get Started
  • Learn
  • Build
  • Maintain
  • Kusama
  • Contribute
  • Languages iconEnglish
    • Русский
    • 中文
    • Help Translate

›Polkadot Comparisons

General

  • Getting Started
  • Claims
  • Redenomination of DOT
  • Grants
  • Thousand Validators Programme
  • Polkadot Ambassador Programme
  • Research Pages
  • Community
  • Contributing
  • Contributors
  • Glossary
  • Using ENS with DOT/KSM accounts
  • Ledger Application
  • How to Protect Yourself from Scams
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Learn

  • Polkadot Launch Phases
  • Basics

    • Architecture
    • Polkadot Accounts
    • Account Generation
    • Backing up and Restoring Accounts
    • DOT
    • Security of the network
    • Polkadot Consensus
    • Nominator
    • Validator
    • Collator
    • Governance
    • Identity
    • How to transfer Balances
    • Transaction Fees
    • Polkadot Host (PH)
    • Treasury
    • How to use W3F Registrar

    Parachains

    • Parachains
    • Parathreads
    • Bridges
    • Parachain Slots Auction
    • Parachain Crowdloans

    Advanced

    • Staking
    • Proxy Accounts
    • Availability and Validity
    • Randomness
    • Cross-chain Message Passing (XCMP)
    • SPREE
    • WebAssembly (Wasm)
    • Sequential Phragmén Method
    • Simple Payouts

    Cryptography

    • Cryptography Explainer
    • Polkadot Keys

    Polkadot Comparisons

    • Comparing Polkadot and Kusama
    • Ethereum 2.0
    • Cosmos
    • Other comparisons

Build

  • Builder's Portal
  • Development Guide

    • Polkadot Builders Starter's Guide
    • Parachain Development Kits (PDKs)
    • Parachain Implementer's Guide
    • Cumulus
    • Building Parachains on Rococo
    • Smart Contracts
    • Oracles
    • Polkadot Wallets

    Integration Guide

    • Integration Initiation
    • Polkadot Protocol
    • Node Management
    • Node Interaction
    • Transaction Construction

    Tools

    • Tool Index

    Resources

    • Hackathon

Maintain

  • Network Maintainers
  • Parameters
  • Nodes and Dapps

    • Set up a Full Node
    • Networks
    • Set up Secure WebSocket for Remote Connections
    • Resolving Errors

    Nominator Guides

    • How to Nominate on Polkadot
    • Unbonding and Rebonding

    Validator Guides

    • How to run a Validator on Polkadot
    • Validator Payout Overview
    • Using systemd for the Validator Node
    • Secure Validator
    • How to use Polkadot Secure Validator Setup
    • Set Up a Sentry Node
    • How to Upgrade Your Validator
    • Monitor your node
    • How to Chill

    Governance Guides

    • Participate in Democracy
    • Join the Council
    • Voting for Councillors
Edit

Polkadot Comparisons

Polkadot is a blockchain technology but makes some innovations that sets it apart from other popular chains.

In-Depth Comparisons

  • vs Ethereum 2.0

  • vs Cosmos

Other Comparisons

Ethereum 1.x

Ethereum is a smart contract blockchain that allows for general computation to be deployed on-chain and operated across the p2p network. Ethereum 1.x refers to the current Ethereum release and the immediately planned future upgrades.

The difference between Ethereum 1.x and Polkadot is quite large. Ethereum is a single chain that allows developers to extend its functionality through the deployment of blobs of code onto the chain (called smart contracts). Polkadot, as described in the whitepaper, is a fully extensible and scalable blockchain network that provides security and interoperability through shared state.

In practical terms, this means that the layer of abstraction between these two projects is remarkably different for developers. In Ethereum, developers write smart contracts that all execute on a single virtual machine. In Polkadot, however, developers write their logic into individual blockchains, where the interface is part of the state transition function of the blockchain itself. Polkadot will also support smart contract blockchains for Wasm and EVM to provide compatibility with existing contracts, but will not have smart contract functionality on its core chain, the Relay Chain.

As such, Polkadot is a possible augmentation and scaling method for Ethereum 1.x, rather than competition.

Binance Smart Chain

Binance Chain is a Proof of Stake Authority blockchain used to exchange digital assets on Binance DEX. Binance Smart Chain is an EVM-compatible smart contract chain bridged to Binance Chain. Together they form the Binance Dual Chain System. Binance Smart Chain is also a Proof of Stake Authority chain and allows users to create smart contracts and dapps.

Both chains are built with Cosmos SDK and therefore are a part of the Cosmos ecosystem. Due to specifics of the Cosmos architecture, interoperability of Binance Smart Chain is based on bridges. This means all validators of both chains are also bridge operators, therefore the security of the system relies on trusting validators. At the moment, there are 21 Binance Smart Chain validator nodes.

Polkadot has an entirely different purpose, as it was built to connect and secure unique blockchains. It is a protocol on which single blockchains (such as Binance Smart Chain) could be built and benefit from shared security, interoperability and scalability. Interoperability within Polkadot is based on pooled security on Polkadot, and the security of the entire Polkadot network, and has much stronger economic security.

Scalability based on bridges relies on each bridged chain finding its own set of validators, therefore duplicate resources are required. Scalability on Polkadot is based on the security of the Relay Chain, and as the number of validators in the active set on Polkadot are increased, more parachains can be supported.

Last updated on 4/16/2021 by Bill Laboon
← CosmosBuilder's Portal →
  • In-Depth Comparisons
  • Other Comparisons
    • Ethereum 1.x
  • Binance Smart Chain
General
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Build
  • Grants and Bounties
  • Careers
Technology
  • Technology
  • Token
  • Telemetry
  • Substrate
  • Whitepaper
  • Lightpaper
Community
  • Community
  • Documentation
  • Brand Assets
  • Blog
  • Element Chat
  • Medium

Subscribe to the newsletter to hear about Polkadot updates and events.

Polkadot Network
  • © 2021 Web3 Foundation
  • Impressum
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Cookie Settings
  • PDF version