An open-source sharded multichain protocol, Polkadot connects and secures a network of specialized blockchains. It facilitates cross-chain transfer of any data or asset types, not just tokens, thereby allowing blockchains to be interoperable.

Let's take a look at the token's performance, highlights and partnerships which led to the high returns, as well as some expert opinions for the near future.

What Happened: In the past month, Polkadot (CRYPTO: DOT) saw a gain of 43.5% and its 7-day gains stand at 19%. While the total circulating supply of the token stands at 1.3 billion, trading volumes in the past 24 hours expanded by 26%.

Based on Messari data, during the third quarter of 2023, Polkadot completed and shared the official release of Polkadot 1.0. Native USDC also went live on the Polkadot asset hub, unlocking access across the entire Polkadot ecosystem.

The percentage of Polkadot staked rose by 12% quarter-over-quarter to 49%. Moonbeam's reported 57,000 monthly active addresses in the third quarter and smart contract platform Astar saw 15,500 addresses.

A quick snapshot of the on-chain activity for the Polkadot ecosystem based on DefiLlama data:

In the third quarter of 2023, the circulating market cap expanded by 16.3% while revenue increased by 3.3%. Meanwhile, average daily active addresses expanded by 10.2% to 5,200.

Why Does It Matter: Accounting firm Deloitte announced last week it would use the Polkadot-based Kilt blockchain to offer logistics and supply-chain services focused on the shipping industry, as reported by CoinDesk. The shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd will be the first to implement Deloitte's KYX — Know Your Client and Know Your Cargo — system.

Also, Polkadot announced Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) will leverage Substrate, the Polkadot SDK's base, to build out its "partner chain" project. This utility, it says, will demonstrate Substrate's ability to expand across Web3 as well as its ease of use for other chains and ecosystems.

The Web3 foundation, the company behind Polkadot network, announced in late November it would make a pilot investment of $1 million into U.S. treasuries bills brought on-chain through Anemoy, an asset manager on Centrifuge Chain, a real-world asset (RWA)-focussed Polkadot parachain. This will lead to significant growth and innovation for real-world assets using Polkadot’s infrastructure and technology. 

Expert Opinions: Alejandro, an X user who drops crypto insights, stated Thursday, “I keep holding #Polkadot and I think the rally is not over yet.”

Filippo Franchini, technical educator at Web3 Foundation, took to X and stated, “#Polkadot will do to the blockchain industry what Apple did to the smartphone industry in 2007.” He also added that the total stake per active node on Polkadot reached 2.4 million DOT, a 3-year all-time high region.

The total stake per active node on #Polkadot reaches the 2.4M #DOT 3-year ATH region 👀

I would say the network is pretty secure 🔒

See more in the post on my @subsocial's #PolkaVerse space 👇https://t.co/v3KGQqSjh5https://t.co/gJQwPcXVXg

— Filippo Franchini | Web3 Foundation (@filippoweb3) December 14, 2023

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