Polkadot Treasury Faces Impending Funding Crisis: Limited To 24 Months Before Exhaustion

As an experienced analyst, I find the Polkadot funding concerns outlined in DeFi Ignas’ analysis quite alarming. The report reveals a complex and challenging asset management situation for the Treasury, which, if not addressed promptly, could lead to a potential crisis.


The Polkadot Treasury’s first-half-of-2024 report has sparked worries about a potential funding crunch due to the intricacy and difficulty in managing its distributed assets across various blockchains.

According to DeFi analyst DeFi Ignas, the Treasury’s financial reserves have a roughly two-year lifespan at the present expenditure rate of $87 million per half-year.

Funding Concerns Mount For Polkadot 

During the initial six months of 2024, Polkadot’s financial situation raises concerns. Of this amount, $37 million was allocated towards an extensive outreach initiative, intended to draw in new users, developers, and businesses.

The additional costs amounted to $15.8 million, which was allocated to ads and sponsorships ($10 million), influencer fees ($4.4 million), and digital advertising ($1.4 million). It came as a surprise that Polkadot’s social media presence, particularly on Platform X, didn’t significantly improve despite these investments.

As an analyst, I’ve examined the financial data and found that over the past six months, the Treasury has expended a total of $86 million. Simultaneously, they managed assets valued at $245 million, with $188 million (approximately 29 million DOT) being in a liquid state. The current spending trend indicates a potential financial crisis for the Treasury within the next two years.

The token supply of Polkadot expands by 10% every year, mainly contributing to staking rewards. With a market capitalization of $10 billion, this equates to $1 billion annually being distributed as rewards to stakers. This substantial amount has a considerable impact on network security costs.

Fifty-seven percent of the stakeholders opposed a plan to lower inflation, making it more difficult for the Treasury to manage its financial struggles.

New Governance Model

In the second half of 2023, Polkadot earned approximately 300,000 DOT in fees during a brief inscription campaign. However, under normal circumstances, the platform generates roughly 20,000 DOT in fee revenue every quarter.

Regarding costs, the report reveals a noteworthy 115% boost in DOT expenditures from the second half of 2023 compared to the current figures. The reason for this substantial hike can be attributed to the ambitious proposals and larger budget requests.

As a DOT investor, I’ve noticed an uptick in the average price of DOT, which translates to more value for each token in my portfolio. However, I can’t help but feel uneasy about the growing apprehensions surrounding the Treasury’s usage within our crypto community.

As a crypto investor in Polkadot, I’m excited about the steps the team is taking to address some of the challenges we’ve encountered. Instead of a more decentralized approach, they’re moving towards a more structured setup. Executive bodies like bounties and collectives are emerging, each assuming important roles within the ecosystem, similar to departments in a well-oiled machine.

As a analyst examining Polkadot’s organizational structure, I would suggest paraphrasing it this way: I oversee the functions responsible for security, data analysis, core functionality advancement, network management, marketing efforts, and business expansion in Polkadot. The pressing issue at hand is how to set up efficient structures promptly to steer Polkadot towards achieving its goals successfully.

As a crypto investor, I believe the proposed solution involves granting more authority to these executive bodies according to the blockchain’s treasury. These entities are composed of experienced individuals who assess new proposals and generate value for the community. Collectives, which function like subDAOs, come equipped with OpenGov features and their own sub-treasuries to streamline their operations.

Using these executive bodies, Polkadot can delegate routine matters and administrative chores, enabling OpenGov’s key players to concentrate on formulating crucial judgments.

The efficacy and productivity of the executive institutions are assessed, leading to budget discussions with OpenGov, determined by the evaluation outcomes.

Polkadot Treasury Faces Impending Funding Crisis: Limited To 24 Months Before Exhaustion

As I analyze the current market situation, DOT is presently priced at $6.35. This reflects a notable gain of approximately 4% in the last 24 hours. However, it’s important to note that this cryptocurrency, which holds the 17th largest market capitalization, has experienced a decline of around 10% over the past month.

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2024-07-02 04:34