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What is Polkadot (DOT)? Polkadot is an open source multi-chain sharding protocol that facilitates the cross-chain transfer of any type of data or assets, not just tokens, making a wide range of blockchains able to interoperate with each other. This interoperability seeks to establish a completely decentralized and private web, controlled by its users, and simplify the creation of new applications, institutions and services. The Polkadot protocol connects public and private blockchains, permissionless networks, oracles and future technologies, allowing these independent blockchains to reliably share information and transactions via the Polkadot relay chain (explained below). The DOT token, native to Polkadot, serves three clear purposes: to provide network governance and operations, and to create paracains (parallel chains) through membership. Polkadot has four basic components: Relay Chain: the "heart" of Polkadot, which helps create consensus, interoperability and shared security across the network of different chains; Parachains: independent chains that can have their own tokens and be optimized for specific use cases; Parathread: similar to paracains but with flexible connectivity based on a pay-per-use economic model; Bridges: allows paracains and parathreads to connect and communicate with external blockchains such as Ethereum. Polkadot is a multi-chain sharded network, meaning that it can process many transactions on multiple chains in parallel ("parathreads"). This parallel processing power improves scalability. Custom blockchains are quick and easy to develop through the Substrate framework and can be connected to the Polkadot network in minutes. The network is also highly flexible and adaptable, allowing information and functionality to be exchanged between participants in a manner similar to smartphone apps. Polkadot can be automatically upgraded without the need for a fork to implement new features or remove bugs. The network has a highly sophisticated, user-oriented governance system that also helps to secure it. Communities can customize the governance of their blockchain on Polkadot based on their needs and evolving conditions. Nominators, validators, compilers and fishers fulfill various tasks to help protect and maintain the network and root out misbehavior.