The Polkadot ecosystem is facing a set of unique challenges in the Web3 ecosystem. To start, it is facing a backlash from the community for its spending. A recent report released by the Polkadot Treasury for the first half of 2024 has raised concerns.
Polkadot Faces Challenges
There is an uproar in the crypto community especially Web3 concerning Polkadot. Let’s unpack victorji.eth on X, the man behind Manta CeDeFi and the founder of the previous largest (non-DOT) TVL in the Polkadot ecosystem, tweeted ,“I have to say that we do not want to engage with the Polkadot ecosystem and team at all. “
Victor alleges that the Polkadot ecosystem is “highly toxic ecosystem that lacks any real value for Web3.” He adds that some developers are “simply too busy to disclose the many facts about the discrimination we have faced as Asian founders in this ecosystem.”
Another user on X tied to Polkadot’s DIN project adds, “You have to face and solve many additional issues, such as politics, relationships, and cliques. […] Thus, we gradually distanced ourselves from the Polkadot ecosystem.
Polkadot has also been criticized for spending as much as $87 million in a year, $37 million of which was spent on marketing. According to the team, they spent the money to attract new users, developers, and businesses.
Clearly, that has not worked, as many developers are exiting Polkadot. In addition, the entity spent $10 million on ads, $4.4 million of which was paid to influencers, and $4 million on digital ads. However, despite that social media exposure expenditure, Polkadot’s visibility remains low.
One use on X Web3 Philosopher by the tag @seunlanlege tweeted, “It’s insane to me how much money the Polkadot treasury is wasting on misplaced marketing. Did we learn nothing from FTX and http://crypto.com?”
Interestingly, @seunlanlege, in a recent open discussion on X, stated Polkadot must focus on building developer grants and hackathons. They also mention that marketing should focus on developers rather than retail users.
Polkadot’s Assurance to the Community
Fabian Gompf, the CEO of Web3 Foundation, gave some clarity on the issue in his tweet, stating, “This is not Web3foundation spending but on-chain treasury spending voted on by the community.”
He further clarifies, “The treasury has continuous inflows. It’s never going to run out of funds,” to ease the community members’ doubts regarding the funding.
Gompf agrees with the community’s overall sentiment regarding spending on low-return activities. He also rallied the members to vote for the changes they wished to see in the community.
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