Acala wins first Polkadot parachain auction with over 32M DOT staked

On Thursday morning, Acala, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol operating on the Polkadot (DOT) network, announced it had won the first-ever Polkadot parachain auction. 

Acala raised a total of 32.5 million DOT, worth roughly $1.28 billion, from 24,934 contributors via an initial coin offering (ICO) structured as a crowdloan. As the proceeds are classified as 'crypto debt,' Acala would eventually need to pay back the DOT it had solicited from investors. Users' DOTs are locked for the duration of the rental agreement for Polkadot's parallel chains up for sale.

It’s a testament to the strength of @Polkadot that so many talented teams are in the running to be among the first five projects to launch on Dec 17. In this respect, we’re all winners. We’re looking forward to kicking off the multi-chain future with you! (2/3)

— Acala - DeFi Hub of Polkadot (@AcalaNetwork) November 18, 2021

Polkadot is an inter-chain smart contract network that enables the transfer of assets between its parachains. Earlier this month, its developers deployed the first parachain for auction. However, the technology is still undergoing heavy development. Nevertheless, at the time of publication, Polkadot projects have raised over 87.6 million DOT ($3.44 billion).

The second Polkadot parachain auction is ongoing, with the spot up for leasing for the next two years. Currently, the projected winner is Moonbeam, an Ethereum (ETH) compatible smart contract platform designed for building interoperable applications. It is in active development and expected to launch its mainnet by the end of the year.

Thus far, Moonbeam has raised 34.28 million DOT, or roughly $1.35 billion, in its auction from over 46,000 contributors. Investors will receive one Moonbeam (GLMR) token for each DOT they pledge, with 30% of rewards immediately available for claiming, and the remaining 70% shall vest throughout the 96-week lease. The reward pool consists of 100 million, or 10%, of its token supply of 1 billion. GLMR's token inflation stands at 5% per annum.

@MoonriverNW hits a new milestone! https://t.co/ojg2E4ycpx

— Moonbeam Network (@MoonbeamNetwork) November 17, 2021