Thread by @danreecer_

What are @Polkadot and @KusamaNetwork? It can be quite simple.

Quick Polkadot and Kusama 101 in this 10-tweet thread ↘️

It's also important to know what is *not* @Polkadot. Polkadot is not a smart contract platform - you can't build or use Apps on Polkadot. That's what parachains are for.

Here's a look at the @Polkadot tech stack from layer 0, to layer 1 (parachains like @AcalaNetwork), to the application layer (where U.S. fintech app @current is integrating with Acala):

Here is the @Polkadot tech stack from another view. You can see @AcalaNetwork plugging into Polkadot for security and interoperability, all the Substrate pallets/products built into Acala's layer 1 platform (like Ethereum but customized for DeFi), and the Acala Apps built on top.

Polkadot's "Relay Chain" is the core of the network that connects parachains and provides plug-and-play security to any parachain that connects to it. A parachain, like @AcalaNetwork or @KaruraNetwork, is an individual blockchain customized using the Substrate framework.

Polkadot has two types of bridges:

1) Polkadot-to-network (@InterlayHQ, @snowfork_inc)
2) Direct parachain-to-network bridge (@AcalaNetwork-to-@compoundfinance, and @AcalaNetwork-to-RenBTC)

These are the six key challenges that @Polkadot is solving:

And what is @KusamaNetwork? Kusama is the exact same as @Polkadot, but built for speed and experimentation. Teams can:
1) Run networks in parallel on Polkadot and Kusama
2) Launch on Kusama, then move to Polkadot
3) Run a network exclusively on Kusama

So why have two Relay Chains with @kusamanetwork and @Polkadot instead of just testnet and mainnet?

Kusama introduces a step between testnet and Polkadot, where teams can innovate and experiment in a real value (multi-billion dollar) mainnet environment.

For 19-minute introduction to @Polkadot and @kusamanetwork, go here: