Polkadot founder Gavin Wood has a grand vision for the future of parachains, aiming to create an advanced and decentralized system that can support smart contracts. Polkadot already offers a diverse range of services, catering to different needs in the blockchain ecosystem, from simplified Web3 experiences to real-world asset tokenization platforms.
However, there are still challenges that need to be addressed, such as the high costs and complexity associated with creating parachains, limited interaction between parachains despite existing communication protocols, and the expensive and time-restricted nature of auction-based parachain slot acquisitions.
That’s why the Polkadot community was thrilled when Gavin Wood unveiled the next steps for the ecosystem in a technical paper called the “JAM Gray Paper” during the Token2049 conference in April 2024.
The Gray Paper, written by Gavin Wood himself, represents a significant leap forward. It introduces JAM, short for Join-Accumulate Machine, as a potential future direction for the current Relay Chain protocol. The goal is to position Polkadot as the operating system of the blockchain space, capable of running anything and everything.
In Polkadot’s current on-chain processing model, each parachain operates independently and submits its computations to the Relay Chain for validation. The Relay Chain serves as the foundation on which parachains and decentralized applications (DApps) connect and communicate, providing security and transaction finality to parachains and enabling interoperability.
JAM takes a hybrid approach, combining the strengths of Polkadot and Ethereum into a unified platform. The Gray Paper describes JAM as a protocol that combines elements from both Polkadot and Ethereum, aiming to ensure the integrity of operations and support Turing-complete computations. Wood’s technical details also focus on improving efficiency while minimizing operational costs. JAM seeks to enhance coherency, accessibility, and interoperability, making it a simpler platform for users and developers to engage with.
Unlike Polkadot’s transaction processing model, JAM operates without conventional transactions. Instead, all actions are permissionless and go through a Refine stage. New services can be added to the chain by specifying Refine, Accumulate, and onTransfer entry points. During the Refine stage, work packages and inputs, including transaction and blockchain data, are accepted, and output is produced. The Accumulate function integrates the output into the chain state, while onTransfer allows for modifying services within the six-second transaction execution period.
JAM’s permissionless design enables the deployment and execution of code for a fee based on the computational resources used, similar to Ethereum’s gas system. This sets it apart from other smart chains, as it operates transactionless within this system.
DOT remains the primary currency within the JAM framework. It will continue to be used for paying fees, participating in governance and staking, and powering the ecosystem.
Gavin Wood’s Gray Paper, released a decade after his Ethereum Yellow Paper, presents a new vision and direction for the future of parachains. While still in the research phase, this new framework offers the community and developers a pay-as-you-go model to access Polkadot, potentially transforming one of the most populated blockchain ecosystems into a supercomputer where anyone can build and run anything.
For more information, you can check out the JAM Gray Paper. Please note that Cointelegraph does not endorse any content or product on this page, and readers should conduct their own research before making any decisions related to the company.