1. Insider Reveals Deep Problems: Bridge Protocol Hyperbridge Becomes ‘Official Orphan’
Jaskirat Singh, co-founder and former CEO of Polkassembly (the primary governance interface for Polkadot and Kusama, which shut down last month after five years), told The Defiant that last month’s exploit of Polkadot’s bridge protocol Hyperbridge is a symptom of deeper dysfunction. Singh cited lack of direction from ecosystem leadership, DAO overspending, and failure to pay ecosystem contributors, including Polkassembly itself. A spokesman for Parity denied these claims. Singh described the bridge situation as “expensive and chaotic”: Hyperbridge was labeled the official bridge after spending millions on building their own bridge and funding others. A 2024 governance vote approved nearly $6M USDC and $DOT for Snowbridge, which launched with “insane fees”; a subsequent $3.4M request was rejected. Meanwhile, Polytope Labs (Hyperbridge team) raised $2.5M seed round from W3F and Scytale. Hyperbridge was elevated to native bridge status with 795,000 $DOT allocated for liquidity. Parity’s Stuart Macdonald countered that Hyperbridge is not native, and that Parity and W3F are distancing themselves.
2. Who’s Actually Running Polkadot? Institutional Structure and Governance
Polkadot has two key entities: Web3 Foundation (W3F, a Swiss nonprofit founded by Gavin Wood) and Parity Technologies (private development company). Wood serves as Parity CEO and W3F Council President. OpenGov, an on-chain governance system, allows $DOT holders to vote on treasury spending and protocol changes. Polkadot originated from a 2016 Whitepaper proposing a “heterogeneous multi-chain framework” as a Layer 0. W3F raised ~$145M in 2017 ICO, followed by private sales in 2019 and 2020 totaling ~$247.7M. Mainnet launched May 2020.
3. W3F Sunsets Initiatives, Including Official Support
Singh argues that W3F has largely retreated. In February, W3F wound down its official Polkadot Support channels; in December, it sunset its general grants program, Decentralized Voices, and Decentralized Nodes initiatives. Leadership instability: CEO Fabian Gompf (appointed Sept 2023) stepped down Feb 2025 after ~16 months, replaced by managing director Thomas Fecker Boxler. Macdonald called this a strategic shift focusing on global advocacy. W3F announced in March a narrowed scope to “champion the long-term vision of Web3.” Singh criticized that the foundation received over $200M (30% of initial token supply) yet now only does conferences and treasury management.
4. Treasury Payment Issues: Polkassembly and Other Contributors Unpaid
Singh said Polkassembly operated for over five years, tracking 1,700 referenda and serving 250K+ participants, but ran about eight months without payment. A final request for $62,700 USDT (including $50K for unpaid contributor compensation) was rejected with over 99% votes against. Anonymous commenters accused the platform of “draining” millions. Macdonald said W3F never mandated Polkassembly and their retroactive request was not pre-approved. Singh claims others face the same pattern. Former Parity employee Lucy Coulden launched a crowdfunding campaign alleging over $200K unpaid for eight months of work. Coulden highlighted blurred accountability in decentralized ecosystems. Macdonald denied any unpaid sums from Parity or W3F, stating OpenGov decisions rest with $DOT holders.
5. Treasury Spending: $133M in 2024, Private Jet Branding Controversy
Singh questioned treasury spending accountability, including $180K on private jet branding in May 2024. Polkadot spent $133M total in 2024: $48M on outreach, $32M on development, $19M on business development. The first half of 2024 alone allocated $37M to marketing, advertising, and events, drawing community criticism. Spending dropped sharply to $70.6M for full-year 2025, with Q4 at $7.4M (lowest since OpenGov), but prior quarters were in double-digit millions.
6. Projects Voting with Their Feet: Parachain Migrations
Governance dysfunction parallels project departures. Centrifuge, a flagship RWA parachain, migrated to Ethereum in July 2024 citing broader reach. Manta shut down its Polkadot parachain (Manta Atlantic) in January 2024, highlighting “remarkable growth” on its Ethereum L2. Phala officially departed in November 2024, also migrating to an L2, citing expiring slot and scalability constraints. Manta co-founder Victor Ji posted in July 2024 that the Polkadot ecosystem is “highly toxic, lacks real value, and doesn’t focus on users,” calling it “essentially dead.” He also alleged discrimination against Asian founders. Macdonald responded that independent teams make strategic decisions and new projects have joined.
7. Ecosystem Data: TVL, Active Users, and Token Price All Sinking
As of May 7, Polkadot parachain DeFi TVL totals ~$81M, with $75.7M on Hydration (down from $376.5M peak in Sept 2025). For comparison, Ethereum TVL is $48B, Solana $6.8B. Other parachains’ TVL shares have shrunk: Astar Network fell from 60-70% in early 2022 to ~2.5% today; Acala’s TVL crashed from $110M to ~$122K after aUSD depeg in 2022. Monthly active users are ~43,000, down from ~200K in Dec 2024 and peak 230K in Jan 2024. DOT is down ~98% from its Nov 2021 ATH, with a market cap of ~$2B. Native tokens of original parachains (Astar, Acala, Moonbeam) are also down >98% from Jan 2022 highs. Singh concluded that the decentralized governance model has broadly failed and “Polkadot is kind of done.” Macdonald emphasized ongoing building: Asset Hub migration reduced fees 100-fold, and new initiatives like Bulletin Chain and DOT staking services aim to improve usability. Polkadot recently launched a DOT ETF, but the ecosystem’s future remains uncertain.