The Rise of Polkadot and the Next Wave of NFT and Gaming Development
In Brief
Polkadot is driving the next wave of NFT and gaming innovation with scalable infrastructure, interoperable NFTs, and Web3’s Cloud 3.0 vision, reshaping industries beyond DeFi.
What if blockchain wasn’t just about DeFi or gaming but a seamless layer powering our digital world? Charu Sethi, APAC Ambassador at Polkadot, sees this transformation unfolding. From IBM’s early blockchain efforts to leading NFT infrastructure at Unique Network, she has been at the forefront of Web3’s development.
In this interview, Charu discusses blockchain’s growing traction in Asia-Pacific, Polkadot’s latest innovations, and how interoperable NFTs and Web3’s Cloud 3.0 vision are reshaping industries. She offers a glimpse into a future where blockchain isn’t just an add-on—it’s the backbone of digital innovation.
Can you share your journey into blockchain and Web3?
I’m Charu, and I am currently part of the Polkadot ecosystem. I also lead teams at Unique Network, which is the NFT infrastructure parachain on Polkadot. My journey into blockchain, though not technically Web3, started between 2013 and 2016 when I was working with IBM. During that time, we began educating our clients on blockchain—just the basics of what blockchain is and what distributed ledger technology can do.
In 2016, I took on the role of leading marketing for blockchain at IBM. It was a time when blockchain was still in its early days, and we avoided using the term “cryptocurrency,” but we continued to educate our clients. Eventually, we began delivering Proof of Concepts (PoCs) for our financial services clients. I held that role for about two years, and during that time, I developed a deeper interest in the Web3 space outside of IBM.
At the end of 2020, I left IBM to join the Polkadot ecosystem. It was a significant change for me. I initially started with a small project at Enjin, and then I joined Unique Network, where I learned more about Polkadot and became involved in building infrastructure and technologies for advanced NFTs. That was my transition into Web3 and blockchain.
Are there any notable gaming projects currently being developed on Polkadot? What sets them apart?
I’ll start with the biggest one—Mythical Games. They onboarded or migrated to Polkadot in 2024, moving their Mythical Chain from Ethereum to Polkadot to enhance scalability and interoperability. They were well-established in the Ethereum ecosystem but struggled with high transaction costs. After migrating to Polkadot, they hit three million transactions within the first 48 hours. Mythical Games is bringing in major brand names like NFL Rivals, FIFA Rivals, and soon, the Pudgy Party.
Another unique example is TapNation. TapNation is a Web2 company with a huge portfolio of mobile tap games, similar to Candy Crush, with millions of active users. One of their games, Water Color Sort, has two million active users, and they are migrating by onboarding users from that game onto Polkadot. What makes this interesting is that, despite being a Web2 company, they could easily integrate Polkadot and Unique Network using Unique Network’s SDKs. This proves how effective Polkadot’s developer tools are. From this initiative, we expect about 700,000 new users on Polkadot.
Our early tests with 20,000 users showed incredible results. Users who engaged with the crypto feature generated five times more revenue than those who didn’t. This highlights how robust the toolset is for developers and how it supports large-scale growth.
How does Polkadot handle scalability and transaction speed, particularly for gaming dApps?
Polkadot is designed for applications that require speed and security. It started with a hierarchical multi-chain architecture, where the relay chain supports multiple parallel chains, each capable of submitting a block per relay chain. This setup enables simultaneous operation across multiple parallel chains.
Polkadot has been continuously improving its architecture to meet ecosystem demands. The introduction of asynchronous backing decouples parachain block production from relay chain block time, reducing block intervals from 12 seconds to six seconds and significantly increasing throughput. The agile core time upgrade replaced the traditional auction-based system with an on-demand block space model, making it more flexible and reducing costs. Additionally, elastic scaling, introduced in 2024, allows parachains to lease additional cores at short notice.
One exciting test was the Spammening initiative, conducted on Kusama to stress-test scalability and performance. Polkadot achieved 143,000 transactions per second at just 23% capacity while maintaining six-second block times.
In 2023, Unique Network tested NFT minting speeds with the game Forever Has Fallen, which required the minting of millions of NFTs. We conducted two performance tests and successfully minted over 5,000 NFTs per minute—nearly 100,000 NFTs in under 20 minutes—outpacing previous records set by Solana and Polygon by at least three times. These advancements make Polkadot highly scalable for gaming and other large-scale applications.
Which blockchain sectors are gaining the most traction in Asia-Pacific? How is Polkadot positioned?
Having just returned from a conference in Hong Kong, I’ve seen significant developments in various sectors. Financial services are particularly excited about regulatory improvements, which are opening up opportunities for tokenization and real-world asset initiatives.
Gaming remains a major focus in the region. While in Hong Kong, I met with Korean companies and blockchain enthusiasts, who confirmed a growing interest in blockchain’s role in entertainment and media, especially music and K-pop. There is a surge in funding for these projects, indicating promising growth.
Do you have any initiatives that support startups in the Asia-Pacific region?
Yes, Polkadot is highly supportive of developers through various initiatives. The Polkadot Blockchain Academy has expanded online, making developer onboarding more scalable. Previously, month-long academies were conducted in cities like Singapore, the U.S., and Hong Kong.
Polkadot also partners with EasyA, one of the largest developer communities, to support hackathons and grant programs. EasyA, with Polkadot Treasury’s backing, launched a fast grants program that identifies promising developers through hackathons and supports them until they deliver a minimum viable product.
Unique Network had a successful code grant program that onboarded 12 projects, all of which delivered MVPs with user growth. Additionally, the Web3 Foundation and Substrate Builders Program provide grants, while the Polkadot Treasury funds projects that add value to the ecosystem.
What are the biggest challenges in the Asia-Pacific region? How do you plan to address them?
The two main challenges are user interface tools for developers and regulatory clarity. Polkadot has been focusing on improving developer tools and user interfaces, with hackathons and grants aimed at addressing these issues. Regulatory uncertainty has slowed enterprise adoption of NFTs and DeFi, but this is changing with global regulatory improvements.
How engaged is the community in Asia-Pacific? What engagement strategies work best?
Asia-Pacific is a highly engaged region. According to Chainalysis’ Global Crypto Adoption Index, five or six of the top ten countries are from Central and Southeast Asia. Users in the region are deeply engaged with NFTs, airdrops, and gaming.
From a developer perspective, hackathons and grant programs generate significant participation. The sheer number of developers ensures strong engagement. Gaming and NFT-related initiatives have been particularly successful in driving participation for end users.
What is the most exciting development in the Polkadot ecosystem for 2025 and beyond?
One major advancement is Polkadot’s interoperability. Unique Network has enabled interoperable NFTs, making NFT transfers across chains a reality. The test environment for this is live, allowing developers to experiment.
Polkadot is also evolving into Cloud 3.0, positioning itself as the AWS of Web3. The Polkadot Hub will serve as a launchpad for governance models, new initiatives, and token registrations. These developments make Polkadot an ideal infrastructure for Web3 applications.
Which industries beyond gaming and DeFi will see the next big wave of blockchain disruption?
Entertainment is a growing sector. Several major entertainment companies are embracing blockchain, with some Korean firms receiving significant funding for K-pop-related blockchain projects. Another emerging trend is NFTs being used in AI governance models, often running in the background without users realizing they are engaging with blockchain technology. These sectors have enormous potential for blockchain disruption in the coming years.
Disclaimer
In line with the Trust Project guidelines, please note that the information provided on this page is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other form of advice. It is important to only invest what you can afford to lose and to seek independent financial advice if you have any doubts. For further information, we suggest referring to the terms and conditions as well as the help and support pages provided by the issuer or advertiser. MetaversePost is committed to accurate, unbiased reporting, but market conditions are subject to change without notice.
About The Author
Victoria is a writer on a variety of technology topics including Web3.0, AI and cryptocurrencies. Her extensive experience allows her to write insightful articles for the wider audience.
More articles
Victoria is a writer on a variety of technology topics including Web3.0, AI and cryptocurrencies. Her extensive experience allows her to write insightful articles for the wider audience.
