Polkadot’s native token, $DOT, traded near $3.31 on July 2. This shows a 95% drop from its all-time high near $55 in late 2021. At its peak, Polkadot ranked among the world’s top 10 blockchains by market capitalization. The sharp fall has revived debate about whether Polkadot, once branded an “Ethereum killer,” has lost its relevance.
Analyst Calls Polkadot a Dead Chain
Crypto analyst Nonzee recently claimed Polkadot is now a “ghost chain.” He argued that Polkadot failed to build real user traction despite raising over $500 million through its early ICO and private rounds. He said the Relay Chain’s daily active addresses have fallen below 5,000 and developer numbers have collapsed.
Nonzee pointed out that Polkadot once reported more than 2,400 total developers at its peak but now shows about 500 ecosystem-wide. He also pointed out that the old parachain auction model locked up capital without delivering strong user growth. According to him, the Polkadot 2.0 upgrade has not reversed this trend.
On-Chain Data Confirms Core Chain Weakness
The Q1 2025 Polkadot report by Messari partly confirms these points. Daily active addresses on the Relay Chain dropped 33.9% quarter-over-quarter to just 4,280. Total transactions on the base chain fell 25% to 10.3 million for the quarter. Transaction fees shrank more than 80% QoQ to just $88,300, showing minimal economic activity directly on the core layer.
Developer trends show the same weakness. Polkadot’s core developer count rose slightly by 1.5% to 122, ending a multi-quarter slide. But total ecosystem developers dropped 5.7% to 421, and code commits fell 14% to just above 3,000 per week. These numbers support the claim that developer participation is far below peak levels.
Despite the quarter-over-quarter drop, total ecosystem transactions still rose 76% year-over-year to about 137 million. This shows that activity remains stronger than it was in early 2024, even if recent momentum is weaker.
Parachains and Rollups Keep Ecosystem Alive
While Polkadot’s base chain is quiet, its wider network continues to process real user activity. The Q1 report shows over 529,000 monthly active addresses across its parachains and rollups.
Moonbeam, a parachain focused on Ethereum compatibility, handled 16.7 million transactions in Q1, up 6.5% from the prior quarter. Mythos, which supports Web3 gaming, grew transactions 12% to 12.3 million. Peaq, which powers decentralized physical infrastructure, increased transactions by 84% to 10.1 million.
Other active networks include Frequency, Phala, and Energy Web X. Each processed over 10 million transactions in the quarter, adding to the ecosystem’s total load.
Compared to other layer-0 networks like Cosmos and Avalanche, Polkadot’s structure remains competitive but still faces pressure to turn these activity pockets into sustained demand for $DOT.
Treasury Still Has Funds, Spending Remains Active
Polkadot’s treasury ended Q1 with about $109.7 million in assets — down roughly 78% from its estimated $500 million peak in early cycles. Despite this, the treasury recorded its first net-positive financial result after inflation and token burn adjustments.
Most spending went to outreach ($7.5 million), development ($5.6 million), and operations ($2.1 million). Strategic funding also targeted UX improvements, developer onboarding, and marketing. The treasury’s mixed results show that the network remains financially active, even if price declines continue to shrink its dollar value.
Governance Votes Fall But Staking Supply Grows
Polkadot’s governance system, OpenGov, allows stakers to vote on network proposals. The Q1 report shows that 221 referenda were proposed, down 22% from the previous quarter. Voter participation also slipped, which mirrors lower user activity on the Relay Chain.
However, Polkadot’s staked supply rose 7.9% to about 843.9 million DOT in Q1. This shows that some long-term holders still lock tokens to secure the network and earn staking rewards.
DOT’s price is consolidating near $3.31. The price chart shows resistance at $3.37 and support near $3.01. The Relative Strength Index sits around 39. An RSI below 30 usually signals oversold conditions, so 39 shows weak momentum but no extreme level yet. If DOT stays above $3, traders may test the $4–$4.13 range again.
Polkadot Faces a Narrative Gap, But Not Dead Yet
Data shows that Polkadot’s Relay Chain usage is weak, its token price remains 95% below its peak, and developer engagement has fallen sharply since its early boom. The ICO dream of becoming an “Ethereum killer” did not fully materialize.
Yet the broader Polkadot ecosystem is not dead. Over half a million addresses still interact with connected parachains each month. Some sub-networks continue to expand transaction counts and roll out new products. The treasury is funded and spending strategically, while the Agile Coretime upgrade aims to fix past design limits.