Weekly News from Polkadot & Kusama #171
1. GIGADOT goes live on Hydration: A new era for liquid staking strategies
A new token just dropped on Hydration, and it’s already making waves. Meet GIGADOT ($GDOT) — a yield-stacking, liquidity-enhancing, strategy-enabling sharetoken that unlocks powerful new DeFi flows for Polkadot users. It launched alongside a new Strategies section in the Hydration app, making it easier than ever to get started.
GIGADOT isn’t just another LST or LP token. It’s a composite yield asset, combining returns from four sources into one. And thanks to the underlying architecture of Hydration and cross-chain integrations from Bifrost via XCM, GIGADOT is only possible in the Polkadot ecosystem.
Its launch cap of 2,222,222 GDOT was filled in less than 36 hours — a sign of real demand for deeper, composable DeFi strategies.
What exactly is GIGADOT?
GIGADOT is the sharetoken of a stablepool between aDOT and vDOT — two yield-bearing DOT derivatives:
- vDOT is Bifrost’s LST with native staking yield.
- aDOT is Hydration’s rebasing token received when supplying DOT into Supply & Borrow.
The twist? GIGADOT comes with a “drifting peg” — based on a fair market value ratio of DOT/vDOT, received via XCM from Bifrost. These sharetokens are automatically deployed into Hydration’s Supply & Borrow, where they start generating additional yield instantly.
In short: GIGADOT lets you benefit from staking, lending, trading fees, and incentives — all in one token.
Why does it matter?
Hydration built GIGADOT to solve real bottlenecks:
- Lack of vDOT liquidity to safely scale lending
- Limited DOT availability for looping strategies
- Fragmentation between staking, lending, and farming
- Demand for high-quality, yield-bearing collateral
- Need for powerful tools in the Polkadot DeFi stack
With GDOT, you no longer have to pick between strategies. You can swap into it directly, LP it, or use it as collateral in advanced DeFi flows — while simplifying complexity for everyday users.
Why isn’t it in the Omnipool?
Because it doesn’t need to be. Hydration’s Supply & Borrow doubles as an AMM, meaning the GIGADOT trading route dynamically moves through Omnipool, stablepools, and isolated pools as needed.
Here’s how a swap might look:
- DOT → aDOT → GDOT
- USDT → DOT (via Omnipool) → aDOT → vDOT → GDOT
And because of this routing system, slippage is lower, and liquidity is deeper — making LSTs more usable than ever before.
2. Polkadot hosts side event at TOKEN2049 Dubai
If you’re heading to TOKEN2049 Dubai, make sure to catch the Polkadot side event — featuring talks from Scytale Digital and Mythical Games, plus alpha-stage demos from Kylix Finance, Acurast, and Beamable.
It’s the perfect mix of tech, drinks, and networking with builders shaping the next wave of Web3. Spots are limited, so grab yours now: Register here.
3. Pheasant Swap goes live on Moonbeam for seamless cross-chain trading
Pheasant Swap has officially launched on the Moonbeam Network, offering a new way to move assets across chains without the usual friction.
Say goodbye to fragmented liquidity — with Pheasant, cross-chain transfers are simple, fast, and headache-free. Try it out now at pheasant.network/swap.
4. Xkode integrates AssetHub with Polkadot for USDT/USDC payments
Xkode.io has just unlocked USDT and USDC payments through Polkadot’s AssetHub, making it easier than ever to make Web3-native purchases using familiar stablecoins. No complex swaps or conversions — just seamless checkout with crypto.
This move marks another step toward mass adoption, bridging the gap between traditional payment expectations and the decentralized future. With Polkadot’s secure and scalable infrastructure, shopping with stablecoins is now as easy as logging in.
- Support our Polkadotters 🦐 Shrimp, 🐙 Octopus, 🐬 Dolphin & 🦈Shark validators on Polkadot and be a part of a more secure Web3 future
- Enhance Polkadot’s governance process by delegating your DOT or KSM to POLKADOTTERS, dedicated community supporters within the Polkadot ecosystem, enabling seamless participation in on-chain governance through Nova wallet or Polkadot Delegation Dashboard
