Polkadot, a pioneering contender to Ethereum within the cryptocurrency domain, has expended $87 million worth of DOT tokens on myriad initiatives during the first half of this year, doubling its expenditure rate compared to the preceding six months. This was revealed in a comprehensive treasury report published by community representatives over the weekend.

Currently, Polkadot’s treasury holds approximately $245 million in DOT, which community members estimate will suffice for two years at current market prices. The spending in the first half of this year marks a staggering 125% increase from the nearly $25 million spent during the second half of 2023.

Significantly, Polkadot’s treasury is replenished by the inflationary nature of the DOT token, ensuring continuous growth before net expenditures are accounted for over the next two years.

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“The entire concept of a ‘runway for the on-chain treasury’ is misleading. The treasury experiences constant inflows and will not deplete its funds,” asserted Web3Foundation CEO Fabian Gompf on X.

Marketing and outreach activities constituted the largest expenditure, with over $36 million allocated towards advertisements, events, meetups, conference hosting, and other initiatives designed to draw new users, developers, and enterprises to the ecosystem. Software development costs were the second-largest outlay, with over $23 million invested in building essential services, such as wallets and toolkits, to support developers. Additionally, around $15 million was spent on liquidity provision and incentives for Polkadot-based trading platforms.

A meticulous breakdown of each transaction is accessible via a publicly-viewable spreadsheet. However, community members have voiced concerns regarding the substantial spending on various activities and the potential liquidity depletion.

“The Treasury currently holds about 32 million DOT (equivalent to $200 million USD) in liquid assets available within the next year. At a current net loss rate of 17 million DOT (approximately $108 million USD) per year, this provides a runway of about two years, assuming the DOT/USD rate remains constant,” the report highlighted.

“The volatile nature of a predominantly DOT-denominated treasury complicates future predictions, but concerns within the ecosystem about the utilization of the Treasury are escalating,” the report concluded.