The Polkadot community celebrated the blockchain’s fourth anniversary by ratifying the highly anticipated Join-Accumulate Machine (JAM) upgrade.The proposal received unanimous support, with backing from over 31 million DOT tokens.JAM ratificationJAM is a decentralized hybrid system offering secure and scalable smart contract functionalities by merging features from Ethereum within Polkadot’s framework.This upgrade is widely celebrated within the community as the next phase in Polkadot’s evolution. It replaces the network’s Relay Chain with a more modular, minimalistic design. Gavin Wood, Polkadot’s founder, presented the update’s Graypaper in April at the Token2049 crypto conference.On May 27, Wood revealed that the community had ratified the proposed upgrade with a near-unanimous governance vote, adding that work was ongoing to finalize the Graypaper to version 1.0.The ratification doesn’t mean immediate change. Instead, it indicates the community’s readiness to accept and oversee the JAM upgrade under the Technical Fellowship’s supervision.On May 26, the Polkadot network celebrated its fourth anniversary since the launch of its Genesis block in 2020.Polkadot is a blockchain network designed for speed and scalability. It employs multiple parallel blockchains, known as “parachains,” to distribute processing demands. The network uses a governance token called DOT, which it asserts is not a security because it has evolved into software.This distinction distinguishes it from competitors that have drawn significant regulatory scrutiny from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Interestingly, DOT remains one of the few digital assets that the SEC has not classified as a security despite numerous regulatory actions against other industry players.Polkadot has experienced substantial success and adoption in various metrics. Notably, it has excelled in staking compared to other proof-of-stake networks. Staking involves participants locking up digital assets to support network security and operations, earning rewards in return.Data from DotLake reveals that about 58% of DOT’s total supply, equivalent to 822.5 million tokens (approximately $6 billion), is currently staked on the network. This is significantly higher than Ethereum, which has approximately 27% of its total supply locked, according to Nansen data.Furthermore, Polkadot’s decentralized governance system, OpenGov, is actively driving initiatives to advance the network’s goals. The community has passed several proposals, including the ratification of the JAM upgrade and other developments.Disclaimer: CryptoSlate has received a grant from the Polkadot Foundation to produce content about the Polkadot ecosystem. While the Foundation supports our coverage, we maintain full editorial independence and control over the content we publish.Oluwapelumi values Bitcoin’s potential. He imparts insights on a range of topics like DeFi, hacks, mining and culture, underlining transformative power.Also known as “Akiba,” Liam is a reporter, editor and podcast producer at CryptoSlate. He believes that decentralized technology has the potential to make widespread positive change. Stay ahead with crypto’s key news and insights. Delivered directly, every day.SubQuery said these RPCs are the first on Substrate-based networks and will be operated by over 30 independent Node Operators.Hydration said the funding will boost the liquidity and efficiency of its single-sided liquidity provisioning platform, Omnipool.Accelerate Polkadot said it wants to provide the de facto answers to Polkadot’s developers questions.The Decentralized Fund inititaive is designed to support Polkadot-focused organizations with funding.CryptoSlate’s latest market report dives deep into the effects corporate Bitcoin purchases have on the market.Disclaimer: Our writers’ opinions are solely their own and do not reflect the opinion of CryptoSlate. None of the information you read on CryptoSlate should be taken as investment advice, nor does CryptoSlate endorse any project that may be mentioned or linked to in this article. Buying and trading cryptocurrencies should be considered a high-risk activity. Please do your own due diligence before taking any action related to content within this article. Finally, CryptoSlate takes no responsibility should you lose money trading cryptocurrencies.