Polkadot spent $37M on marketing – It was NOT worth it

Polkadot’s latest financial report reveals a shocking expenditure on marketing, totaling $37 million out of the $87 million spent in the first half of this year. Long story short? That $37m was really not worth it.

The community is outraged, criticizing the massive spending that failed to yield the expected results. Meanwhile, Polkadot’s funds are projected to last another two years at the current burn rate.

Polkadot’s financial breakdown

Polkadot disclosed in their report that they have 29 million DOT, equivalent to $188 million, in cash and cash equivalents. This includes DOT, USDT, and USDC available for immediate use by the Treasury.

These assets are distributed across three chains: 23 million DOT ($148 million) on the relay chain, 6.2 million DOT ($40 million) on AssetHub, and 79,000 DOT ($505,000) on Hydration.

The non-custodial liquidity provision stands at 1 million DOT ($6.4 million) provided into the Hydration Omnipool. Polkadot’s designated assets amount to 7.3 million DOT ($47 million), set aside for specific purposes but not yet deployed.

Polkadot has also extended loans to inject liquidity into DeFi protocols within its ecosystem. Bifrost received a 500,000 DOT loan, and Pendulum received a 50,000 DOT loan.

The company’s treasury liabilities are minimal, with salaries potentially reaching up to 250,000 USDT per month. This leaves the Treasury with a comfortable surplus of $244.6 million.

Despite heavy investments, the direct revenue from fees remains marginal. Polkadot made 300,000 DOT from fees in the second half of 2023 and 20,000 DOT per quarter under regular conditions.

Outreach saw $37 million, apparently aimed at attracting new users, developers, and businesses to the ecosystem. This category includes advertising ($21 million), events ($7.9 million), business development ($3.9 million), and media production ($3.2 million).

Community outrage

In advertising, $10 million went to sponsorships, including a $6.8 million deal with a prestigious soccer club and $1.9 million for sponsoring race car driver Conor Daly.

Influencer marketing cost $4.9 million through agencies like EVOX, Lunar Strategy, Chainwire, and Unchained. Digital ads placed via CoinMarketCap and EVOX totaled $4 million.

The community is furious about the insane amount of money Polkadot has spent on marketing. They argue that the spending has not delivered the anticipated results, with little to show for the massive outlay.

The lavish spending on sponsorships, influencer marketing, and events has drawn particular ire, with many questioning the return on investment.

DOT is getting called a worthless token over this. Oddly, influencers are advising investors against it.

So while Polkadot’s chain remains mostly praised, the community believes the company needs to change its marketing team. The current one is clearly not cutting it.

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Jai Hamid