Asset Hub Migration - Balances FAQ

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Asset Hub Migration - Balances FAQ

The Asset Hub Migration of both, Kusama & Polkadot networks is currently planned for later this year. If you’re unsure of what the AHM is or why the team is planning this, then check out this thread here.

What is this topic for?

This topic will be for all AHM FAQ’s relating to Balances. We’ve pre-filled some FAQ’s below, however if your questions is not answered by any of these, please feel free to comment below and ask away.

FAQ’s

Will there be any changes to Polkadot’s (DOT) coin name or ticker symbol?

  • No, there will be no change to the DOT token coin name / ticket symbol.

Should Polkadot be disabled, so that users can only buy tokens on Asset Hub and transfer that to their wallet?

  • From a user’s point of view, things shouldn’t change much. They will still go to the exchange and buy DOT tokens, what happens in the background should be abstracted from them.

  • At the moment the exchanges support the Polkadot relay chain. After the migration, the exchanges would withdraw the DOT tokens from the Asset Hub, not the relay chain.

Will the user still need to see the relay chain on the UI of wallets after migration?

  • No, as an end user you don’t need to see the relay chain, you also won’t be interacting with it any longer. All you need to see on your UI is that you’re holding DOT.

From a user’s perspective: do they need to do anything? Do users need to teleport their assets to Asset Hub? Should we implement this on the UI, if we currently don’t provide this on our dapp?

  • The overall aim is to make the migration process automatic, where there is no action required from the tools/apps or the users. The plan is for everything to be migrated seamlessly, whether it’s a normal account, a multi-sig account, a proxy account, or a proxied account.

  • There may be some edge cases that we’re unable to foresee. The best way to address this is by having a public test net in Q1 2025, where everyone can go and replicate the situations they think their users might encounter. This will help us identify any edge cases that the migration process may not be covering and react accordingly.

Do users that have DOT on parachains need to do any manual migrations?

  • No user interaction is needed. The migration process aims to be automatic, with no action required from users, including those with DOT on parachains.

Will the migration affect the balances?

  • Account balances will be migrated from Relay Chain to Asset Hub so users will need to have access to this blockchain to access their DOTs, but the interface for this interaction should not change.

When balances move out of the relay chain, will Location { parents: 1, interior: Here } still be used as the identifier for the native token from the parachain’s perspective?

  • No. The location ID (Identifier) of DOT doesn’t need to change since it’s tied to the system rather than the reserve location.

Some users won’t check wallets for months. How do we prevent lost funds?

  • The migration process will not cause any loss of funds. We have implemented final checks to guarantee that the state after the migration matches the state before it began. User involvement is not necessary, so users don’t need to be concerned even if they don’t check their wallets for an extended period.

Will users need to replicate governance states manually?

  • Ongoing referenda will be mapped if there is a clear mapping path and the preimage is present; otherwise, it will be dropped. Before the migration, users should consider whether their referendum will still apply after the migration (e.g., if it calls a pallet that has been moved or filtered). For more complex calls, consider waiting until after the migration if it won’t enact in time.

  • If you still need to post your referendum during the migration period, ensure the preimage is uploaded so the call data is available for the migration. These steps will prevent the referendum from being dropped.

How will this change be reflected in polkadot.js?

  • Most of the work for polkadot.js will involve switching the RPC. All the pallets related to staking, governance, and other functionalities will remain the same. The main change will be pointing to the Asset Hub instead of the relay chain for these operations.

How will a user transfer tokens from a Polkadot Wallet to an Ethereum address?

  • The Smart Contracts (SC) upgrade project is separate from the Asset Hub Migration. For further information about the SC upgrade, please refer to this document.

Will users need to regenerate addresses or will the addresses change in some way?

  • No action will be needed on the user’s part regarding addresses. Most addresses will stay the same, except for Parachain sovereign and derived ones (but these don’t concern the normal end-user).
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