Elastic Scaling Update - August
Hi everyone!
Following the successful enactment of referendum #569 and a week of flawless operation, we are thrilled to announce that RFC103 has been successfully deployed on Kusama. This is a significant achievement that we can all be proud of. 
This milestone means parachains can now securely utilize multiple cores, boosting throughput and reducing block times.
Why this matters
Elastic Scaling is the final missing piece of Polkadot 2.0. With it, rollups (parachains) can dynamically scale up their compute power using the Agile Coretime interface, tapping into Polkadot’s multi-core architecture.
In practice, this means:
Higher throughput - more transactions per second without sacrificing security or decentralization
Lower latency - rollups can hit 500ms block times
Greater bandwidth - up to 20 MB/s of data availability when scaling to 12 cores
Flexibility - parachains adjust coretime on demand, scaling up or down to match workload and use case.
Whether you’re building gaming dApps that need low latency, DeFi protocols that demand high throughput, or social platforms that rely on bandwidth-heavy messaging, Elastic Scaling unlocks new possibilities.
Storm Tested, Future Ready
While the Q2 RFC103 deployment faced challenges, particularly during the Kusama dispute storm, we’ve emerged stronger. The postmortem of this event revealed critical issues in the dispute protocol, which we’ve since resolved. This has led to a more resilient, stable, and future-proof system.
What’s next
With RFC103 live on Kusama and validated under real conditions, we are moving closer to a Polkadot mainnet release, scheduled for early September, with an exact date to be released once the referendum is submitted. This rollout will mark the beginning of a new era for developers and users across the ecosystem:
Apps with faster, smoother UX
Rollups that scale seamlessly with demand
A Polkadot network ready to support global-scale applications
Elastic Scaling isn’t just an upgrade - it’s a game changer for how blockspace is used and delivered.
We’re eager to hear your thoughts. What are you most excited to build with Elastic Scaling? How will it impact your work?