How to Start a Parachain Journey?

To launch a parachain on 
@Polkadot
 , a project must first participate in the parachain slot auction. Projects can join this process using their own funds or by collecting $DOT from the community through a crowdloan.

The winning project leases the slot for a set period and integrates its blockchain into Polkadot. Once the parachain is operational, block production begins, and it can communicate with other parachains.

When the lease expires, the project can either rejoin the auction to renew the slot or continue as a parathread.