📖
Web3 Encyclopedia
  • Welcome aboard!
  • Source
  • 😀Evolution from Web 1.0 to Web 3.0
    • Web 1.0 Web 2.0 Web 3.0
    • Key Features
    • Current Limitations
    • Future of Web 3.0
    • Learn: What Is Web3?
    • Learn: Will Every Brand Have a Web3 Strategy?
    • Learn: Big Ideas in 2023
    • Learn: The Web3 Paradox: Why Scaling Usage Alone Won't Lead to Mass Adoption?
    • Learn: Is Web3 A Marketing Buzz or Tech Revolution?
    • Learn: What is the relationship between blockchain and Web3?
    • Learn:Empowering Women in Web 3.0: The Role and Contributions of Women in Blockchain, DeFi, and dApp
    • Learn: Web 3.0 and the Future of E-Commerce
    • Learn: 12 ways ecosystem projects can attract more developers
    • Learn: How Web3 is Impacting Education?
    • Learn: Web3 And The Future Of Digital Advertising
    • Learn: Web3’s impact on personalization, trust and engagement
    • Learn: Web3-Powered Identity Management -- Unlocking the Benefits of Decentralization
    • Learn: Why Web2 companies fail in Web3 while others made it?
    • Learn: To Identify or Not in a Web3 World?
    • 🤫[Insider Series] McKinsey x Web3
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 💲Blockchain Fundamentals
    • Why is Blockchain So Popular?
    • Introduction to Blockchain
    • Blockchain Misconceptions
    • Blockchain vs Bitcoin, Database, Cloud
    • Consensus Mechanism
    • Public and Private Keys
    • Hash Functions and Cryptography
    • Sharding
    • Types of Blockchains: PoW, PoS and Private
    • Understanding Cryptocurrency
    • Coins vs Tokens
    • Blockchain Trilemma
    • Legality
    • Learn : Google’s Cloud Based Blockchain Node Service
    • Learn: How Blockchain, Digital assets, and Web3 Unlock Financial Inclusion Globally
    • Learn: Will Chinese-Made Crypto Soar Higher?
    • Learn: What Does MiCA Mean for Crypto in Europe?
    • Learn: Unraveling the Intricacies of Blockchain Forensics and Asset Tracking
    • Learn: Promising blockchain use cases in healthcare industry
    • Learn: The Role of Blockchain in Authenticating and Provenance Art
    • Learn: Blockchain-Based Digital Identity: Benefits, Risks, and Implementation Challenges
    • Learn: The Future of Energy Supply Chains
    • Learn: Revolutionizing smart contracts and cryptocurrency
    • Learn: Nigeria goes blockchain
    • Learn: A Game Changer for Online Gaming?
    • Learn: Is blockchain technology ready for high-storage applications?
    • Learn: Will Blockchain Technology Mark a Turning Point in Fraud Prevention?
    • Learn: Why ZK-rollups need data availability?
    • Learn: How will generative AI disrupt blockchain?
    • Learn: A New Blockchain for Generative AI?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 🏟️Web3 Utilities
    • Decentralized Applications (dApps)
    • Cross-chain Bridges
    • DAO
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Learn: Is Community-building Essential for Web3 Startups?
    • Learn: ‘Decentralization Theater’
    • Learn: Crypto and AI- A yay or nay combination?
    • Learn: Dissecting the DAO
    • Learn: What is motivating Lido DAO to rise?
    • Learn: How to Turn Your Community Into a DAO?
    • Learn: The Key to Decentralized Decision Making
    • Learn: How Web 3.0 can disrupt the supply chain industry?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 🪙Bitcoin
    • What is Bitcoin
    • Bitcoin's Blockchain Technology
    • UTXO Model and Transaction Fees
    • Bitcoin Mining and Mempool
    • Learn: What is bitcoin mining?
    • What are Hard Forks and Soft Forks
    • What is SegWit and the Lightning Network
    • Bitcoin Ecosystem
    • Can Bitcoin be Destroyed? Game Theory and Network Attacks
    • Learn: Crypto token supplies explained
    • Learn: What is crypto tax-loss harvesting, and how does it work?
    • Learn: Can Crypto Go Green? How to Invest in Eco-Friendly Cryptocurrencies
    • Learn: Why Did FTX Collapse? Here’s What to Know.
    • Learn: How Sam Bankman-Fried swindled $8 billion in customer money?
    • Learn: How much is Bitcoin worth today?
    • Learn: The Costs of Running a Bitcoin Node In Nigeria
    • Learn: Has 2022 Left Any Crypto Positives?
    • Learn: How Crypto Exchanges Can Be Free of Risk?
    • Learn: Greed, Lies and FTX: Is Crypto a Force for Good or Evil?
    • Learn: Is Crypto a Cultural Movement?
    • Learn: What are the consequences of crypto’s ongoing regulatory process?
    • Learn: Beyond the Crash and Embracing NFTs?
    • Learn: Understanding crypto bag holders and their mindset
    • Learn: Inscriptions: Just A Fad, Or A Real Threat To Bitcoin Becoming Decentralized Money?
    • Learn: How Bitcoin Ordinals Can Change the Future Of Mining?
    • Learn: What is a supernet?
    • Learn: Bitcoin Miners Celebrate 10 Years Since First ASIC, What Changed Since Then?
    • Learn: Bill Vs. CBDC – Why This US Congressman Wants To Block The Fed From Issuing A Digital Dollar?
    • Learn: Why Bitcoin Will Blow People’s Minds In 2025?
    • Learn: How the Howey Test Sheds Light on Cryptocurrency's Regulatory Gray Area
    • Learn: Cryptocurrency vs AI: A Complex Debate
    • Learn: Where the U.S. Government Went Wrong in Regulating Crypto?
    • Learn: The Nostr Privacy Paradox
    • Learn: Do algorithmic stablecoins have a future as centralized coins are under scrutiny?
    • Learn: Is Bitcoin Set To Revolutionize The Financial World With Its Superior Purchasing Power?
    • Learn: What is Shibarium, and what does it mean for Shiba Inu?
    • Learn: What is a crypto dusting attack?
    • Learn: Is the Adoption of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) the Future?
    • Learn: How Artificial Intelligence Could Revolutionize Crypto?
    • Learn: What’s next for EU’s crypto industry as European Parliament passes MiCA?
    • Learn: Why the EU Has MiCA and the U.S. Has Securities Law Confusion?
    • Learn: Six New Projects Looking to Mitigate Bitcoin Mining’s Energy Footprint
    • Learn: Who on Crypto Twitter chose not to pay for a blue checkmark?
    • Learn: What is the wash-sale rule in Crypto?
    • Learn: What is Pepecoin and can it flip memecoins Dogecoin and Shiba Inu?
    • Learn: Can you recover stolen Bitcoin from crypto scams?
    • Learn: What the ‘anti-mining bill’ means for the crypto industry in Texas?
    • Learn: Does the US have a crypto ‘tax loophole’ problem?
    • Learn: How users can stay protected?
    • Learn: How Crypto Revolutionize Cheaper and Faster Transactions?
    • Learn: Can NFTs and CFDs be BFFs?
    • Learn: A PR expert’s tips for memecoin projects
    • Learn: Why politicians aren't convinced about the Digital Euro?
    • Learn: How A 90-Year Old TA Theory Predicted The Sudden Bitcoin Boom?
    • Learn: Social Trading Platforms and CFDs: A New Paradigm in Investment
    • Learn: How could the Chinese economic crisis impact Bitcoin and crypto?
    • Learn: How do they compare: Bitcoin IRA vs. traditional IRA?
    • Learn: Why Tokenized Assets Are Safer During a Banking Crisis?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 🛢️Ethereum
    • Bitcoin vs Ethereum
    • What can Ethereum do?
    • What is Ether (ETH)?
    • What's Unique About ETH?
    • What are Smart Contracts?
    • Energy Consumption?
    • Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)
    • Pros & Cons of Smart Contracts
    • Decentralized Applications (dApps)
    • Ethereum Token Standards (ERC-20, ERC-721 and ERC-1155)
    • Evolution of Ethereum
    • How to Get Your First Ethereum
    • Learn: Next Ethereum Upgrade — Shanghai Upgrade
    • Learn: Tipping Scale for Crypto Adoption: Usability vs. Accessibility
    • Learn: Major Publicly Traded U.S. Bitcoin Miner Files For Chapter 11 – Impact On The Market?
    • Learn: 5 altcoin projects that made a real difference in 2022
    • Learn: How Tether Can Be a More Stable Stablecoin?
    • Learn: Are the Ethereum Killers Still Deadly?
    • Learn: What Ethereum Tech Trends Are Weathering the Bear Market?
    • Learn: How Ethereum’s token burns are making it a deflationary cryptocurrency?
    • Learn: A few things to know about Ethereum's Shanghai Upgrade
    • Learn: The Role of Enterprise Ethereum
    • Learn: Understanding Layer 2 Scaling Solutions for the Ethereum Network
    • Learn: The Battle of Giants: Bitcoin vs Ethereum
    • Learn: Cryptography, Smart Contracts and Distributed Networks
    • Learn: The Memecoin Grift and How It Threatens Ethereum Culture
    • Learn: What Is Ethereum’s ‘Data Availability' Problem, and Why Does It Matter?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 👛Wallet
    • What is a Blockchain Wallet?
    • Hardware / Software Wallet
    • How to Get Your First Cryptocurrency
    • Setting up Metamask Wallet
    • Learn: How to connect the Avalanche network to MetaMask?
    • Learn: How to pass on your crypto when you die?
    • Learn: What are hierarchical deterministic (HD) crypto wallets?
    • Learn: Pros and Cons of Digital Wallets
    • Learn : How Web 3.0 Wallets Are Redefining Digital Asset Security?
    • Learn: Open source: Buzzword or real security for crypto wallets?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 🌕New & Rising Protocols
    • Binance
    • NEAR
    • Solana
    • Fantom
    • Polygon
    • Cardano
    • Polkadot
    • Cosmos
    • Harmony
    • Cronos
    • Optimism
    • Terra
    • Who Will Win the L1 Wars?
    • Learn: New Layer 1 Blockchains Are Expanding the DeFi Ecosystem But No Eth Killers Yet
    • Learn: Is an Increased Focus on Layer-2 Scaling and ZK Technology Justified?
    • Learn: What Are the Stakes in the SEC vs. Ripple Case?
    • Learn: What is The Graph, and how does it work?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 📈Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
    • CEX vs DEX
    • CeFi vs DeFi
    • Algorithmic Stablecoins
    • Airdrop
    • Liquidity Pool
    • Impermanent Loss
    • Swapping
    • Wrapped Token
    • Arbitrage Opportunities
    • Staking
    • Yield Farming
    • Total Value Locked (TVL)
    • Gas Fees
    • Lending & Borrowing
    • Useful Tools
    • Activity: Uniswap & Pancake Swap
    • Learn: Automated Market Makers (AMMs) in DeFi
    • Learn: Crypto Moving towards ESG: What Is Regenerative Finance (ReFi)
    • Learn: What Is dYdX? Understanding the Decentralized Crypto Exchange
    • Learn: It's A Wrap - DeFi in 2022
    • Learn: Why DeFi should expect more hacks this year?
    • Learn: The Security Challenges of DeFi
    • Learn: The Promising Future of Decentralized Social Media on Web 3.0
    • Learn: Can CBDCs, Tokenized Deposits, Stablecoins and DeFi Coexist?
    • Learn: The Increasing Popularity of DeFi and Its Potential to Disrupt Traditional Finance
    • Learn: The future of DeFi is ReFi
    • Learn: DeFi aggregation
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 🙈Non-Fungible Token (NFT)
    • What are NFTs?
    • Case Study
    • Storage
    • Who are the Players?
    • NFT Marketplace
    • NFT Useful Resources
    • Activity: Mint Your Own NFT
    • Learn: How You Can Prevent Hackers From Stealing Your NFTs?
    • Learn: What Is an NFT Floor Price?
    • Learn: Should Bored Ape buyers be legally entitled to refunds?
    • Learn: China’s view of NFTs different from rest of the world’s
    • Learn: NFTs IRL: How Digital Collectibles Are Forging Offline Experiences
    • Learn: How NFT Brands Can Cut Through The Noise
    • Learn: How Web3 disrupts the music sector?
    • Learn: Unlockable content in NFTs
    • Learn: Why Meta Matters in NFTs?
    • Learn: Should NFT Marketplaces Become Centralized?
    • Learn: Hermès vs. MetaBirkins: The NFT Case That Could Have Major Trademark and Artistic Consequence
    • Learn: What are phygital NFTs, and how do they work?
    • Learn: What is NFT ticketing and how does it work?
    • Learn: Why Solana NFT marketplace is seeing less active users?
    • Learn: NFTs and Intellectual Property
    • Learn: How AI Is Changing Artistic Creation and Challenging IP Laws?
    • Learn: The Future of NFTs: Exploring Dynamic NFTs and Their Versatile Use Cases
    • Learn: NFTs in the event and ticketing industry
    • Learn: What is NFT rarity, and how to calculate it?
    • Learn: What happens to your NFTs when you die?
    • Learn: Dogecoin-Like Spike in Milady NFTs After Elon Musk’s Tweet, But Will It Last?
    • Learn: What are NFT royalties, and how do they work?
    • Learn: How developers aim to store crypto inside NFTs?
    • Learn: Generative Art NFTs: What Are They & Why Are They So Popular?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 💗Metaverse
    • What is the Metaverse?
    • Metaverse Economy
    • Metaverse Companies
    • GameFi
    • Learn: Are We in the Metaverse Yet?
    • Learn: Can the Metaverse exist without blockchain?
    • Learn: Can the Metaverse Facilitate Sustainable Growth of Defi Systems?
    • Learn: What is the role of biometrics in the metaverse?
    • Learn: Can metaverse be the future court?
    • Learn: Metaverse Fashion Is on the Rise, but for Whom?
    • Learn: Sustainability in the Metaverse: Challenges and Opportunities
    • Learn: How To Build A Responsible Metaverse?
    • Learn: What is a VTuber, and how do you become one?
    • Learn: How proof-of-identity provides human experiences?
    • Learn: The “Metaverse” Next Frontier for Business: Impact And Challenges
    • Learn: The 5 Biggest Misconceptions About The Metaverse
    • Learn: Why culture and ownership are critical to the metaverse?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 👾Career in Web3 (coming soon)
    • Developers
    • Moderators
    • Community Managers
    • UI/ UX Designers
    • Digital Fashion Designers
  • 🌱Sustainability (Coming Soon)
    • Industry Effort
    • Co-author
Powered by GitBook
On this page
  • The three founders of Polygon
  • What’s the difference between Polygon and Matic Network?
  • How Polygon works
  • Why is Polygon good for Ethereum?
  • Polygon (MATIC) vs Ethereum's layer 1
  • Scaling solutions: Other layer 2 competitors
  • What makes Polygon so special?
  • What is the Polygon MATIC token used for?
  1. New & Rising Protocols

Polygon

PreviousFantomNextCardano

Last updated 2 years ago

Remember the ?

Polygon is a stack of protocols designed to fix Ethereum’s scalability issues. The Polygon Network addresses the network’s challenges by handling transactions on a separate Ethereum-compatible blockchain.

Polygon then returns transactions to the main Ethereum blockchain post-processing. This approach lowers the network load on. In doing so, Polygon can speed up transactions and lower transaction costs to less than a cent.

In other words, Polygon provides an easy framework for new and existing blockchain projects to build on Ethereum without scalability issues.

The three founders of Polygon

Co-founder Jaynti Kanani is the current CEO of Polygon. He developed the project alongside Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Anurag Arjun, co-founder and chief product officer. The trio created Polygon in 2017 (formerly known as Matic Network).

At first, funds from friends and family in Mumbai helped support the venture. But, while Polygon has its roots in India, the platform continues to attract investors from all around the globe. Polygon raised over $450,000 in two rounds of startup funding in 2019. The venture has roughly $450 million in funding from various investors.

Balaji Srinivasa, an angel investor, and Mark Cuban, the billionaire, are among Polygon’s growing list of backers. Are MATIC and Polygon the same thing?

What’s the difference between Polygon and Matic Network?

Before the project changed its name in February 2021, Polygon was known as Matic Network. The Matic network had one primary offering: plasma sidechains.

Plasma chains are a bit like side chains, except they offer greater security in exchange for convenience. Unlike sidechains, Plasma chains publish their "root" on Ethereum layer 1 and function based on the assumption that its consensus mechanism can fail. This design affords greater security but while rendering these chains unable to run complex operations.

How Polygon works

Gas fees ramp up during times of high network congestion, and Ethereum gas fees can rise quickly to above $50 to $80. This is a massive issue; having to pay more than $50 at one time for each transaction places Ethereum squarely out of reach for most users.

So, how does Polygon make this cheaper? To cut gas costs, scaling solutions like Polygon process transactions on side chains. Polygon has the potential to handle up to 65,000 transactions per second, whereas Ethereum can process only up to roughly 15 transactions per second.

And, Polygon is able to provide these fees to users for pennies, compared to Ethereum’s average transaction fee of around $15 per transaction. Since Polygon comprises a suite of different protocols including the zero-knowledge (zk) proof variety, users get to choose the best scaling option suited to their use.

In cryptography, zk proofs are a cryptographic primitive used for verifying to another party (the verifier) whether a particular statement is valid. At the same time, the prover is not required to provide any additional information, other than the fact that the statement is true.

Processing batches of transactions on its own PoS blockchain eliminates the need for Ethereum to process all the files on its own. By batching transactions off the main chain, Polygon makes Ethereum lighter and faster.

Zk rollups process bundles of transactions off-chain and create validity proofs, verifying that each bundle of data is accurate. These validity proofs are then sent to the main blockchain.

Each validity proof acts as a proxy for the bundle it represents which reduces the amount of data on the main chain. In effect, this approach reduces the time and gas fees required to validate a block of transactions.

Optimistic rollups use a different type of proof system called fraud proofs. Once a fraudulent transaction is discovered, a fraud-proof protocol self-executes and determines the correct transaction based on the data available on the main blockchain.

Those who update transactional data on the system are required to stake ETH. Consequently, if anyone submits a fraudulent transaction to the main Ethereum chain using optimistic rollups, their stake is slashed.

Polygon recognizes that there is no single best solution that will accommodate all applications. Each scaling solution comes with tradeoffs between security, sovereignty, transaction fees and transaction speed. Developers should have the option to select the best-suited scaling solution for their application. Polygon offers the most complete suite of scaling solutions.

Why is Polygon good for Ethereum?

Polygon isn’t in competition with Ethereum. If anything, it’s reliant on Ethereum and vice versa. Polygon’s mission is to leverage the Polygon Network in order to create infrastructure that can handle the mass adoption of Ethereum. Consequently, Polygon is more dependent on Ethereum than Ethereum is on Polygon, which is expected since Polygon is built on top of its blockchain.

The main disadvantage is that switching to Polygon for speed may dilute the value gained by Ethereum. Value dilution might actually hinder Ethereum’s direct user growth in certain locations.

Polygon improves Ethereum and, thus, more people will use the Ethereum blockchain. With more users locking their capital in the Ethereum blockchain freely, its value will rise, despite the potential for stealing total value locked (TVL) away from Ethereum.

Polygon (MATIC) vs Ethereum's layer 1

At first glance, layer-2 scaling solutions may appear to be complex. In simple terms, layer 1 describes the underlying base blockchain architecture. Layer 2, on the other hand, lies on top of the underlying blockchain as an overlaying network.

Layer-2 solutions are external protocols that interact with the base blockchain to increase speed and efficiency. Moreover, with layer-2 solutions like Polygon, protocols that are already running on top of Ethereum can become even faster and cheaper.

Why use Polygon over Ethereum layer 1?

Ethereum was designed with an auction-based model, thus encouraging users to bid for their transaction to be included in the next block. Therefore, by design, more network congestion leads to increasingly prohibitive costs.

Polygon has major ambitions for the future, and they don’t just include speed or transaction costs. The protocol aims to link all Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible blockchains with each other, allowing developers to access the benefits of other blockchain platforms with minimal friction.

Doesn’t Ethereum 2.0 kill the need for Polygon?

As mentioned, this results in a buildup of network traffic. Gas fees begin to spike and the network ends up under the same load conditions as before. This is where Polygon comes in by providing the Ethereum blockchain with an additional layer of scalability.

Layer 2s like the Polygon network will further improve the experience Eth2 will have to offer. Any Ethereum upgrade can be made even faster with layer 2. In this manner, Polygon ensures that the end-user receives the best experience.

Scaling solutions: Other layer 2 competitors

Polygon isn’t the only project attempting to speed up Ethereum transactions. Network data for Ethereum shows that the number of transactions per day is steadily increasing. Layer-2 solutions are the best way to handle this growing strain on the Ethereum blockchain. It’s worth mentioning that the benefits go beyond simply offloading transactions.

There's no doubt that Polygon has some strong competitors, and all the Ethereum layer-2 projects have the potential to positively impact the blockchain environment. But, since Polygon has been investing heavily in different types of zk-proofs, this layer-2 solution has shown great promise as a powerful solution for Ethereum scalability.

What makes Polygon so special?

What sets Polygon apart from other L2 solutions is its approach. Polygon offers developers a stack of solutions on a single network. This approach grants developers higher levels of control and customization when choosing a scaling solution best suited to their application.

On Polygon, a developer can choose between zk-rollups or optimistic rollups. They may opt to use Polygon Avail instead, an extremely secure data availability blockchain for standalone chains, sidechains and off-chain scaling solutions.

In May 2021, the Polygon network announced the launch of the Polygon SDK, which makes the process of building a multichain network much easier for developers. With the Polygon SDK, developers can create standalone chains that are fully responsible for their own security. These standalone sidechains will have a dedicated PoS bridge network connecting them to Ethereum.

Polygon also has other scaling approaches like its PoS commit chain. For convenience, the commit chain is often simply referred to as Polygon or the Polygon blockchain. Polygon’s PoS sidechain has been the project's most popular product. To date, the Polygon blockchain has processed roughly one billion transactions and counting, according to data from polygonscan.com.

The PoS commit chain is EVM-compatible and, thus, works flawlessly with many Ethereum protocols. Consequently, moving dApps across platforms is simple for developers.

Unlike other EVM sidechains, Polygon commits checkpoints to Ethereum. Specifically, each time Polygon processes a transaction, it creates a few checkpoints on Ethereum. These checkpoints ensure that all the data that has been processed on Polygon up to that point is valid and safe for the Ethereum blockchain.

What is the Polygon MATIC token used for?

MATIC is Polygon’s native cryptocurrency token. Polygon plasma chains run on the PoS consensus mechanism. MATIC will be used to pay for all transactions on the plasma chains. Therefore, the more projects that use Polygon as a scaling solution, the greater the demand for MATIC.

In addition, MATIC serves as a governance token by granting holders the right to vote on which of the several scaling solutions planned should actually be rolled out.

If the community likes a new layer-2 scaling solution and wants Polygon to integrate it, holders of the token may vote on whether the solution becomes part of Polygon's product line. Therefore, governance voting allows MATIC token holders to vote on the future of Polygon.

Source

Using Polygon, users can interact with any (dApp) without ever having to worry about network congestion.

MATIC token vs Polygon Network

After the project expanded, Polygon opted to keep the ticker MATIC for its native token. Thus, the Matic network became Polygon. This name change and subsequent rebranding may generate some confusion, but they are the same project. Polygon is the new umbrella for multiple projects including the Matic network. The Polygon () token, however, is Polygon’s native cryptocurrency.

The Ethereum blockchain can perform a limited number of transactions per second, sitting at roughly 15 transactions per second for the base layer. Each transaction comes with transaction costs .

Network congestion also makes the Ethereum blockchain process slower, discouraging users from engaging with on the blockchain.

These issues can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars in fees for anyone who uses (DeFi) apps and protocols, trades or purchases (NFTs) and swaps, buys or transfers tokens on Ethereum.

Of the multiple options project teams can choose to integrate using Polygon, the most popular are plasma sidechains, a (PoS) blockchain bridge, zk rollups and optimistic rollups. Matic began with plasma sidechains, which are lighter and more secure sidechains.

Like sidechains, a is a separate blockchain that runs alongside the primary blockchain. In this case, Ethereum is the 'primary' or 'parent' blockchain. Plasma chains link up to and communicate with the main blockchain to allow assets to transfer between them securely.

Due to the high demand from developers, Polygon introduced to its product lineup. The bridge allows developers to create dApps on one platform without having to sacrifice the benefits afforded by other platforms.

will be a major upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain, but it will only provide a limited solution to the scalability challenge. As more and more decentralized platforms and dApps use on-chain solutions like Eth2, demand may start to creep up against the limits of scalability.

Ethereum 2.0 is still some time away, but scalability has been an issue that was long acknowledged by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin as . A solution like Polygon brings some of the benefits of Eth2 to users so that they may take advantage of the increased speed and transparency as well as lower costs, all without having to wait for the release of Eth2.

Several competing layer-2 networks also allow transactions to be processed externally and bridged onto the main blockchain network. Some of the more notable layer-2 alternatives to Polygon rely on zk-proofs, the two most notable competitors being and Optimism.

Elements that make Polygon unique
Polygon layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum

🌕
decentralized application
MATIC
called gas fees on Ethereum
smart contracts
decentralized finance
non-fungible tokens
proof-of-stake
plasma chain
a blockchain bridge
Ethereum 2.0
the Trilemma challenge
Arbitrum
Coinbase
Cointelegraph
blockchain trilemma
Ethereum