What Is Polygon (MATIC)?
Polygon (previously Matic Network) is the first well-structured, easy-to-use platform for Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development. Its core component is Polygon SDK, a modular, flexible framework that supports building multiple types of applications.
To learn more about this project, check out our deep dive of Polygon Matic.
Using Polygon, one can create optimistic rollup chains, ZK rollup chains, stand alone chains or any other kind of infra required by the developer.
Polygon effectively transforms Ethereum into a full-fledged multi-chain system (aka Internet of Blockchains). This multi-chain system is akin to other ones such as Polkadot, Cosmos, Avalanche etc. with the advantages of Ethereum’s security, vibrant ecosystem and openness.
The $MATIC token will continue to exist and will play an increasingly important role, securing the system and enabling governance.
Polygon (formerly Matic Network) is a Layer 2 scaling solution backed by Binance and Coinbase. The project seeks to stimulate mass adoption of cryptocurrencies by resolving the problems of scalability on many blockchains.
Polygon combines the Plasma Framework and the proof-of-stake blockchain architecture. The Plasma framework used by Polygon as proposed by the co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, allows for the easy execution of scalable and autonomous smart contracts.
Nothing will change for the existing ecosystem built on the Plasma-POS chain. With Polygon, new features are being built around the existing proven technology to expand the ability to cater to diverse needs from the developer ecosystem. Polygon will continue to develop the core technology so that it can scale to a larger ecosystem.
Polygon boasts of up to 65,000 transactions per second on a single side chain, along with a respectable block confirmation time of less than two seconds. The framework also allows for the creation of globally available decentralized financial applications on a single foundational blockchain.
The Plasma framework gives Polygon the potential of housing an unlimited number of decentralized applications on their infrastructure without experiencing the normal drawbacks common on proof-of-work blockchains. So far, Polygon has attracted more than 50 DApps to its PoS-secured Ethereum sidechain.
MATIC, the native tokens of Polygon, is an ERC-20 token running on the Ethereum blockchain. The tokens are used for payment services on Polygon and as a settlement currency between users who operate within the Polygon ecosystem. The transaction fees on Polygon sidechains are also paid in MATIC tokens.
Who Are the Founders of Polygon?
Polygon (formerly Matic Network) was launched in October 2017. Polygon was co-founded by Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal and Anurag Arjun, two experienced blockchain developers and a business consultant.
Before moving to its network in 2019, the Polygon team was a huge contributor in the Ethereum ecosystem. The team worked on implementing the Plasma MVP, the WalletConnect protocol and the widely-used Dagger event notification engine on Ethereum.
The team included co-founder of Polygon, Jaynti Kanani. Jaynti, a full-stack developer and blockchain engineer currently serves as the CEO of Polygon.
Jaynti played an integral role in implementing Web3, Plasma and the WalletConnect protocol on Ethereum. Prior to his blockchain involvement, Jaynti worked as a data scientist with Housing.com.
Co-founder and chief operations officer of Polygon, Sandeep Nailwal is a blockchain programmer and entrepreneur. Before jointly starting Polygon (formerly Matic), Sandeep had served as the CEO of Scopeweaver, and the chief technical officer of Welspun Group.
Anurag Arjun is the only non-programming co-founder of Polygon. As a product manager, he has had stints with IRIS Business, SNL Financial, Dexter Consultancy and Cognizant Technologies.
Primary features of Polygon
- Polygon is based on Proof of Stake architecture for enhanced security & scalability.
- Leverages Sidechaining using Layer 2 networks to improve user experience & provide inter-connectivity between Ethereum solutions.
- ETH can be easily converted to/from Matic Coins using smart contracts.
- Uses Plasma, ZK-Rollups and Heimdall architecture to offer a distributed but secure scalability solution to ETH solution providers.
- EVM Compatibility for building customized ETH-based solutions.
Pros & Cons of Polygon coin
PROS
- Scalability: Increasing Transactions per Second with a surge in Number of Users on the network. Processes Record high of 65000 TPS.
- Lower Transaction Costs: ETH averages $3.65 per transaction, whereas Polygon costs $0.001 to transfer $200. It is further promoted by DeFi Boom.
- Collaborations: Polygon has partnered with key players in the Crypto & Tech industry, including Binance, Google, OKEx, Curve, UniLend, ETH.
- Independent of BTC prices: Empirically, it is observed that Matic Crypto has a negative coefficient with Bitcoin. So if BTC prices increase, Matic prices decrease & vice versa. This helps investors resist Bearish markets.
- Strong Support: Backed by Mark Cuban & Binance.
CONS
- Competition: Polkadot & Chainlink offer similar solutions.
- Ethereum Upgradation: Ethereum 2.0, planned to launch by 2022, may hinder Matic Sidechains.
What Makes Polygon Unique?
Polygon is self-described as a Layer 2 scaling solution, which means that the project doesn’t seek to upgrade its current basic blockchain layer any time soon. The project focuses on reducing the complexity of scalability and instant blockchain transactions.
Polygon uses a customized version of the Plasma framework which is built on proof-of-stake checkpoints that run through the Ethereum main-chain. This unique technology allows each sidechain on Polygon to achieve up to 65,536 transactions per block.
Commercially, the sidechains of Polygon are structurally designed to support a variety of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols available in the Ethereum ecosystem.
While Polygon currently supports only Ethereum basechain, the network intends to extend support for additional basechains, based on community suggestions and consensus. This would makePolygon an interoperable decentralized Layer 2 blockchain platform
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Cryptocurrency