A solution called Polygon (MATIC) claims to fix some of Ethereum’s (ETH) more awkward features. Even its branding refers to it as “Ethereum’s internet of blockchains.” Polygon, originally known as Matic Network, was founded in 2017 and is a pretty well-known cryptocurrency that frequently appears in the top 15 by market capitalization.
The Polygon stack of mechanisms was created to address the scalability problems of Ethereum. The Polygon system handles payments on a different, Ethereum-compatible blockchain to solve its network’s problems. After post-processing, Polygon sends payments back through the main Ethereum network. The load on Ethereum’s system is reduced by this strategy. By doing this, Polygon can accelerate transactions and cut costs to under a penny.
Individuals may communicate with every decentralized application (DApp) utilizing Polygon, which used to be referred to for being the Matic network, while not ever before being concerned about congested networks. This guide covers anything you need to learn regarding the Polygon Matic network, how the Polygon works, and how this issue’s revolutionary approach has made Ethereum simpler to use.
MATIC and Polygon Interchangeably?
What distinguishes a polygonal network from a matic network? The project was formerly called Matic Network until changing its name to Polygon in February 2021. Plasma sidechains were the sole major product of the Matic network.
Similar to side chains, plasma chains provide better security in exchange for ease. Plasma chains, in contrast to sidechains, publish their “root” on Ethereum layer 1 and operate under the presumption that its consensus mechanism might malfunction. While providing more security, this design prevents these chains from carrying out sophisticated activities.
Polygon decided to preserve the ticker MATIC to supply their native coin when the project grew. The Matic network changed into Polygon as a result. There may be some misunderstanding caused by this change in name and following rebranding, but this project remains the same. The Matic network is one of the many projects within the new umbrella organization of Polygon.
How Polygon Functions:
There are a set number of purchases per second that the Ethereum network can handle. For the basic layer, the throughput rate is approximately 14 transactions per second. On Ethereum, there are transaction costs known as gas fees for each transaction. When the network is congested, petrol prices increase, and on Ethereum, they can soon reach $50 to $80 or more. This is a serious problem. Ethereum is completely out of reach for most people because each transaction requires a one-time payment of more than $50.
Additionally slowed down by network traffic, the Ethereum blockchain discourages consumers from interacting with smart contract code. For anybody who utilizes decentralized finance (DeFi) apps and procedures, sells or buys tokens that are not fungible (NFTs), swaps, buys, or moves tokens on Ethereum, these problems can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars in fees. How does Polygon do this then, cheaper? Scaling systems like Polygon handle transactions on side chains to reduce petrol expenses. Compared to Ethereum, which can only manage about 17 transactions per second, Polygon can handle up to 65,000.
Additionally, Polygon can offer these fees to users for just a few cents. Compare that cost to Ethereum’s average transaction fee, which is about $15. Users can select the optimal scaling solution for their purpose because Polygon offers a range of protocols, including the zero-knowledge (zk) proof variety. Zk proofs are a type of cryptographic primitive used in the process of proving the validity of a statement to a third party (the verifier). However, other than proving that the assertion is true, the prover does not need to offer any other details. The most common proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain bridge, zk rollups, optimistic rollups, and plasma sidechains are among the many alternatives project teams can select to incorporate utilizing Polygon.
In whose Hands is Polygon?
Due to its extremely talented development team, Polygon has demonstrated itself as the most potential Ethereum scaling project. The team’s collective experience continues to be the growth engine for Polygon.
The Matic network’s developers deserve praise for anticipating the demands of the modern crypto business. The next part looks at the people responsible for one of the projects with the quickest rate of expansion.
The Trio of Polygon’s Founding Members:
At the moment, Polygon’s cofounder Jayanti Kanani serves as CEO. Together with co-founder and chief operational officer Sandeep Nailwal and coauthor as well as chief product officer of the company Anurag Arjun, he worked on the initiative. In 2017, the three came up with Polygon. Its previous name was Matic Network.
Initially, financial support came from Mumbai-based friends and relatives. However, despite having its origins in India, Polygon continues to draw investors from all over the world. 2019 saw Polygon secure more than $450,000 in two separate rounds of funding for new businesses. The business has received about $450 million in capital from different investors. In addition to his Polygon’s expanding group of supporters are the billionaire Mark Cuban and angel investor Balaji Srinivasa.
Bitcoin vs. Polygon
You must first have a basic understanding of Ethereum and some blockchain developer jargon to grasp Polygon. The “blockchain trilemma” refers to the difficulty faced by blockchain engineers in balancing the trade-offs between scalability, security, and decentralization. Ethereum has its problems. Particularly, the scaling issue with the No. 2 cryptocurrency is evident in the speed at which transactions are completed.
Scalability has been neglected in favor of decentralization and security in Ethereum. Transactions may therefore be expensive and cumbersome. That’s where Polygon steps in, with its emphasis on offering Ethereum with cheaper prices and better transaction times. Developers can create and manage decentralized applications (dApps), smart contracts, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other things on layer 1 blockchains like Ethereum. A Layer 2 blockchain called Polygon seeks to aid Ethereum’s scalability.
Polygon serves as a Layer 2 protocol rather than trying to mimic Ethereum’s features. Instead, it aids in accelerating transaction times and bringing down costs for developers. Imagine it as a quicker, less-stoppered express train that travels side by side with a local train. Currently, Polygon can process transactions at speeds of up to 7,000 TPS, compared to Ethereum’s 14 TPS limit. This makes everything created using blockchain considerably more affordable and efficient, similar to an HOV lane on a highway.
Purchase of Polygon (MATIC)
Like many other well-known cryptocurrencies, MATIC may be purchased on cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase or Gemini. You must register and authenticate your identity if you don’t already have an account. You could then be able to purchase MATIC after opening an account using a bank transfer, wire transfer, debit card, or credit card. MATIC can also be bought on cryptocurrency trading platforms like Coinbase, Kraken, and Crypto, a site with dollars or other fiat currencies.
Several cryptocurrency trading platforms also provide staking services, which let you retain the tokens you own at the trading platform and receive interest on your MATIC. Additionally, decentralized exchanges like Uniswap allow you to purchase MATIC. You might be able to buy MATIC directly through a payment processor known as a fiat on-ramp, depending on the cryptocurrency wallet you choose. Alternatively, you might need to buy an alternate token before you pay a charge to exchange it for MATIC.
Once you’ve connected an approved wallet, you can utilize the authorized Polygon Bridge to make deposits and withdrawals MATIC if you want to get it on the Polygon Mainnet. Some wallets also let you get MATIC straight through the Polygon network, like the Crypto.com DeFi Wallet software.
How Does Polygon Benefit Ethereum?
Ethereum is not in competition with Polygon. It is dependent on Ethereum and vice versa. The goal of Polygon is to use the Polygon network to build infrastructure that can support the widespread adoption of Ethereum. As a result, Polygon depends on Ethereum more than Ethereum does on Polygon. Given that Polygon is based on its blockchain, this is expected.
The primary drawback is the possibility that moving to Polygon for speed may diminish the value that Ethereum has achieved. In some regions, value dilution might even prevent Ethereum from adding more direct users.
To illustrate, Polygon enhances Ethereum, which encourages more users to use the Ethereum network. Despite more users freely locking their money in the Ethereum network, its value will increase.
Purchasing Polygon:
Even when everything is going smoothly, values on cryptocurrency marketplaces can vary quickly, which could present a challenge for short-term investors. If you think Polygon may make a smart long-term investment, you should also think about the risks and the competitors. Other Layer 2 scaling options, for instance, Solana (SOL) and Cosmos (ATOM), are available.
The project may also be affected by internal risks, such as difficulties with the management group or the project. In December 2021, Polygon disclosed that more than 800,000 MATIC had been stolen by hackers and that it had given $3.46 billion in bug bounties to white-hat hackers who had discovered and reported security flaws.
Benefits and Drawbacks of Polygon:
You might be interested in knowing Polygon’s main advantages and disadvantages. Continue reading to learn about Polygon’s benefits and drawbacks, especially if you’re thinking about purchasing MATIC.
The Advantages of Polygon Include:
• Swift transaction processing: Polygon can maintain swift transaction processing speeds by utilizing a consensus technique that completes the transaction confirmation procedure in a single block. The processing of a block takes Polygon an average of 2.1 seconds.
• The platform’s transaction fees are kept to a minimum by Polygon, with an average transaction price of about $0.01.
The Shortcomings of Polygon Include:
• Polygon is a Layer 2 solution that runs on top of the Ethereum network, not an autonomous blockchain. Polygon would probably lose value if the Ethereum platform is severely disrupted or disappears.
• Limited MATIC use cases include: The MATIC coin is intended to control, safeguard, and cover transaction costs for the Polygon platform. MATIC is not typically utilized for everyday transactions, in contrast to certain digital currencies.
Conclusion:
A scalable or sidechain utility for the Ethereum network is Polygon. Despite being incredibly popular, Ethereum is slow and pricey. By Dealing with transactions independently of the Ethereum network, Polygon offers a solution to this problem. By examining Polygon MATIC’s capabilities and workings, it can be concluded that this platform has been quite successful in addressing the scalability problems with blockchains. Additionally, a variety of blockchain developers can take pleasure in creating their decentralized network thanks to the features and resources made available by the Polygon platform, which gives developers access to customization possibilities.
FAQs:
How is the Polygon Network Secured?
If you’ve ever wondered who safeguards the Polygon Network, look no further than the Validators, the digital knights of this blockchain network. Validators play a crucial role, staking their $MATIC tokens to ensure network security while simultaneously operating the Heimdall validator and Bor block producer nodes
Why is Polygon so Successful?
Decentralization and Scalability:
One of the major advantages of Polygon is its scalability. The Ethereum network has faced scalability issues (even after the Merge), leading to slow and expensive transactions. Polygon solves this issue by providing a scalable and low-cost network for dApp developers.
How Centralized is Polygon?
But that funding, along with the company’s operational structure, has fueled a long-running critique of the network: that it’s overly centralized. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated in 2021 that, as part of the tradeoff for faster, cheaper transactions, Polygon remains centralized compared to Ethereum.
Does Binance use the Polygon network?
Binance Will Support the Polygon (MATIC) Network Upgrade and Hard Fork. Fellow Binancians, Binance will support the Polygon (MATIC) network upgrade and hard fork. The Polygon (MATIC) network upgrade and hard fork will take place at the Polygon block height of 44,934,656, or approximately at 2023-07-11 04:00 (UTC).
Is Polygon better than Solana?
Solana is one of the best platforms if you are looking for maximum functionality. Polygon, on the other hand, is a better alternative if you need compatibility, a large user base, and access to the most popular applications in the crypto world. To avoid confusion keep in mind that Polygon was originally known as Matic.
