Formerly known as the Matic Network, Polygon is a network built around the Ethereum network to aid in developing other decentralised applications. It was rebranded to Polygon in February 2021.
Here is all you need to know about the network.
What is Polygon?
Polygon is a decentralised platform for building interconnected blockchain networks. According to its whitepaper, it is “Built by developers, for developers.”
It seeks to solve some of Ethereum’s network challenges, like scaling and developmental issues. So far, even though Ethereum has been growing in use cases and adoption, it has had to grapple with various challenges like high gas fees, lack of community governance and delayed transactions.
To ease these concerns, most projects prefer other Ethereum scaling solutions. For example, with the previous scaling solution, Matic, the platform allows for the creation of off-chain projects that then finalise on the Ethereum network. However, this meant still facing mainnet challenges. Polygon, therefore, looks to make it possible to create and launch interoperable blockchain projects.
Polygon operates both as a framework and a protocol where developers can create sovereign blockchains with more functionalities. It also allows for the exchange of messages between the Ethereum network and other networks. Polygon also comes with adapter modules for the interoperability of blockchains within the network.
How does Polygon work?
Polygon works as a four-layer system with the layers being; Ethereum, security, Polygon network and execution layers.
The Ethereum layer is a collection of smart contracts implemented on the Ethereum network. The smart contracts are ideal for various functions within the network like communication between the network and the other Polygon chains, staking and transaction finality. The security layer acts as the “validator as a service” and provides an additional security layer. These first two layers are optional.
The other two layers are mandatory, with the first being the Polygon network layer. It is the ecosystem for the blockchains built on the Polygon network. The layer’s user base and communities are responsible for local consensus and introducing new blocks to the network. The last layer is the execution layer that operates as Polygon’s Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) for executing smart contracts.
Polygon chains
Polygon network has two main chains; standalone and secured chains. The standalone chains are the ones that operate independently and provide their own security. They come with their own set of validators which guarantees flexibility of operations and a high degree of independence. They are ideal for large enterprise projects.
Secured chains, on the other hand, rely on validity proofs within the blockchain network for security. Even though it comes with assured security, projects in these chains allow less flexibility and autonomy.
MATIC Token
Even though Polygon expanded from the Matic network, it retained MATIC as the native token. The token serves various purposes in the platform, such as for networks participating in voting and security through staking. Matic has a supply cap of 10 billion coins.
MATIC remains one of the top cryptos and is an ideal investment option. You can currently buy, sell or swap MATIC on CoinSpot Australia. Supporting over 370 kinds of cryptocurrencies (including MATIC), CoinSpot enables users to trade most of the popular coins/tokens. The CoinSpot 0.1 fee for all market trades is appealing to investors.
Bottom Line
Polygon is a great solution for various decentralised applications. As different decentralised use cases like Defi and NFTs become mainstream, Ethereum’s network users have had to struggle with increased gas fees and delays. Polygon offers a cheap and fast alternative.
