Polygon has been making rave in the crypto space mainly for being one of the Layer 2 networks that truly provides answers to the scalability issues of Ethereum. Despite its fame, the basic analysis of the project has been properly talked about. The article will serve as an expository anchor, guiding readers through every notable detail about Polygon.
Formerly known as Matic Network, Polygon is a Layer 2 scaling solution that focuses on solving the scalability issues of Ethereum. The network provides an enabling environment for developers to build various infrastructures like optimistic chains, ZK rollup chains, and stand–alone chains.
The basic component of the network is the Polygon SDK, a modular, flexible framework. With this component, Polygon has been able to support the development of various solutions. Worth mentioning that the network is prominent for its speed as it boasts of having about 65,000 TPS strength. In that regard, the Polygon can efficiently confirm a block/transaction within two seconds.
More so, the network’s speed is supported by Polygon’s distinctive consensus mechanism. The network uses the Plasma Framework and the Proof-of-Stake aiding its speed and reducing the high consumption of energy synonymous with Proof-of-Work blockchains. In addition to this, Polygon’s major selling point is its almost zero charges for on-chain transactions within its ecosystem. The platform utilizes MATIC as it’s a native token and the coin is used to settle transaction charges within the Polygon ecosystem.
Team Members and Background
The Polygon Network came to life due to the combined efforts of Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal, and Anurag Arjun. Though Polygon was founded in 2017, it waited two years to move to its own network. Prior to that, the project was based on Ethereum. Consequently, the team worked on executing the Plasma MVP, the WalletConnect protocol, and the Dagger event notification tool on Ethereum.
Jaynti Kanani is presently the CEO of the firm, having background knowledge as a blockchain engineer and full-stack developer. He also worked with Housing.com as a Data Scientist. Prior to the creation of Polygon, Jaynti was instrumental in the implementation of Web3, Plasma, and the Wallet Connect protocol on Ethereum.
Due to this background knowledge, Jaynti championed the push for investing in emerging crypto firms. Coupled with these efforts, the CEO is famous in the crypto space for researching various innovations that can aid the advancement of blockchain.
Meanwhile, Sandeep Nailwal is a Co-founder and Chief Operations Officer of Polygon. The co-founder is a blockchain programmer and entrepreneur. Also, Sandeep Nailwal is a software developer, he started his tech journey as a software engineer at the Computer Sciences Corporation.
In 2014, he moved to Deloitte where he worked as a consultant, during this period Sandeep Nailwal focused on Management consulting and program management initiatives. His journey two years after saw he work with Welspun Group while launching ScopeWeaver.
Tokenomics
Distribution
According to the release schedule of MATIC, the tokens were released every month. Findings indicated that there are 9,219,469,069 MATIC presently in circulation, with a maximum supply of 10,000,000,000.
Accordingly, 3.8% of the token’s total supply was released at the initial private sale held in 2017. Consequently, the team sold another 19% of the total token at $0.00263 per coin. During the private sale, the Polygon team generated $5 million.
Thereafter, the founding team set aside 16% of the tokens for themselves, while keeping 4% as advisory tokens. Another 12% went to the Network Operations tokens segment, and 21.86% went into the purse of the Foundation’s coins. Lastly, the team kept 23.33% of the coin as Ecosystem tokens.
Use Cases:
Since Polygon employs the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, staking MATIC is crucial to the smooth running of the network. To become a validator on the network, such individual must stake their MATIC coin as collateral. Also, the staking option provides a means of earning more MATIC in return as validators. However, network participants can delegate their tokens to another validator if they wish not to become a validator. Nevertheless, they will take part in the staking process and still earn their rewards.
Likewise, MATIC can be used as a medium of payment for goods and services. It can as well be utilized for making instant settlements and peer-to-peer payments globally. Lastly, investors can acquire the token and HODL it in the long term with the intention of selling it after acquiring more value. HODL is a popular parlance among crypto enthusiasts, read this article to learn more about the origin of this term.
Competition:
The advancement and growing embracement of crypto and blockchain innovations has birthed the introduction of various projects. Due to that, Polygon is enduring stern competition from other projects that offer similar solutions. Though it has been able to stay ahead of the competition due to its cheap transaction fee, and speed. Below are the top competitors of Polygon.
- Abitrum: Arbitrum is an Ethereum Layer2 scaling solution that provides support for smart contracts, barring scalability and privacy setbacks. Like Polygon, Arbiturm boasts of providing users with low transaction fees and swift processing of transactions.
- Immutable X: Immutable is a layer2 scaling solution for NFTs on the Ethereum network. The network is designed to ensure swift trading and massive scalability while charging users low gas fees on every transaction.
- Optimism: Optimism is a layer2 network built on Ethereum. The solution relies on the security structure of Ethereum and it aids Scalability within the network with the assistance of optimistic rollups. The structure of Optimism only records transactions on its network but it secures these transactions on Ethereum.
Future of MATIC
The future of the token is promising due to the increase in the global adoption of the Polygon blockchain. Since the coin is used to settle payments on the network, it will gain more users as Polygon gains more adoption.
Furthermore, the fortune of the Polygon blockchain is tipped to grow for good following the recent launching of its zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine. Lately, zk-EVM is pushing to be the next big thing in the crypto space, read this article to understand how it provides solutions to scalability issues on Ethereum.
Now that Polygon #zkEVM Mainnet Beta is live, it's time to follow the journey in all its twists and turns. Expect to hear more about the nitty-gritty details of this ongoing adventure, starting with this update:https://t.co/gF0fdQqdeP
— Polygon (@0xPolygon) April 6, 2023Drawback or Weaknesses
One of its major disadvantages is its heavy reliance on the Ethereum network. As a layer 2 blockchain, Polygon is likely to suffer heavily if the Ethereum network ceases operation. Another major setback combating the Polygon network is the increase in competition among Layer 2 blockchains. Networks like Immutable X, Arbiturm, and Optimism provide almost the same solution Polygon offers. Therefore, providing strong alternatives to the network.
Our Takeaway
Among its peers, Polygon has grown massively over the year in terms of adoption. We’ve seen the blockchain host various innovations that cut across crime-fighting, certificate issuance, documentation, and loyalty programs among many others.
The growing adoption has as well reflected in the growth of MATIC. However, the token hasn’t performed greatly of late compared to its contemporaries. Above all, Polygon is proving to be an innovative blockchain with a stern commitment to fulfilling its vision of providing answers to the scalability issues of Ethereum.
