Review: Polygon | Decentralised Ethereum Scaling Platform
Business 4.8/5
Branding
Polygon coin has branded itself as a layer 2 scaling solution for the Ethereum blockchain. It was formerly named the Matic network but was later renamed Polygon. The Polygon network enables the construction of multi chains on top of Ethereum and acts as an inter-scaling solution for Ethereum. It has made it possible for developers to take advantage of both Ethereum's openness and its expansion into other side chains. The Matic token is an ERC-20 token that operates on the Ethereum network and is used as a form of payment as well as to cover network usage costs. In other words, it tries to address network-specific problems, which is one of the key factors in its high level of investor attractiveness.
Team
Developed by Jaynti Kanani, Mihailo Bjelic, Anurag Arjun, and Sandeep Nailwal, Polygon Matic, or formerly Matic Network, was founded in 2017. In February 2021, it underwent a rebranding to become Polygon. The Matic network was first released as a test network in October 2017 and afterward became the mainnet. Projects like Decentraland (MANA) and Maker are instances of how Matic is progressing. Along with Mark Cuban, who made headlines for his investment in Polygon Matic, many other venture capitalists, including ZBS Capital, Codex Venture Capital firm, AU21 Capital, and Coinbase Venture as Corporate Venture Capital, participated. Mark Cuban's investment in Polygon was a big help, and Cuban said that he uses the platform often and plans to add it to his collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) because it can handle more transactions than Ethereum.
Road Map
The Polygon developers intend to introduce support for Validum Chains and Optimistic Rollups. The network will additionally provide support for independent sovereign chains, giving developers total sovereignty over their dApps. Future versions of Polygon's chain solutions will also include support for enterprise-grade chains and solutions tailored to particular industries. Even after the introduction of Ethereum's native Proof of Stake technology, the aforementioned scheduled releases may help to ensure that the Polygon network retains its distinctiveness and identity. The fact that Polygon has unique features, unmatched security, cheap costs, and cross-chain support means that Ethereum scaling solutions are not going away any time soon. A number of factors lead cryptocurrency users to favor Polygon as an investment. It's possible that this project will end up becoming Ethereum's preferred layer-2 solution. The group is driven and strong, and they actively seek out excellent cooperation prospects. The project provides fixes for issues that Ethereum users have been nagging about for years. Polygon has shown itself to be trustworthy over time.
Technical 4.6/5
Product rating
The Polygon network is designed to essentially provide a solution to problems with the Ethereum blockchain, notably the high gas fees and general network congestion caused by the Ethereum blockchain, while still retaining the network's security. By addressing many of the scalability concerns present in many blockchain networks, the project seeks to encourage the widespread use of cryptocurrencies. However, the Polygon system is distinct in that it provides a second-level solution (Layer 2), meaning that it processes transactions outside of the Ethereum network first before sending them to Ethereum.
Vast ecosystem
There is a sizable ecosystem in Polygon. Some of the most well-known DeFi projects, some of which have over 470,000 users, are among the over 700 dApps now being built for the Polygon Networks. You have initiatives like ApeSwap, QuickSwap, Crazy Defense Heroes, KyberSwap, Pegaxy, and Sunflower Farmers, among others. Polygon games have also been produced in large quantities.
Exceptionally Scalable
Currently, the Polygon network can handle 7,200 transactions per second (TPS), making it a very scalable network. By way of comparison, Ethereum can handle 15 TPS, so Polygon provides 47,900 percent more TPS, making it far more scalable. Especially within the Matic Network, this development will have an impact on coin pricing.
Opportunities for global partnerships
Due to its effectiveness and utility, Polygon is likely to have a significant number of international partnerships in the future. This is quite likely to happen because, compared to using only Ethereum, Polygons gives a considerably better level of flexibility and scalability. What sets Polygon apart from its layer two rivals? The sole network that permits stakes of its token, MATIC, on the Polygon blockchain is Polygon. By assisting in the validation of transactions on the blockchain, staking enables users to receive interest payments every year. Everyday users, developers, and businesses can all benefit from Polygon's solutions. Developing an Internet of Things (IoT) for the Ethereum platform is Polygon's main goal. The goal of the initiative is to increase the number of Ethereum users to a billion without hurting security or decentralisation.
Demand for NFTs has strong growth potential.
Due to the meteoric rise in popularity of non-fungible tokens, the MATIC token and the entire Polygon network have the potential for growth (NFTS). Particularly around 2021, usage cases for NFTs in the fashion and gaming industries exploded, especially with the development of the metaverse. These NFTs must be created on a blockchain network, nevertheless, in order for them to exist. However, Polygon has a considerably more cost-effective blockchain network than Ethereum, making it much cheaper to mint NFTs on it. As a result, trading NFTs on Polygon is also a lot more affordable.
Crypto Related
A finite number of transactions can be made per second on the Ethereum network. The basic layer's throughput rate is currently around 14 transactions per second. Gas fees are the transaction expenses associated with each Ethereum transaction. During periods of intense network congestion, gas prices increase, and Ethereum gas prices might quickly surpass $50 to $80. It's a huge problem. Ethereum is completely out of the price range for the majority of consumers, requiring a minimum one-time payment of $50 for each transaction. Network congestion also slows down the Ethereum blockchain, which makes people less likely to use smart contracts on the blockchain.
Users can pay just cents for the gas, thanks to Polygon. Compare that cost to Ethereum's $15 per transaction average transaction fee. Users can select the scaling option that is most appropriate for their usage because Polygon has a range of protocols, including the zero-knowledge (zk) proof variety. Plasma sidechains, a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain bridge, zk rollups, and optimistic rollups are the four most popular choices project teams can select to incorporate using Polygon. Plasma sidechains, which are smaller and more secure sidechains, were used by Matic in the beginning.
Off-chain processing by Zk rollups produces validity proofs that confirm the accuracy of each bundle of data. After that, the primary blockchain receives these validity proofs. A particular form of the proof method, called fraud proofs, is used in optimistic rollups. Once a fake transaction has been identified, a fraud-proof system self-executes and establishes the legitimate transaction using the information present on the primary blockchain. Polygon is aware that no one ideal solution can satisfy all application requirements. Security, sovereignty, transaction costs and transaction speed are all considerations that each scaling solution involves. The optimum scaling solution for each application should be available to developers. The most comprehensive array of scaling options is also provided by Polygon.
Security
Polygon has always been aware of all security concerns and lapses in its practice. Polygon took a novel step by offering a USD 2 million bounty to a white-hat hacker who found a security vulnerability in their network. In essence, Gerhard Wagner, a hacker, saved Polygon from losing a potential USD 850 million by the discovery of the exposure. The bounty given by Polygon is the biggest ever awarded in the DeFi space, according to Immunefi, a platform for bug bounties that houses Polygon's bounty program. The Plasma Bridge flaw in Polygon was thus found by Wagner. Due to the vulnerability, an attacker might have been able to repeatedly leave their burn transactions from the bridge. Furthermore, no user money was lost as a result of the security incident. White-hat hackers can use the application to trawl through other programs and smart contracts in search of system weaknesses.
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