Written by:Paras Katoch

Everything you need to know about Polygon MATIC Network

In the blockchain race, India has introduced its dark horse named Polygon MATIC coin. Launched in October 2017, MATIC was introduced to the market by three tech-savvy Indians – Sandeep Nailwal, Jaynti Kanani, and Anurag Arjun. The introduction was quite straightforward, they plan to address the Ethereum scalability issues that are clogging up the Ethereum ecosystem because of the rising transaction volume on the network.

Polygon-matic-founders
Polygon Founders

Moving forward to 2021, MATIC rebranded itself to Polygon to serve a bigger purpose that includes solving the Ethereum scalability issues and interoperability within the Ethereum blockchain. Polygon wishes to become the Internet of blockchains and a complete ecosystem that supports DAPP development and much more.

If the vision of the project catches your attention. Here are the not to be missed details of the project –

Table of Contents

  1. What is Polygon?
  2. What is MATIC?
  3. How does Polygon work?
  4. 3.1 Ethereum Layer
    3.2 Security Layer
    3.3 Polygon Networks Layer
    3.4 Execution Layer
  5. Why Polygon is Ethereum’s Internet of Blockchains?
  6. 4.1 Plasma Chains
    4.2 POS Chains
    4.3 ZK Rollups
    4.4 Optimistic Rollups
  7. Polygon Advantages
  8. 5.1 Scalability
    5.2 Ethereum Compatible
    5.3 Interoperability
    5.4 Smart Contracts and DAPP
    5.5 Security as a service
    5.6 Partnerships
  9. Polygon Disadvantages
  10. 6.1 Developer Shortfall
    6.2 Indian Regulations
    6.3 Ethereum 2.0
  11. Polygon Matic Price
  12. Polygon Matic Price Prediction
  13. How to buy Polygon MATIC?
  14. Should you invest in MATIC?
Polygon matic boom

What is Polygon?

Created by developers, for developers. MATIC rebranded itself to Polygon network in 2021 to serve a bigger purpose. Polygon is the first-ever framework to offer interoperability features in the Ethereum blockchain, something similar to Polkdot (DOT). In layman’s terms, connecting all the Ethereum-based blockchains within the Ethereum network. Moving from just a simple scalability solution it has expanded its vision which leads to the name change.

MATIC has rebranded itself to Polygon

What is MATIC?

Just like you have ETH powering up the Ethereum network. MATIC token is used to power up the Polygon blockchain network. Primarily, the MATIC token is used in securing the system and enabling governance.

Apart from it, MATIC token is used to pay the transaction fee on the Polygon network, it is also used for staking by the network validators under the POS (Proof of Stake) model.

Polygon Volume

How does Polygon work?

Polygon works on a four-layered architecture, each layer serving a different purpose –

Ethereum Layer:

This is the first layer in the Polygon architecture that uses the Ethereum network for security enhancement. It comprises of smart contracts which are created on Ethereum. The role of smart contracts is to facilitate the following –

  • Staking
  • Dispute Resolving
  • Message Relaying
  • Transaction Finality

Security Layer:

Layer 2 in the Polygon architecture is the security layer. It runs side by side with the Ethereum layer to enhance and provide an additional layer of security to the network. It taps into Polygon’s core validators for security if the project doesn’t want to use layer 1 i.e Ethereum security and consensus feature. Remember, layer 2 comes with a fee.

Ethereum and Security Layer are optional in Polygon’s architecture

Polygon Networks Layer:

If you have a fair idea of Polkadot Crypto (DOT) and COSMOS, understanding this layer is a cakewalk for you. Built on Polygon, this is layer 3 in the Polygon’s architecture which connects you with the interoperability feature and helps make Polygon an internet of blockchains using Polygon SDK.

The network utilizes Polygon protocol (set of rules) to connect with each other and exchange messages (data). Polygon networks layer serves the following functions –

  • Block production on the Polygon Network
  • Local Consensus

Execution Layer:

As the name suggests, layer 4 in the Polygon’s architecture is created for executing smart contracts on the network. It interprets the logic and executes cross-chain smart contracts as per the protocol.

Polygon architecture
Image src: polygon.technology

Why Polygon is Ethereum’s Internet of Blockchains?

Polygon is designed to serve the blockchain community. It is the network build for the future which predicts a high adoption rate of blockchain technology and a large-scale Ethereum adoption. Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum is more focused on building smart contracts and Dapps which will lead to the creation of more blockchains in its ecosystem. Polygon wishes to be a bridge between all these blockchains.

Its long-term goal is to enable an open, decentralized world for users where blockchains no longer operate in siloes. Polygon tends to become a hub that connects the blockchains and helps them communicate seamlessly like a plug-and-play model with no limitations like high gas fees, scalability issues, and fragile security.

The goal is aspirational, it requires Polygon to come up with advanced technologies and chain creation, shared below –

Plasma Chains:

Coined back in 2017 by Vitalik, Co-Founder of Ethereum. Plasma is a scaling solution for the Ethereum network that works by creating copies of the Ethereum blockchain called child chains. Further, these child chains are responsible to send the snapshot to the main (parent) chain every 5 minutes.

Child chains are responsible for scaling the network speed and lowering down the congestion. It works somewhat like Sharding, covered in my post on Cryptocurrency terminology. The MATIC token is used to pay for the transaction fee on the plasma chain.

POS Chains:

These are stand-alone chains that use the Proof of Stake for validation and consensus mechanism. The staking is done using MATIC token. They have their own pool of validators offering the highest level of flexibility and independence.

ZK Rollups:

It’s an alternative scaling solution which is in the development phase. It offers to bundle up a large number of transfers into a single transaction on the network.

Optimistic Rollups:

Again in the development phase. Optimistic rollups facilitate instant transactions using the “fraud proofs mechanism”.

Polygon security
Image src: polygon.technology

Polygon Advantages:

Scalability:

Polygon has been created to become a highly scalable network that has the capacity to host 10000 transactions per second. No other blockchain is able to promise this level of speed along with security.

Polygon can support 10000 transactions per second.

Ethereum Compatible:

Polygon wants to be called Ethereum’s internet of blockchains. It highly favours the Ethereum ecosystem which in itself is broadly accepted by the blockchain community. A large acceptance of Ethereum allows Polygon to spread its wings in the emerging crypto market.

Interoperability:

Polygon is the only project that’s making great progress in blockchain interoperability. Of course, you can counter this argument with Polkadot (DOT) and COSMOS working on similar lines but when it comes to Polygon, it is working on supporting the interoperability features for Ethereum blockchains, hence have an edge working on the proven ecosystem.

Polygon bridge

Smart Contracts and DAPP:

Polygon network supports smart contracts and Dapps. It also supports cross-chain smart contracts execution. Making it an efficient blockchain with an added layer of security. I have covered a real-life example of smart contracts in my post on Bitcoin vs Ethereum.

Security as a Service:

The 4 layered architecture of the Polygon network offers security as a service which means it’s optional for anyone to opt-in or opt-out of the security layers. This helps increase the adoption rate without compromising flexibility. There’s no need to sacrifice specific features by any platform in the name of additional security.

Partnerships:

Polygon has inked many noteworthy partnerships with key players in the crypto industry. Recently it has partnered with Starbucks that enables users to earn and purchase digital collectible stamps and unlock coffee experiences.

Checkout the recent partnerships by Polygon network

Polygon Disadvantages:

Developer Shortfall:

Attracting smart talents is one problem for promising crypto projects, Polygon is no different. It’s turning out to be a difficult task in finding developers who can write code for developing the Polygon ecosystem. Feared by uncertainty around blockchain technology in India, talents are shying away to enter this arena which can hold potential future growth.

Indian Regulations:

As per the founders, Polygon is a completely decentralized network, and ban on cryptocurrency at any level within India will not affect its growth. However, there are still speculations around India banning cryptos for the second time. The first ban has resulted in the permanent shut down of the top crypto exchange – Koinex. I have covered this concern in my post on Bank vs Bitcoin in India

Ethereum 2.0:

The foundation of MATIC token revolves around scalability and lower gas fees. Ethereum 2.0, also known as Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution Optimism serves the same purpose in helping Ethereum network counter scalability issues and high gas fees.

With the mainnet launch of ETH2.0 this year, there will be less to no use of scaling solutions offered by the projects like ZIL, MATIC or Harmony ONE coin. Though, it will affect MATIC in the short term but given the wide scope of the project. It won’t be a roadblock in future growth.

ETH2.0 has been covered by me in my post on What is Ethereum?

Polygon MATIC Price:

Polygon MATIC Price Prediction:

Polygon (MATIC) has witnessed a 10X growth in the recent bull run. It has reached an all-time high of $2.62 and an all time low of $0.69 in the current bear market. At the time of writing MATIC was trading around $0.80. It’s very hard to forecast MATIC price since it depends on the market response to a lot of variables like ETH2.0, Indian government regulations and project growth.

Checkout Celer Network (CELR) layer-2 multi-chain network

How to buy Polygon (MATIC)?

Given the scope and vision of the project, if everything goes according to the plan, it’s not difficult to conclude that in the next bull market MATIC has the potential to rise between $5 -$10 price levels. That’s an optimistic number, not a factual one.

Polygon (MATIC) is available to trade in every leading exchange including Binance, Coinbase and WazirX which is the leading cryptocurrency exchange of India. It’s the subsidiary of Binance with its headquarters in Mumbai. You can buy/sell and store MATIC tokens on the platform, hassle-free.

It can also be purchased from the top DEXes like Uniswap Exchange.

Should you invest in MATIC?

Mark Cuban did, why shouldn’t you? Well, that just rhymes well. Polygon (MATIC) is a long shot. It has much on its plate and a lot more to deliver. The project is indeed fantastic and the vision of the founders is pristine. Is that enough to bet your money on the project? The opportunities come with threats, the biggest one is the worldwide adoption of blockchain technology, particularly Ethereum.

The adoption rate of blockchain technology is on the rise but a highly volatile market always worries the investors. Having said that, MATIC is in the early stages of development. An investment made in this blockchain is projected to return high rewards only if you can bear the pain of a falling market during the bear cycle. You can put aside a portion of your savings into the project. Make sure only to invest, what you can afford to lose.

Also read: Why Polygon MATIC will boom in the bull run?

That covers my detailed study on Polygon MATIC coin. In my next post I will cover WRX coin by WAZIRX. Remember to subscribe to my newsletter and if you like the information, please support us in creating free content for everyone.

DISCLAIMER:

Cryptocurrency is a highly volatile market. All the information shared in the post is for knowledge purpose only. By no means, it’s financial or investment advice. Readers are responsible for their own investment decisions and should only invest in cryptocurrency after proper research.

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