In the world of ethereum layer 2 blockchains, one name stands out for its popularity, big-name support, and ubiquity: Polygon.
From entertainment and brand loyalty to gaming and ticketing, x.com/0xPolygon” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Polygon It has become a go-to blockchain for developers looking to connect quality brands, applications, and tools with the security and robustness of ethereum, offering exquisite developer support, a great user experience, and the speeds, affordability, and reliability you’d expect from an ethereum Layer-2.
What has made Polygon the giant it is today and why should it be on your radar? Here’s our complete guide to Polygon in 2024.
Source: PolygonWhat is Polygon?
Founded in 2017 by Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal, and Anurag Arjun, and originally known as Matic Network, Polygon is an ethereum layer 2 blockchain.
The launch took place just a few months before x.com/CryptoKitties” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Cryptokittensthe first widely popular blockchain game, would slow ethereum to a crawl, Polygon set out to leverage the security and decentralized nature of ethereum while also offering a platform for high-volume applications to run smoothly, efficiently, and reliably.
Polygon was quickly adopted by new blockchain developers, such as x.com/1inch” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>1 inch, x.com/SushiSwap” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Sushi Exchange and x.com/CurveFinance” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Curve Finance everyone leveraging Polygon for DeFi tools, initiatives, and platforms, and once nfts came onto the scene, numerous marketplaces rushed to provide support, such as OpenSea, Element, and Magic Eden.
Its native token, $MATIC (soon to be $POL), has been a top 50 cryptocurrency for much of its existence, ranking #21 at the time of writing with a market cap of $4.1 billion USD. $MATIC counts as a governance token, allowing holders to participate and help shape the future of the network.
2024 has been a big year for Polygon, as it saw more nft transactions in a 24-hour period on ethereum for the first time, pumped $100 million into Web3 games alongside fellow ethereum Layer-2 developer Immutable, and pledged 1 billion $POL tokens over the next 10 years to promising blockchain projects, totaling $410 million at the time of writing.
Source: PolygonWhat makes Polygon unique?
In addition to being one of the pioneering ethereum Layer-2 blockchains, Polygon is notable for the large number of well-known brands powering their Web3 offerings with the network.
Starbucks, Warner Music Group, and Square Enix are just a few of the big names that have trusted Polygon as their blockchain of choice to enter the Web3 market, and Polygon has truly earned a reputation as the blockchain of choice for traditional brands looking to expand their horizons.
On the technical side, Polygon uses “sidechains.” These are independent blockchains that run in parallel to ethereum and process transactions independently before sending them to the ethereum mainnet, helping to manage the load on ethereum and ensure that Polygon’s products and applications run smoothly.
Fees on Polygon are a fraction of those on ethereum. At the time of writing, an ERC-20 token transfer costs around $1.68 USD on ethereum, while it costs less than 1 cent on Polygon, making it an attractive option for both users and developers.
Source: PolygonThe history of Polygon
Polygon was born in 2017 as Matic Network and quickly gained traction as one of the first publicly available ethereum layer 2 blockchains, acting as an important gateway for developers looking to build quality blockchain apps, games, and tools.
Polygon’s mainnet went live in 2020, sparking a surge of interest from both developers and users, and by the time the nft market hit all-time highs in late 2021, Polygon had firmly established itself as one of the leading layer-2 solutions, with hundreds of dApps and millions of users worldwide.
In 2022 and 2023, Polygon’s influence grew even further, as Meta (owners of social media platforms facebook and instagram) announced that they would be partnering with Polygon to enable the integration of nfts into their platforms, and while this was eventually cancelled when interest in nfts cooled, it still signified Polygon’s position in the industry.
This period also saw a groundbreaking partnership between Polygon and fellow ethereum Layer-2 blockchain Immutable (long considered rivals) to spearhead the development and adoption of Web3 gaming, leading to advancements in zero-knowledge technology and broad support for developers.
In 2024, Polygon has continued to innovate in the blockchain space, albeit much more quietly than before. Their partnership with ChainGPT has allowed them to experiment with integrating ai into the blockchain, while their acquisition of Toposware has boosted their research, development, and production capacity in zero-knowledge technology.
Whether on the front page or behind the scenes, Polygon has been a consistent standard-bearer for blockchain technology, helping to bring countless brands, businesses, and users into the Web3 fold, and as we close out 2024 and head into 2025, Polygon is sure to continue to make a considerable mark on the blockchain industry.
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