The platform aims to create the "Ethereum Blockchain Internet", that is, a multi-chain Ethereum-compatible blockchain ecosystem. It tries to achieve this by providing an easy-to-use framework that allows developers to launch their own Ethereum-compatible blockchain with a single click.
Polygon represents a world in which individual blockchains can freely and easily exchange value and information, eliminating the technological and ideological differences that divide most modern blockchains.
The project was originally called Matic Network, but was later renamed Polygon as the project expanded. While Matic was a simple Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, Polygon is the infrastructure for a network of massively scalable collaborative blockchains that retain their independence.
It is currently being developed by a multidisciplinary team led by four co-founders - Janti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal, Anurag Arjun and Mihailo Bzhelich. Kanani is the CEO of Polygon and a seasoned developer who loves to scale gears, while the rest of the team has a wealth of experience building, managing and developing technology companies.
How does it work
Polygon provides a wide range of modules that developers can use to easily deploy and customize their own blockchain. These include the Consensus and Governance Modules, and the various virtual machine runtimes and implementations.
Blockchains launched in this way are set to use the Matic Proof-of-Stake (PoS) sidechain, which uses a network of validators to dramatically speed up transactions and keep fees to a minimum - while completing everything related to the Ethereum main chain.
Polygon supports two types of chains: stand-alone chains and protected chains. In short, autonomous chains are self-contained blockchains that are directly compatible with Ethereum, whereas secure chains simply enhance their security using a network of professional validators.
At first, all standalone chains of the Polygon ecosystem will be Matic PoS chains, but other sidechains and enterprise chains will be supported in a later update.
The platform is designed to support a wide range of different blockchain scaling mechanisms, including Matic Plasma, zk Rollups, Optimistic Rollups, and Validum Chains - all designed to increase the transaction throughput of linked blockchains without compromising security or user experience.
At the time of writing, Polygon only supports the scaling solution Matic Plasma (an example of a more viable plasma). Basically, it works by offloading transactions from the Ethereum main chain to the Matic PoS chain from Polygon to complete everything in the main chain. Over the coming months and years, Polygon will add support for a variety of scaling alternatives to give developers the freedom to choose what best suits their needs.
Despite the rebranding, Polygon's own utility token is still known as MATIC. It is primarily used to pay GAS fees and governance participation, and can also be used across the rapidly expanding Polygon DeFi ecosystem.
What makes Polygon unique
Polygon significantly expands the vision and scope of the original Matic Network project by providing developers with a set of tools they can use to build ultra-scalable and high-performance blockchains and decentralized applications (DApps).
This is a unique solution on the market in the sense that it is the only scalability solution that supports the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and allows connected chains to remain self-sufficient in security, while also ensuring interoperability with each other and with the Ethereum main chain.
Unlike some other platforms, the chains in the Polygon ecosystem are not required to use their security as a service layer, but can still transfer messages among themselves due to the ability to randomly transfer messages. This ensures that developers can create truly interoperable decentralized applications that can leverage the unique properties of multiple chains at any scale.
Because building on Polygon is very similar to building on Ethereum, the platform is immediately available to the world's largest blockchain community, which can now build highly scalable applications that can take full advantage of Ethereum's network effects without giving up on anything.
As we mentioned earlier, Polygon is also unusual in that it supports many different scaling mechanisms that projects can implement as they see fit. This makes it beneficial if any particular scaling solution becomes dominant in the future or fails to fulfill its purpose.
How to exchange Polygon (MATIC)
Polygon (MATIC), can be exchanged through the Alligat0r cryptocurrency exchanger. For example, if you want to exchange Polygon (MATIC) for ETH, go here https://alligat0r.com/coin-pairs/matic/eth/info
