What is Polygon? (MATIC)

What is MATIC and can Polygon handle dApps?



MATIC is another well-recognized token, much like Etheruem or Cardano, but how many of you would actually know how the token functions and what services does Polygon handle?





What is MATIC?



Polygon (MATIC) is a blockchain network situated on the Ethereum blockchain’s layer 2 to help solve speed and scalability issues found on the Ethereum network, while also resolving issues found on other blockchain networks in general, such as high fees, lack of speed in proccessing transactions, without reducing security precautions through the usage of Plasma Chains, which help networks scale on the Layer 2 network and PoS chains.





Developers



Polygon was launcher in October, 2017, by Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal and Anurag Arjun, with the initial name of Matic Network, before changing to Polygon.





Interesting Points of MATIC



Polygon also functions multi-chain, which also enables users to create private and organizational-level blockchain systems to process financial transactions, much like Polkadot, Cosmos, and Avalanche, with additional uniquenesses as following:



1. Ability to use Ethereum functions



2. Polygon was developed on top of Ethereum’s initial structure for improved efficiency and functionalities, allowing users to also develop in accordance with this principle as well.



As for developers, learning new computer languages is rendered unnecessary as Polygon’s functions are highly similar to that of Ethereum, while having the absence of the necessity to stake tokens to start developing. Polygon SDK is also found on the platform as a modular framework with high flexibility, facilitating connections with secured and standalone chains.



Furthermore, Polygon’s allure can be displayed in the following aspects as well:



1. Fast transaction processing

With Polygon working in parallel with Ethereum, transactions traffic can be relieved onto the Polygon network instead, which can process transactions in a considerably fast rate.



2. Scalability

Polygon uses plasma chains and the PoS algorithm to make its network able to handle immense amounts of transaction, as well as an increase of them.



3. Low fees

With a reduction in transaction traffic and increase in processing speed, fees are effectively reduced.



4. Micro-payments

The Matic Wallet can be used to conduct micro-payments, as well as access fast transaction processing or connect to decentralized applications (dApps).





Interesting Technology

In reference to statistics from Coinmarketcap on February 10, 2022, MATIC is ranked as the 15st highest in terms of market capitalization, with around 14 billion U.S. dollars or around 493 billion Thai baht. MATIC’s maximum supply is fixed at 10,000,000,000 MATIC with a current 7.46 billion MATIC in circulation. 



Additionally, MATIC once made an all-time high at 95.42 baht and is hovering around the price of 66.08 baht at the time of writing.





Conclusion



Polygon is a network that has been attracting immense traction in recent times with its structure being highly similar to Ethereum, but solving its issues, whether its inability to scale, slow processing, and transaction traffic.

The recent success of Polygon and the MATIC token still has a long ways to go and its development is still very much in the process.





Reference:



Github - whitepaper, Polygon, Blog - Polygon, gemini, BinanceAcademy, Polygon - Dev