Polygon blockchain - built to solve Ethereum scalability issues

Polygon logo

Scalability is a big problem for all blockchains including Ethereum. There are many projects that have come up with scalability solutions in many different ways. Polygon seem to be on top of the most successful blockchain protocols tackling scalability issues in Ethereum.

In this presentation, I will take a little in-depth look at what Polygon offers and why it is pioneering scalability solutions for the Ethereum blockchain. Now lets get into it a little in depth.

Polygon - built on Ethereum to scale

Polygon provides a way to make Ethereum scale by creating secondary chains or layer 2 chains that run concurrently with the Ethereum layer 1 blockchain. Through this protocol, some blockchain transactions on Ethereum are switched to these Polygon layer 2 solutions, allowing the main chain to decongest and take in more transactions.

Built to be very compatible with Ethereum virtual machine, Polygon provides an efficient web3 App development solution which allows developers to build apps that could scale on Ethereum blockchain. Polygon inherits all the great features that make Ethereum a robust blockchain. For example, it is filly compatible with Ethereum virtual machine. Hence, developers can reuse all their Ethereum smart contract codes on Polygon without have to worry about performance issues or interoperability.

Just like Ethereum, Polygon is a completely decentralized network, allowing for the development of web3 scaling solutions and DApps that are governed by the community. Polygon provides a complete ecosystem with Ethereum products and services for blockchain end users and developers as well.

A little about the native token MATIC

The Polygon native token is called MATIC. It serves a number of useful functions within the Polygon.

• Mining on Polygon: In order to participate in the ecosystem as a validator, miners are expected to stake some MATIC. Just like other blockchains, the amount of stake each miner has determines how much work they are able to do confirming transactions and creating new blocks.

• Rewards: MATIC is used to provide incentives for all participants in the Polygon network. For example, blockchain validators on the network receive their reward in MATIC. Also, users that participate in Polygon staking programs and yield farms earn MATIC as their reward.

• Network fees: User in the Polygon blockchain are expected to hold some MATIC balance in their Polygon wallets. When they want to complete transactions on the network, some MATIC is deducted or used to pay for gas fees for the transactions.

• Governance: Polygon is built on the Ethereum decentralized environment. Hence, it is totally governed by the community. In order for any users to participate in the governance, they need to hold a certain amount of MATIC in their wallet. When they do, they are able to participate in any governance activity such as voting on polls and proposals. Any governance event that requires community input for decision-making can be participated in, by users that hold some MATIC minimum balance.

Polygon Solutions and DAPPs

Polygon provides a number of scaling DAPPS built on Ethereum and very much compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine. Below are some of them:

• Decentralized wallet: Just as you already know, Polygon runs on Ethereum which is a decentralized blockchain. As such, it does not have a wallet of its own. Instead, it makes use of web3 wallets such as Metamask. So the Polygon wallet service allows you to connect your web3 wallets and access your funds. Below is how you could connect Metamask to polygon.

Step 1: Visit the Polygon wallet URL as follows: https://wallet.polygon.technology/

Step 2: On the top right hand side, click Connect Wallet to start.
Step3: My preferred wallet is me Metamask. So I selected it from the options.
Step 4: I had to confirm the connection in the Metamask window to complete the connection. As you can see, my wallet is not connected to Polygon and showing there.

So having my wallet connected. I am ready to start interacting with the Polygon network. I can send and receive tokens, participate in yield farming and other activities on the blockchain.

• Polygon Staking: Polygon staking is a service that allows ordinary users participate in the blockchain mining and earn rewards. When you stake on Polygon, you lock up some of your MATIC for some periods and earn rewards in the process.

Polygon mining Involves delegating some tokens to validators on the platform. Remember that validators - or miners - confirm all transactions on the Polygon blockchain and add new data blocks to the blockchain. When you stake some MATIC by delegating to validators, you earn some set percentage from the mining activities of the validator.

There are a total of 100 Validators to choose from. And delegators are free to delegate to any of the validators any amount of MATIC they wish. Polygon also provides a rewards calculator so that delegators will have an idea of how much rewards to expect from their delegation. Polygon network is really energy efficient. So delegators are helping the development of a blockchain that does not harm the environment. Instead, they are helping to build a decentralized web3 blockchain built and governed by the community.

If you wish to stake by delegating your MATIC to validators on the blockchain, follow this link: https://staking.polygon.technology/

• Polygon Bridge: The Polygon bridge is a handy tool that enables the swapping of Ethereum tokens to Polygon and vice versa. Just as other bridges in blockchain technology, Polygon brides enable interoperability between Ethereum and Polygon. In order to swap Polygon tokens to Ethereum, the user needs to connect their Web3 wallet to the Polygon network. I will demonstrate how that is possible.

• Polygon Scan: Each blockchain service usually has a way to track transactions on the blockchain. Polygon scan is a service that enables users on the blockchain to find any transactions recorded on the public blockchain. There are a number of ways to find transactions recorded on the Polygon blockchain such as through the transaction hash, the transaction address, and other metrics. Polygon scan is still developing more features to make it very easy for users to find transactions on the blockchain.

• Polygon for developers: Dapp developers have a lot to find interesting in Polygon. Remember that Polygon is very much compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine. As such, developers do not worry about smart contract codes written in Ethereum. Polygon compatibility with EVM allows developers to use the same codes written for Ethereum on Polygon.

In addition to smart contract code integration, Polygon also provides an integrated development environment which contains all the pre-written codes and tools needed to build all forms of DAPPs. This complete tool for developers is called Dapp Starter Kit. It is very much available for developers to use and start developing for Polygon. If you are a developer wishing to launch your first polygon projects, here is the URL for the starter kit:

https://academy.polygon.technology/module-2-apprentice-challenge/dapp-starter-kit

Beyond the starter Kit, Polygon also provides mentorship programs for developing, helping rookies to start up their first Polygon projects. There is also great resources for those that are a little advanced too. The polygon academy provides mentorship to help developers get skills such as how to create a token, or how to set up nodes. There are assignments too that are designed to test students knowledge as they go through the courses. So, polygon is really a great place for beginner and advanced developers that wish to build Ethereum Dapps.

• Polygon Bridge Explorer: Those that make use of the Polygon bridge could find this tool really interesting. The Polygon bridge explorer is dedicated to helping users discover interchain transactions. Remember that Polygon bridge provides a way to swap tokens from Ethereum to Polygon and the other way round. If users are trying to look up such transactions specifically, then the bridge explorer comes in handy.

If you want to take a look at the transactions happening at bridge level, below is the link:

https://bridge-explorer.polygon.technology/deposits

Polygon DAPP Ecosystem

Polygon is home to some really great Dapps each offering different services to end users. The Dapps ecosystem is growing and expanding rapidly. Below are a few zkEVM Ecosystem Dapp:

• QuickSwap: If you need a decentralized exchange where you could quickly swap one token for another, then you could think about QuickSwap. This platform uses Automated Market maker to offer the best market prices for your selected token pairs and make sure there is enough liquidity to complete your swaps.

• OVIX: another powerful project built on Polygon, Ovix facilitates crypto lending on the Polygon network. It brings liquidity providers together with borrowers. The OVIX network allows users to join lending pools by providing liquidity, while borrowers have a place to borrow and pay back with interest.

Why is Polygon gaining much popularity?

There are many things that make Polygon really special in the crypto space. Here are 3 main reasons:

• Cross-chain use with Ethereum: Many blockchains make it impossible to be able to run projects with other blockchains. But for Polygon, one reason its growing more popular is that its interoperable with Ethereum. For developers, this is a massive plus. Being able to develop smart contract codes on Ethereum and implement them on Polygon makes the work easier. It also gives developers a wider access to development tools across two blockchains.

• Scalable Solution: Scalability is a general problem of all blockchains. Polygon solves this issue by utilizing layer 2 chains to decongest transactions on the main blockchain. With many crypto projects requiring scaling solutions, Polygon becomes the popular choice.

• Great for developers: Polygon has an amazing set of development tools and environment for DAPP developers. Its starter tool kit enables developers to have all the needed tools to work with. The Polygon academy also runs great courses for Devs of all levels.

Conclusion

Polygon continues to grow in all areas, offering products for blockchain users and solutions for developers. Being compatible with EVM is a big plus that gives it an edge over competitors. In your free time, try to explore all the amazing DAPPS built in Polygon.

Posted Using LeoFinance Alpha