The Advantages of Using the Polygon (MATIC) Blockchain
Polygon is a blockchain used to create decentralized applications. Developed by Indian developers back in 2017, it changed its name from MATIC Network to Polygon in 2018. It is said to be the first platform and framework that is easy to use and solves problems found in the Ethereum blockchain while still seizing its infrastructure.
A blockchain is an online open ledger where transactions are recorded. It can be used for things like cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ehtereum, etc.) and a world of other items like smart contracts, Non-Fungible Tokens (unique digital assets), and more. It is a technology that is disrupting many industries as it brings traceability, transparency and security that not many other technologies can provide.
To this day and at a global level, the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain continues to be the most used and the most effective. It became wildly used as an open-source and decentralized blockchain back in 2013.
However, its fast adoption and amount of users made it very expensive, and some of its exchange fees often cost more than the transferred sum. This is due to the extraordinary measure of clients who use the network, which brings down exchange scalability.
Polygon was designed to solve these and a few other issues that the Ethereum blockchain has. Polygon comprises many people involved, such as block creators, developers, clients and other stakeholders that are constantly working to make it the best and most effective system for its users.
So, what are the advantages of using Polygon over other networks?
Compatibility
Compatibility in technology is becoming more and more important since people are using the same technology around the world, and they want to make sure their developments will not go to waste once they use new technology. Think of phone charges; we are all praying for them to be compatible with different devices.
Polygon knows this and has been designed to be compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine. This makes it easy to use for those accustomed to building an app on Ethereum and programming in Solidity. Some of its competitors, like Cosmos, do not do as it uses a WASM-based virtual machine. Additionally, as a layer-2 scaling solution, Polygon is not only compatible but designed to be scalable.
Low Gas Fees
So far, its low gas fees have been a massive advantage for its users. The only incognita is if its prices will go up once more and more users use this network. But seeing how the Polygon network already surpassed the user base of the Ethereum blockchain with over 566,516 active users (compared to 527,158 in Ethereum by October 2 2021) and still, its gas fees are cheaper, it is a worry for the far future.
Speed of Transactions
Polygon works on ‘child’ chains from the ‘parent’ Ethereum chains, allowing the network not to get saturated and have a faster transaction speed than other blockchain networks. This is a massive plus for Polygon as speed impacts its performance and its user experience.
