The most popular ethereum layer-2 scalability platform Polygon (previously known as Matic network) has been listed by the major US-based exchange Kraken on 17th May 2021.
The deposits have already begun and trading will begin at approximately 15:30 UTC. Matic is available for trading in the following quote currencies: USD, EUR, GBP and BTC.
Polygon (Previously Matic Network)
Polygon is a Layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum that aims to improve the speed and reduce the cost and complexities of transactions on its network. MATIC is the utility token of the Polygon network and is used for securing the chain through staking, participating in network governance, and as a unit of payment for transaction fees on the network.
Polygon had seen great success over the last year as more and more DeFi and DApps products have been migrated to the Polygon network for scalability and usability. Polygon is backed by major names in the crypto industry like Coinbase, Binance Ventures to name a few. Some of the well-known protocols that operate over polygon networks include Decentraland, MakerDao, Zebi, EasyFi, SportX, Polymarket, etc.
Polygon (MATIC) that works on the PoS (Proof-of-Stake) consensus model has surged over 314% in a month despite all the turbulences around bitcoin mining’s negative environmental impact.
What is the Ethereum scalability problem?
Any developer who has tried to build a decentralized application used by the masses, on Ethereum layer-1 blockchain, knows that in its current manifestation, it isn’t quite ready. Transactions take a long time to clear and paying for every basic function is expensive and creates a poor user experience. It all boils down to a general ‘scalability’ problem. Both poor throughput and cost have been massive barriers to any meaningful adoption.
The main reason behind Ethereum’s scalability bottleneck is that each node in the network has to process each transaction. Remember that nodes perform the job of verifying that the miners’ work is valid. They play an integral role within the network as they’re the main check on the miners if they decide to act maliciously. Similarly, each node keeps an accurate copy of the current network state, meaning they don’t need to rely on a third party to confirm the balance of every account and smart contract.
There are many on-chain and off-chain (layer-2) solutions that solve the ethereum scalability issue and Polygon is one among those which has become a de-facto scaling platform for the ethereum blockchain.
