Polygon

Polygon is the leading Ethereum scaling solution. It was founded by Sandeep Nailwal, Jaynti Kanani, Anurag Arjun, and Mihailo Bjelic. Polygon has achieved scale by utilizing sidechains for off-chain computation while ensuring asset security using the Plasma framework and a decentralized network of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) validators. ^[1]^[2] As of August 2022, more than 37,000 dapps already use Polygon architecture. ^[28]

In February 2022, Polygon raised about $450 million through a private sale of its native MATIC token in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital India.^[23]

In June 2022, Polygon was chosen by Disney to participate in the 2022 Disney Accelerator, a business development program designed to accelerate the growth of innovative companies from around the world. 2022 Disney Accelerator class is focused on building the future of immersive experiences and specializes in technologies such as augmented reality (AR), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and artificial intelligence (AI) characters.^[23]

Shortly after, the Polygon ream revealed zkEVM, the first EVM-equivalent of Layer 2 ZK (zero-knowledge). ^[25]

Overview

Founded in 2017, Polygon (Previously Matic Network) is a protocol and a framework for building and connecting Ethereum-compatible blockchain networks. Polygon solves problems associated with blockchains, like high gas fees and slow speeds, without lowering security.^[5]^[6]

In September 2023, the Korean asset manager Mirae Asset Securities partnered up with Polygon Labs to develop a tokenized securities network. Polygon Labs will serve as a technical consultant within The Mirae Asset Security Token Working Group, an initiative focused on establishing the necessary infrastructure for the issuance, exchange, and distribution of tokenized securities. ^[51]

In September 2023, the first major upgrade of Polygon zkEVM, known as Dragon Fruit or ForkID5, was deployed on Mainnet Beta. This update included support for the latest EVM opcode, marking Polygon zkEVM as the first Ethereum Layer 2 solution to incorporate PUSH0 functionality. ^[59]

In August 2023, Num Finance, a stablecoin issuer, introduced a new digital token pegged to the Colombian peso on the Polygon network. Named nCOP, this token is characterized by over-collateralization through reserve assets. ^[52]

In August 2023, Polygon introduced a developer toolkit designed to help developers The Chain Development Kit (CDK) is an open-source codebase available to developers for constructing customizable layer 2 chains utilizing Polygon’s ZK technology. These chains will be linked through a ZK-powered bridge, ensuring interoperability. Polygon has referred to this collective framework as the "Value Layer." ^[53]

Polygon stated in a tweet during August that Matter Labs, the entity responsible for zkSync rollup, replicated a portion of Polygon's open-source code without giving proper credit. Matter Labs refuted the claims, asserting that the code in question was duly acknowledged in a conspicuous manner at the beginning of one of the pertinent files. ^[54]

In July 2023, Polygon Labs developers proposed a reorganization of the governance mechanism for the upcoming Polygon 2.0 roadmap, aiming to implement multiple layer-2 solutions on the network. The developers stated that the new governance framework would consist of "three primary pillars”: the expansion of the Polygon Improvement Proposal (PIP) framework, a System Smart Contracts Governance pillar, and a Community Treasury governance mechanism. ^[55]

In June 2023, Polygon introduced Polygon Copilot, an AI Interface powered by ChatGPT to assist developers in obtaining analytics and insights for applications operation on Polygon. Polygon Copilot offers three distinct tiers (beginner, advanced, and degen) designed to accommodate users based on their familiarity and comfort level with the interface. ^[56]

Polygon 2.0, released in June 2023, introduced three Polygon Improvement Proposals (PIPs). The published PIPs outline the technical specifics for Phase 0 of constructing a network of interconnected zero-knowledge-powered L2 chains to enhance Ethereum's scalability. These proposals cover details such as the transition plan, specifications for the upgraded token in the Polygon 2.0 architecture, and updates to the Polygon PoS native token. ^[58]

Matic Network

Initially, the platform was launched as Matic Network in 2017 with a vision to help create a better, open world, primarily by improving Ethereum infrastructure. During three years, the team has implemented and offered Matic Plasma Chains, a production-ready Ethereum Layer 2. They also implemented and offered Matic PoS Chain, a permissionless, EVM-compatible, PoS-secured Ethereum sidechain that relies on Ethereum security for validator staking and checkpoints. During these years, Matic onboarded more than 80 applications, including Polymarket, Aavegotchi, Neon District, SkyWeaver, Cometh, EasyFi with more being added. ^[7]

In February 2021, Matic Network revealed it became Polygon, the first well-structured, easy-to-use platform for Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development. ^[8]

Polygon differs from its predecessor in that its approach is now multi-faceted. Polygon seeks to transform Ethereum into a true multi-chain ecosystem that benefits from all kinds of Layer-2 scalability, not just the initial implementations provided by the Matic Network. Polygon presents a suite of solutions to Ethereum’s scalability crisis - hence the ‘poly’ portion of the project’s updated nomenclature. Polygon still deals primarily with sidechain connectivity and runs its main PoS chain as of April 2021, but it has plans to expand its toolbox to include other Layer-2 solutions like zkRollups and Optimistic Rollups, standalone sidechains, enterprise chains, shared security chains, as well as interchain communication protocols. As such, Polygon describes itself as a Swiss Army knife of Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development. ^[9]

In May 2021, blockchain data for Polygon arrived on the Google Cloud Platform. Integration with Google BigQuery enables developers to analyze on-chain data on Polygon in a more simple way. With the BigQuery support, Polygon's datasets have been listed in the Google Cloud Marketplace under the public financial services category. Potential benefits of the integration are said to include the monitoring of gas fees and smart contracts and determining the most popular tokens or applications on the network. ^[10]

In August 2022, more than 37,000 decentralized apps (dApps) have been built on Polygon, according to the most recent data from Alchemy^[29], the world's leading Web3 development platform. That represents a fourfold increase since the beginning of 2022 and almost twice as many as there were in March 2022.^[28]

Tech

Polygon's architecture can best be defined as a four-layer system composed of the Ethereum layer, security layer, Polygon networks layer, and execution layer. ^[11]

The Ethereum layer is essentially a set of smart contracts which are implemented on Ethereum. These smart contracts handle things like transaction finality, staking, and communication between Ethereum and the various Polygon chains. The security layer runs side by side with Ethereum and provides a "validators as a service" role which allows chains to benefit from an additional layer of security. Both the Ethereum and Security layers are optional.

Beyond this, there are two mandatory layers. The first is the Polygon networks layer, which is the ecosystem of blockchain networks built on Polygon. Each of these has its own community and is responsible for handling local consensus and producing blocks. The second is the Execution layer, which is Polygon's Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) implementation used for executing smart contracts.

Polygon uses a variety of technologies to achieve this expanded vision, these include:

POS Chain: Polygon's main chain is an Ethereum sidechain known as the Matic POS Chain, which adds a Proof-of-Stake (POS) security layer to blockchains launched on Polygon.
Plasma Chains: Polygon makes use of a scaling technology known as Plasma to move assets between the root chain and child chains via Plasma bridges.
ZK-rollups: An alternative scaling solution used to bundle a large number of transfers off-chain into a single transaction, using zero-knowledge proofs for the final public record on the Ethereum main chain.
Optimistic rollups: A solution that runs on top of Ethereum to facilitate near-instant transactions through the use of "fraud proofs".

Google Cloud joins as a Validator

On September 2023, Tech giant Google Cloud has recently become a validator node operator on the Polygon proof-of-stake blockchain network. Both Polygon and Google made the announcement, revealing that Google Cloud has joined a decentralized group of over 100 validators responsible for securing the Ethereum scaling platform.

In a tweet, Polygon mentioned that their network now utilizes the same infrastructure powering various Google services such as Gmail and YouTube to validate transactions. This collaboration emphasizes Google's renowned reputation for security and reliability, providing an additional layer of protection for users.^[57]

Use Cases

Payments

The Polygon crypto platform is designed to allow decentralized applications (DApps) to speed up payments, enabling nearly instant payment settlement through a specialized application programming interface (API) and software development kit (SDK) integration. This process allows dApps, merchants, and users to instantly accept or pay in any type of cryptocurrency, though usually in ERC-20 tokens or Ethereum (ETH). This system is being rolled out in three distinct phases:

Ethereum (ETH) and ERC-20 token payments.
Cross-chain multi-asset token transfers and payments utilizing atomic swaps in partnership with liquidity providers.
Fiat-based payment system employing fiat liquidity providers. ^[12]

Lending Platform

Polygon is building a mechanism to allow merchants to analyze the credit ratings of users who have signed up to use the platform by assessing their transaction history. This functionality is carried out in partnership with Dharma.io. The leading lending protocol Aave ($AAVE) has more than $1 billion liquidity locked on its Polygon markets with more than 8000 users. ^[13]

Games

Polygon’s Layer-2 sidechain scaling solution stands to make blockchain-based gaming faster and perform better. Blockchain gaming lags behind traditional PC and console gaming systems because of poor transaction speed and high network latency. With Polygon’s Commit Chain scaling technology and the Ethereum network working together, developers and gamers will be able to build and play games more effectively. Polygon's ability to help grow the blockchain gaming industry could not come at a better time, as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and NFT marketplaces are driving the popularity of the blockchain and crypto industry at large, with many gamers buying, selling, and trading different types of in-game NFTs. Top gaming and NFT dapps like Aavegotchi, Neon District, Zed Run, and Cometh have scaled their user experiences with Polygon. ^[14]

Other Use Cases

Polygon is also built for many other use cases, like helping realize the fast settlement times needed to allow decentralized exchanges (DEXs) to offer users faster and cheaper trading. QuickSwap, Dfyn, and ComethSwap are some of the Polygon DEXs that are witnessing high volumes and user activity. Protocols like Curve Finance and mStable have also ensured low cost and low slippage stablecoin swaps. Additionally, Polygon’s plasma scaling solution is able to expedite cross-chain atomic swaps of tokenized and non-tokenized assets. Most dApps need a way to sign transactions without submitting private keys due to user privacy concerns. Because of its scalability enhancements, Polygon helps enable an open identity framework for dApp design and use. ^[15]

MATIC Token

MATIC is an ERC-20 token running on the Ethereum blockchain. The tokens are used for payment services on Polygon and as a settlement currency between users who operate within the Polygon ecosystem.

At its initial private sale in 2017, 3.8 percent of MATIC's max supply was issued. In the April 2019 launchpad sale, another 19 percent of the total supply was sold at $0.00263 per token to generate $5 million.

The remaining MATIC tokens are distributed as follows:

Team tokens: 16 percent of the total supply.
Advisors tokens: 4 percent of the total supply.
Network Operations tokens: 12 percent of the total supply.
Foundation tokens: 21.86 percent of the total supply.
Ecosystem tokens: 23.33 percent of the total supply.

According to the release schedule, all the tokens will be released by December 2022. ^[17]

Matic Wallet

MATIC can be stored in the Matic Wallet, instantly giving holders the option to stake their tokens and manage their own investments directly. Matic Wallet is designed using Polygon’s MoreVP technology as an easy-to-use solution for MATIC token holders to securely and simply manage their crypto finances. The wallet is to integrate with WalletConnect to ensure the safekeeping of a user’s private keys, and to provide access to other Polygon features. The wallet also allows users to connect with various dApps, stake their MATIC tokens, and hold other ERC-20 tokens.

Polygon ID

Polygon ID offers advanced privacy that can still run on a user’s device on the blockchain while offering protection from tracking, targeting, and surveillance. Polygon ID is also a complete platform that can be used to construct a variety of identity and trust services, be it birth certificates, driver's licenses or resident permits. Polygon ID has applications for different models of decentralized governance, including sybil-resistant liquid democracies, quadratic voting schemas, and reputation-based governance that encompasses decentralized sybil resistance scoring, improved representation, and domain-expertise reputation. The technology can also be used to power private and censorship-resistant P2P communication and interactions.^[23]

As of April 2022, Polygon ID is still under development. The solution will be structured as a set of tools, platform services and examples for developers to learn, test and integrate with their apps or dApps leveraging Polygon ID’s unique on-chain capabilities.^[23]

Upgrade to POL

In July 2023, Polygon Labs announced a proposal to upgrade the MATIC token to POL. POL is intended to be the native token of Polygon. ^[36]

The POL token would have an initial supply of 10 billion tokens that is entirely dedicated to the migration of MATIC for POL. The digital asset has a yearly emission rate of 2% which would be used for validator incentives and community treasury. ^[36]

The layer2 network projected POL’s price during a 10-year growth scenario to an average of $5, adding that the ecosystem could see up to 25 public chains and more than 3000 supernets if it is heavily adopted during this period. Additionally, Polygon stated that POL holders would act as validators for multiple chains, and each chain can offer validators various roles and corresponding rewards. ^[36]

MATIC holders would be allowed to upgrade their holdings to POL at a 1:1 ratio for a prolonged period. The protocol stated that MATIC and POL would not and can not coexist, adding that “POL can only replace MATIC.” ^[36]

POL Token Contract Launch

On October 25, 2023, Polygon Labs launched the Ethereum contract for the new Polygon token, POL. ^[64]

"POL, a next-generation hyperproductive token, will power a vast ecosystem of zero knowledge-based Layer 2 chains via a native re-staking protocol that allows POL holders to validate multiple chains and perform multiple roles on each of those chains (sequencing, ZK proof generation, participation in data availability committees, etc.)" - the blog post mentioned^[64]

The contract address for the POL token on Ethereum is 0x455e53CBB86018Ac2B8092FdCd39d8444aFFC3F6. ^[65]

The launch of the token will enable the implementation of other components of the Polygon 2.0 roadmap. This includes introducing a new staking layer for the Polygon ecosystem, upgrading the current proof-of-stake (PoS) network to zkEVM layer-2, and creating a shared liquidity protocol for all Polygon networks. ^[66]

MATIC-POL Migration Begins

The Polygon proof-of-stake (PoS) network is set to replace its original MATIC token with POL (POL) tokens following an upgrade slated for September 4, 2024. The POL upgrade initially went live on the Polygon testnet on July 17, 2024. ^[67]

In the initial phase of the mainnet launch, the POL tokens will replace MATIC as the native gas and staking token for Polygon PoS. However, the Polygon community sees greater potential in its new “future-proof native token.” According to community consensus, POL will support a broader role in the upcoming Polygon staking hub in 2025, which includes block generation, zero-knowledge proof generation, and participation in Data Availability Committees (DACs). ^[67]

According to the announcement shared with Cointelegraph, MATIC holders on Polygon PoS will be automatically upgraded to POL without intervention. However, MATIC holders on Ethereum, Polygon zkEVM, or centralized exchanges will need to either bridge, update smart contracts, or use a migration contract for a manual upgrade. The announcement added:

“If users don’t update RPC settings in a wallet (MetaMask, Rabby, Zerion, etc.), the wallet may still display “MATIC” instead of “POL” as the token symbol for the native gas token for the Polygon PoS chain.”^[67]

Projects

A few of the 37,000 dapps that use Polygon architecture include:

QuickSwap (QUICK): permissionless Decentralized Exchange (DEX).
IQ.wiki (IQ): cryptocurrency encyclopedia
Aavegotchi: DeFi based crypto-collectibles game; players stake NFT’s with interest generating tokens in the Aavegotchi Metaverse.
Frax Finance, the leading algorithmic stablecoin protocol.
Decentral Games (DG): Casino-style games built in the Decentraland metaverse, where you can play your favorite card games with your chosen avatar.
SportX (SX): Place your bets on your favorite sporting events with SportX and earn more with weekly contests on this popular sports betting platform.
EasyFi (EASY): A fork of Compound that brings multiple DeFi products under one roof with lending, borrowing, staking, and more available in one decentralized application (DApp).
Neon District: Cyberpunk RPG adventure game that allows players to battle it out in a sci-fi dystopia and win in-game NFT’s.
Polymarket: One of the most popular Prediction Markets in the blockchain space, Polymarket has redefined the space with its smooth UX.

Some projects utilizing Polygon include OpenSea, Decentraland, 1INCH, Beefy.Finance (BIFI), Atari, Zora (NFT Marketplace) and others. ^[18]

Polygon ZK

Polygon developed a collection of zero-knowledge rollups (ZK rollups) to increase throughput on Ethereum without sacrificing decentralization or security. ZK rollups process transactions off-chain and reduce computation on the base layer to achieve scalability. Polygon has already created four ZK rollups, including Zero, Hermez, Miden, and Nightfall. ^[24]

In July 2022, Polygon announced zkEVM, a proprietary Ethereum-compatible scaling solution. As with any other ZK-based scaling solution, zkEVM is a Layer-2 protocol that rolls up a large batch of transactions and “proves” all of them to Ethereum with a single ZK validity proof. The team has also open-sourced the code for Polygon zkEVM. ^[25]

In March 2023, Polygon announced the mainnet launch for its zkEVM offering after its testnet launch last October. ^[30]

“zkEVM can be recognized as the ‘holy grail’ of blockchain scaling. It offers simultaneously three very important features. First is scalability. The second one is security. And the third one is EVM equivalency, or EVM compatibility. All three are equally important.”- Mihailo Bjelic, Co-founder at Polygon

During the announcement ceremony of the new zkEVM, co-founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin initiated the first transaction on the platform, which was broadcast live on ETHGlobal. The transaction was successful, with Buterin sending 0.005 ETH to a random address, accompanied by a message referencing Neil Armstrong's famous first words on the moon. The message read "A few million constraints for man, unconstrained scalability for mankind." The event marked a milestone for the Polygon team and the broader Ethereum community, as the zkEVM promises to greatly improve the scalability and efficiency of the Ethereum network. ^[31]^[32] Sandeep Nailwal commented on the event on his Twitter:

.@VitalikButerin did the symbolic first ever transaction on @0xPolygon #zkEVM and it has a message on it "Millions of constraints for man, unconstrained scalability for mankind". Goose bumps! ^[34]

The project's co-founder, Mihailo Bjelic, commented:

“Today’s launch is an incredible milestone and the beginning of a new chapter for blockchain technology, fulfilling Ethereum’s original promise of becoming a true ‘world computer’ and creating a fairer, more egalitarian internet for all.”^[35]

The launch was congratulated by Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano (ADA). In his tweet, Hoskinson praised the innovation and its potential impact on the wider crypto industry. He also referenced a tweet by Polygon's co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, who had highlighted Vitalik Buterin's transaction on the network as a significant milestone. ^[33]

Dragon Fruit Upgrade

The dragon fruit upgrade was released in September 2023. The upgrade includes improvements to the network, specifically adding support for the latest Ethereum opcode, PUSH0. ^[60]

PUSH0 is the latest EVM opcode, included in the Shanghai hard fork. Once Dragon Fruit is implemented, Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta will be up to date with the latest version of Solidity, maintaining the rollup’s equivalence with the EVM. ^[60]

Polygon 2.0

Polygon 2.0 was launched in July 2023 with the vision of “building the Value Layer of the Internet”. Their proposal is based on three pillars: protocol governance, system smart contract governance, and community treasury. ^[37]

Protocol Governance

The PIP (Polygon Improvement Proposal) framework serves as an open coordination platform for the development of Polygon protocols. The PIP framework is operational on the Polygon PoS chain, allowing both internal and external actors to propose upgrades. In Polygon 2.0, the plan is to extend the PIP framework to cover the entire Polygon permissionless stack, providing the community with a formal avenue to research and propose upgrades that could be integrated into protocols. ^[38]

System Smart Contracts Governance

The proposal suggests introducing the Ecosystem Council as a community-governed body to oversee upgrades of smart contract-based protocol components. These upgrades, though facilitated through the PIP framework, require additional governance due to the nature of Ethereum smart contracts. The Ecosystem Council will be accompanied by a tailor-made governance framework, incorporating advanced token holder governance, community veto, and elections to ensure secure and efficient decision-making. The migration to the initial Ecosystem Council will be proposed as a PIP with stringent consensus requirements and reputable members representing the ecosystem. Over time, the governance model will evolve into a fully community-controlled mechanism to ensure continuous upgradeability, and an Ecosystem Council Transparency dashboard will be launched for the community to monitor upgrade transactions and their lifecycle. ^[38]

Community Treasury Governance

The Community Treasury is envisioned as a self-sustaining ecosystem fund aimed at supporting both public goods and providing assistance to projects and initiatives within the ecosystem. ^[38]

Layers

Polygon 2.0 incorporates a four-layered structure: ^[39]

1. Staking Layer: This layer consists of a "validator manager" contract on the Ethereum blockchain and a "chain manager" for each Polygon chain. Its primary function is to manage the registry of validators, process their requests, and handle slashing events. ^[39]

2. Interoperability Layer: Building upon the staking layer, the interoperability layer establishes connections between all Polygon chains using bridges. It features an aggregator that combines zero-knowledge proofs into a single proof transmitted to the Ethereum blockchain. ^[39]

3. Execution Layer: The execution layer enables Polygon chains to process blocks in a manner similar to Ethereum. It encompasses various components such as P2P (peer-to-peer) networking, consensus mechanisms, mempool databases, and witness generators. ^[39]

4. Proving Layer: This layer is responsible for generating proofs for internal and cross-chain transactions on each Polygon chain. It includes the "common prover" for proof aggregation and verification, the "state machine" that simulates the execution environment, and a "constructor" for developers. ^[39]

Commemorative NFT

In July 2023, Polygon announced a commemorative open edition NFT for the launch of Polygon 2.0. Minting was facilitated through Suku on Twitter. ^[40]

Polygon Miden

Polygon Miden is a zero-knowledge roll-up platform built on the Miden VM. With Polygon Miden, users can develop high-throughput and private applications using modern smart contract languages like Move/Sway. The platform targets developers interested in creating high-throughput and private decentralized applications (dApps). As a general-purpose rollup, Miden allows developers to write and deploy diverse smart contracts as per their requirements. It was released in June 2023. ^[41]

India's Crypto COVID Relief Fund

Sandeep Nailwal, the co-founder of Polygon, took to Twitter on April 24, 2021, to announce the creation of a crypto COVID-19 relief fund to help those in need.^[19]

On May 13, Vitalik Buterin, the founder of the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency Ethereum (ETH), donated around $1 billion to India’s Covid Crypto Relief Fund. ^[20]

Buterin transferred 500 ETH and 50 trillion Shiba Inu coins into the fund. Besides Buterin, Australian cricketer Brett Lee also donated one Bitcoin (BTC) to India's Crypto Covid Relief Fund on April 28, 2021.

Apart from Ethereum (ETH), Shiba Inu coins, and Bitcoin (BTC), the fund is accepting donations in other cryptocurrencies including Ripple, Dogecoin, and TRON. In a bid to keep the fund accountable and transparent, Nailwal made a Google sheet to maintain a record of those who are donating cryptocurrencies. This, according to him, will be helpful if “needed for regulatory filings.”

The cryptocurrencies received by the fund are being converted to the Indian rupee to buy oxygen, food, vaccines, and other medical kits. To convert these cryptocurrencies into domestic currency, Nailwal has reached out to India’s biggest exchanges like WazirX, CoinDCX, and Bitbns. And to meet regulatory compliance, he has also enlisted the help of top chartered accountants and auditors in India.

Ahmedabad Upgrade Live on Mainnet

The Ahmedabad upgrade went live on the mainnet on September 25, 2024. Collectively, this upgrade improved developer and user experience by:

Changing token symbol on Polygon PoS from MATIC to POL, as well as WMATIC to WPOL;
Enabling developers to build more complex contract deployments and logics with increased code size, from 24KB to 32KB
Saving stuck bridge transactions by allowing a replay of failed state syncs, improving observability of the network’s plasma bridge. ^[69]

The Ahmedabad Hardfork (PIP-37) includes three Polygon Improvement Proposals: PIP-30: Increase Max Code Size, PIP-36: Replay Failed State Syncs, and PIP-45: Token Symbol Change. ^[69]

Partnerships

Polygon x Nothing

On July 5, 2022, Polygon disclosed its collaboration with Nothing, a British tech start-up recognized for their Nothing Ear (1) product. This partnership encompasses the incorporation of Polygon into Nothing's range of products. The integration with Nothing's upcoming smartphone, the Phone (1), features an NFT loyalty program, enabling users to access exclusive content and branded merchandise. ^[42]

Polygon x Disney

On July 14, 2021, Disney announced it had selected Polygon, alongside Lockerverse and Flickplay, to join its Accelerator program — which aims to develop technologies to create new storytelling experiences.
Expanding on this, Disney said the Accelerator program intends to make use of new technologies, including augmented reality, non-fungible tokens, and artificial intelligence characters.^[26]

MATIC jumped 20% on the news to close the day at $0.71 while also lifting its price decisively above the 50-day moving average for the first time since late March.^[26]^[27]

Polygon x Mercedes-Benz

In August 2022, Polygon and Daimler South East Asia, a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, introduced Acentrik, a data-sharing platform that allows businesses to engage in decentralized data trading. ^[43]^[44]

Acentrik is designed for corporate users, implementing strict access controls like the Know Your Business (KYB) protocol. Instead of data being stored directly on the blockchain, each dataset is represented by a NFT with an associated metadata hash for easy reference and management. ^[43]^[44]

Polygon x Starbucks

In September 2022, Starbucks announced its partnership with Polygon in building Starbucks Odyssey. Through this partnership, Starbucks Rewards members and employees (partners) will be able to earn and purchase digital collectible stamps in the form of NFTs. ^[45]

“Building Starbucks Odyssey using technology that aligns with our sustainability aspirations and commitments is a top priority. We took a very thoughtful and thorough approach when evaluating which blockchain to utilize and Polygon’s fast, low-cost, and carbon-neutral network is the perfect foundation for our first digital community,” - Ryan Butz, vp of loyalty, strategy and marketing for Starbucks.

Polygon x Nike

In November 2022, Nike announced the launch of .Swoosh, a web3 platform offering Polygon-based NFTs. Nike plans to use the platform as a central hub for launching virtual apparel, including items like t-shirts and sneakers designed for avatars in Web3 games. The company also aims to employ Web3 technology to enable users to access real-world benefits, such as exclusive physical apparel or opportunities to interact with professional athletes. ^[46]

Polygon x Google Cloud

At Consensus 2023, Google Cloud and Polygon Labs have revealed a multi-year strategic partnership aimed at expediting the adoption of fundamental Polygon protocols. These include Polygon PoS, Polygon Supernets, and Polygon zkEVM, all integrated with Google Cloud infrastructure and developer tools. ^[47]

Polygon x Flipkart x Hang

In June 2023, Polygon Labs unveiled a collaborative effort with Flipkart, a notable digital commerce platform in India, and Hang, a loyalty platform, to create a distinctive loyalty program. Dubbed FireDrops 2.0 and driven by Hang's loyalty platform, this initiative seeks to transform how users interact with brands. Its objective is to offer millions of Flipkart users gratifying experiences, encouraging loyalty to brands through gamification. ^[48]

Polygon x Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group (WMG), a global entertainment company, announced a collaboration with Polygon Labs to introduce a music accelerator program. This initiative is designed to facilitate the integration of the next wave of blockchain music projects and decentralized applications onto the Polygon network. Selected projects will receive financial support from both WMG and Polygon Labs. Additionally, they will have access to mentorship and networking resources provided by professionals in the music and blockchain sectors. ^[50]

"By supporting companies and entrepreneurs at the intersection of Web3 and music, we aim to encourage a new era of innovation for the music industry," - Ryan Wyatt, president of Polygon Labs

Polygon x Uptrip

In August 2023, Polygon announced its collaboration with Uptrip, a loyalty platform from Lufthansa Innovation Hub. Uptrip offers a system where travelers receive NFT trading cards for each flight they take, turning their trips into collections of experiences. Completing different collections unlocks specific rewards, such as access to business lounges, free miles, and elevated traveler status. Users can choose from a variety of cards representing cities, airplanes, and special flight experiences. ^[49]

Polygon x Courtyard

Polygon partnered with Courtyard to enable on-chain Pokemon card trading. The value of the Pokemon card market is set to be around $4.6 billion. The collaboration between Polygon and Courtyard introduces a verification mechanism to authenticate that each digital Pokémon card corresponds accurately to its tangible original. ^[61]

Polygon x SK Telecom

In August 2023, Polygon partnered with South Korean mobile industry leader SK Telecom. The collaboration aims to advance Web3 ecosystems and support promising startups through incubation. The two companies will facilitate the entry of global startups into South Korea and allow the introduction of leading global decentralized apps (dApps) into the domestic Korean market. ^[62]

SK Telecom's NFT marketplace, TopPort, will soon integrate with the Polygon (MATIC) blockchain. This integration will enable TopPort users to create NFTs on the Polygon network. These NFTs will also be compatible with other NFT platforms within the Polygon ecosystem. SK Telecom's upcoming web3 wallet, scheduled for release in the second half of 2023, will also be compatible with the Polygon network and feature NFT trading. ^[62]

Polygon x Casio

Casio announced its plans to launch the virtual G-SHOCK project, an interactive user community aimed at connecting the G-SHOCK line of shock-resistant watches with its global user base. As part of this initiative, 15,000 limited-edition G-SHOCK Creator Pass NFTs were set to be distributed. These NFTs would be exclusively minted on the Polygon blockchain, with distribution scheduled to start on September 23, 2023. ^[63]

Polygon Labs Acquires Toposware

In June 2024, Toposware joined Polygon Labs in an acquisition to help push the ZK community forward. The Toposware team integrated with the existing Polygon ZK development teams to further drive innovation across all technological fronts, including the AggLayer, Polygon CDK, Polygon zkEVM, and eventually Polygon PoS, pending community approval, to an upgrade as a ZK validium. ^[68]

With this acquisition, Polygon Labs continues to lead in ZK research and development, moving the industry from theory to reality over the last few years. - the press release said^[68]

Funding

In an interview with Mint, Sandeep Nailwal, the co-founder of Polygon, said:

"By April 2018, we set up the company and raised some small funds from friends and family and started building the product. That round was just $150,000. After that, we did another small round of around $500,000. After that, we did an initial exchange offering with Binance, where we raised $5 million." ^[21]

In May 2021, a US-based entrepreneur and tech billionaire Mark Cuban invested an unrevealed amount in Polygon. Cuban's website said,

"Polygon is the first well-structured, easy-to-use platform for Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development. Its core component is Polygon SDK, a modular, flexible framework that supports building and connecting Secured Chains like Plasma, Optimistic Rollups, zkRollups, Validium etc and Standalone Chains like Polygon POS, designed for flexibility and independence. Polygon’s scaling solutions have seen widespread adoption with 250+ Dapps, ~76M txns and ~790K unique users." ^[22]

In February 2022, Polygon raised about $450 million through a private sale of its native MATIC token in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital India with participation from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Galaxy Digital, Galaxy Interactive, Tiger Global, Republic Capital and prominent investors like Alan Howard (co-founder, Brevan Howard) and Kevin O’Leary (Mr. Wonderful from ABC's Shark Tank). The funds will allow Polygon to continue investing in cutting-edge zero-knowledge (ZK) technology that will be key to onboarding the next billion users to Web3.^[23]