Polygon is a decentralized “layer two” or “sidechain” Ethereum scaling solution that enables developers to build scalable user-friendly dApps. The blockchain prides itself on having low transaction fees while being secure and sustainable. Polygon’s Proof-of-Stake (PoS) solution boasts transaction speeds of up to 7,000 per second, significantly better than many other blockchain protocols currently. The PoS system allows anyone to participate and earn rewards through staking. Validators run nodes on the Polygon blockchain that participate in group consensus work and write checkpoints to the Ethereum mainnet. Validator nodes verify transaction and add new blocks to the blockchain, as compensation they earn rewards in MATIC. Delegators build on this framework by contributing to the networks security, also in exchange for token rewards.
What is MATIC?
Polygon has its own cryptocurrency, called MATIC, which is used to pay fees on the Polygon network, for staking, and for governance. The name MATIC comes from the early days in Polygon’s development when it was originally launched as the Matic Network in October 2017. The developers rebranded as Polygon early in 2021.
