Polygon — Spiderman of Web3

Parshvi Srivastava
Coinmonks
Published in
5 min readMar 8, 2023

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The world of Ethereum is expanding rapidly, and with it, the need for efficient and scalable blockchain solutions. This is where Polygon comes in, playing the role of the friendly neighborhood Spiderman. Just like Spiderman, Polygon has adapted and evolved to suit the ecosystem’s needs.

Fighting the Villans

There is no superhero without villains and in the same way, we can’t have spiderman without Mysterio. In our case, it is non-scalability. Before we understand how it fights with this superpower let us understand our Villian — Nonscalability

Scalability is the power to maintain the same functionality when there is an increase in demand for the network. So blockchain should be able to handle a large number of transactions. Currently, Ethereum can handle only 7 to 15 transactions per second(TPS) whereas its centralized counterparts can handle up to 1000 transactions per second.

But the question may arise why can’t we ask politely the villain to have change of a heart why do we have to fight it? Well, the answer lies in the design of the Ethereum chain. Any blockchain has based on three pillars — decentralization, security, and scalability. Ethereum focuses more on Decentralisation and Security and makes it extremely slow.

Swinging into Action

Polygon, formerly known as Matic Network, was created in 2017 to provide a scalable and high-performance infrastructure for Ethereum. Since then, it has grown to become a full-fledged multi-chain system, with its own set of features and benefits.

Polygon has expanded its web of abilities in scalability and interoperability features allowing it to swing into action and seamlessly connect with other blockchain networks. This means that users can easily transfer assets and data across different chains without the need for complex integrations.

Always Saving the day

Polygon has made the Ethereum ecosystem accessible, and cheap it is very difficult to imagine Ethereum without Polygon if Ethereum is Iron Man then Polygon has to be Spiderman.

It solves one of the major problems which Ethereum faces which is scalability. Interacting with Ethereum is not the best experience any developer can have. It is slow, each transaction is expensive, and bad user experience. Polygon not only gave the viable solution but single-handedly destroy Mysterio.

It consists of four layers of execution — Ethereum Layer, Security Layer, Polygon network layer, and execution layer.

Ethereum Layer — Where all the smart contract exists. It deals with major functions like transactions, staking, and communication with Ethereum.

Security Layer — runs side by side with the Ethereum layer and provides extra security with validators as a service.

Though these two layers are very useful they are optional.

Polygon network layer- where the whole ecosystem of the polygon is made. It has its local consensus and produces a block.

Execution Layer -Applications deployed in a polygon can communicate with Ethereum as well as polygon chains using Polygon’s Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

A Hero for Developers

Developers are the lifeblood of any blockchain ecosystem, and Polygon has not forgotten this. Polygon has a strong focus on providing developers with the tools they need to create innovative and impactful applications.

One of the ways Polygon supports developers is through its Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility. This means that developers can easily port their existing Ethereum applications onto Polygon, without having to make significant changes to their code.

Polygon provides multiple tools which make developer life much easier.

They have their test net — Mumbai chain which is equipped with faucets, and a scanning portal where each transaction can be checked.

The user interface is one of the biggest problems any developer can point out in the Web3 ecosystem they provide open wallet API to implement their wallet interface.

Polygon Bridge and its design system provide infrastructure for inner polarity and connection to multiple chains. It also provides support to many third-party provided functionality like subgraphs, APIs for query in the chain, and framework which enables easy development in the ecosystem.

Polygon is also developer-friendly in other ways. It has a growing community of developers who are building tools, libraries, and frameworks to make it easier for others to build on the Polygon network. Additionally, the Polygon team regularly hosts hackathons and provides grants to support developers who are building on the network.

The Multiverse

Polygon provides scaling solutions in different forms. They use different architectures to achieve the main goal of scalability.

Polygon provides multiple ways to scale Ethereum.

  1. POS (Proof of Stake): The main chain which also acts as a side chain to Ethereum is also known as the Matic POS chain. It adds a security layer to the transaction happening on Ethereum.
  2. Plasma Chain: Polygon uses scaling technology also known as Plasma to move assets between the root chain and child chain via Plasma Bridge.
  3. ZK-rollups: Another Scaling solution to bundle a large number of transactions off-chain to a single transaction using zero-knowledge proofs for the record in the Ethereum chain.
  4. Optimistic Rollups: A solution that runs on top of Ethereum to facilitate near-instant transactions through the use of “fraud proofs”.

Here is a poem for Polygon generated by ChatGPT

Spiderman is a hero, no doubt you can see

Scaling walls and shooting webs with ease

But what if I told you, he’s more than just these

That Spiderman and Polygon share some keys

Both can adapt and evolve to new demands

Scaling up and down to meet changing plans

Spiderman’s powers, his spider-sense grand,

And Polygon’s tools, to scale Ethereum land

Just as Spiderman can sense what’s coming next

Polygon’s layer 2 can help Ethereum flex

With its varied solutions, no need to be vexed

To scaling issues, it’s the perfect pretext

So just like Spiderman swings across the city

Polygon scales up, without any pity

It adapts and evolves, with such agility

To meet new needs, and provide utility

So let us hail Spiderman, and Polygon too

Two heroes that show us what they can do

Scaling up and swinging through the blue

To make the world a better place, anew.

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Parshvi Srivastava
Coinmonks

Business Analysts||Web3 Enthusiastic ||Frontend Developer || Navigating Life