Polygon began its journey as Matic Network, a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum. But today, it’s far more than that. It’s a full-fledged ecosystem of zero-knowledge (ZK) chains, developer tools, and infrastructure protocols designed to make Web3 faster, cheaper, and more accessible. With over 400 million unique addresses and billions in transaction volume, Polygon is no longer just a sidekick to Ethereum—it’s a foundational layer for the future of decentralized applications.
In 2025, Polygon completed its long-awaited transition from the MATIC token to POL, marking a new era of protocol governance and staking. POL isn’t just a rebrand—it’s a next-gen token designed to secure multiple chains, reward validators, and power the modular architecture of Polygon 2.0. This upgrade reflects Polygon’s ambition to become the “internet of ZK chains,” where each chain is interoperable, customizable, and secured by a shared validator set.
Polygon’s real strength lies in its ZK technology stack. With products like Polygon zkEVM, Polygon CDK (Chain Development Kit), and AggLayer, developers can launch their own chains with built-in Ethereum compatibility and ZK-powered scalability. This means faster transactions, lower fees, and stronger privacy—all without sacrificing composability.
Major brands and institutions are already building on Polygon. From Nike and Starbucks to Stripe and Reddit, Polygon has become the go-to platform for Web3 loyalty programs, NFT drops, and stablecoin payments. Even governments are experimenting with Polygon-based identity systems, although Bhutan recently shifted its national ID infrastructure from Polygon to Ethereum.
The ecosystem is thriving. With over $1 billion in total value locked (TVL) and thousands of active dApps, Polygon supports everything from DeFi protocols and gaming platforms to AI agents and real-world asset tokenization. Its developer community is one of the largest in crypto, and its roadmap includes scaling to 100,000 transactions per second (TPS) using ZK rollups and cross-chain messaging.
Polygon isn’t just building faster blockchains—it’s building a modular internet where every app, chain, and token can interact seamlessly. Whether you're launching a DeFi protocol, minting NFTs, or building AI-native agents, Polygon offers the infrastructure to scale globally.
