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What Is Polygon?

Polygon is an Ethereum scaling ecosystem that provides infrastructure for building and connecting blockchain networks. Originally launched as Matic Network in 2017 by Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal, Anurag Arjun, and Mihailo Bjelic, the project rebranded to Polygon in 2021 to reflect its expanded vision of becoming a multi-chain scaling platform for Ethereum.

Polygon's most widely used product is the Polygon PoS chain, an EVM-compatible sidechain that uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. It processes transactions at a fraction of Ethereum's cost while maintaining compatibility with Ethereum's tooling and smart contracts. The PoS chain has attracted thousands of dApps and has been one of the most popular scaling solutions, with major brands like Starbucks, Nike, and Reddit choosing Polygon for their Web3 initiatives.

In addition to the PoS chain, Polygon has developed zero-knowledge (ZK) based technology. Polygon CDK (Chain Development Kit) allows developers to launch their own ZK-powered layer-2 chains connected through the Agglayer, Polygon's shared interoperability and liquidity layer. Polygon zkEVM, a ZK-rollup with Ethereum-equivalent compatibility, is being wound down: in June 2025 the Polygon Foundation announced that zkEVM would be sunset by 2026 as the project concentrates on the PoS chain and Agglayer.

Polygon migrated its native token from MATIC to POL in a process that began in September 2024 and is now complete. POL serves as the native gas and staking token across the Polygon ecosystem. It is used to pay transaction fees, participate in proof-of-stake validation, and secure the network as the unified token for Polygon's connected chains.

The Polygon ecosystem is one of the largest in crypto, with significant DeFi activity on protocols like QuickSwap (DEX), Aave (lending), and Uniswap (DEX). The network has also seen major adoption for NFTs, gaming, and enterprise applications. Major partnerships with companies like Disney, Meta, and Mastercard have brought attention to Polygon's enterprise capabilities.

Polygon's current strategy centers on the Agglayer, an interoperability layer that unifies chains built with Polygon technology, and on positioning the PoS chain as a settlement network for global payments and stablecoins. This vision aims to create a seamless multi-chain experience where users can move assets and interact across connected chains without friction, with fast finality suited to payment use cases.

Getting Started With Polygon

Getting started with Polygon:

  1. Step 1: Add the Polygon network to MetaMask or use a Polygon-compatible wallet.
  2. Step 2: Acquire POL from a centralized exchange or bridge assets from Ethereum using the Polygon Bridge.
  3. Step 3: Use POL for gas fees on the Polygon PoS network.
  4. Step 4: Explore DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, or gaming dApps on Polygon.

How to Get a Polygon Wallet?

MetaMask

MetaMask is the most popular wallet for Polygon. Add the Polygon network through Chainlist or the Polygon website to start using it like any other EVM chain.

Rabby Wallet

Rabby is a browser extension wallet with native Polygon support that automatically detects and switches between networks when interacting with dApps.

Hardware Wallets

Ledger hardware wallets support Polygon through MetaMask or the Ledger Live application, providing secure offline key storage.

Polygon Resources

How to Buy POL?

POL (formerly MATIC) is widely available:

Centralized Exchanges

POL can be purchased on Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, and virtually every major exchange. The MATIC to POL migration is complete, so major exchanges now list the token under the POL ticker. Fiat pairs and trading against BTC, ETH, and USDT are widely available.

Decentralized Exchanges

On Polygon's PoS chain, QuickSwap and Uniswap are the leading DEXs. On Ethereum, POL can be traded on Uniswap and other Ethereum DEXs.

Latest Polygon News

Polygon has repositioned itself around payments and the Agglayer under Sandeep Nailwal, who became CEO of the Polygon Foundation in June 2025. That same month the Foundation announced that Polygon zkEVM would be sunset by 2026, concentrating resources on the PoS chain and Agglayer. The MATIC to POL token migration, which began in September 2024, is now complete across the ecosystem and major exchanges.

On the technical side, the Heimdall v2 hard fork in July 2025 cut Polygon PoS finality from one to two minutes down to about five seconds, and the Rio upgrade in October 2025 further overhauled block production for higher throughput. These upgrades support Polygon's positioning as a settlement network for global payments and stablecoins.