Why Polygon Is Ideal For NFT Trading
The crypto industry began with the Bitcoin network in 2009. However, the foremost blockchain network lacked a number of use cases making its use more streamlined and limited.
Efforts began in 2014 with Vitalik Buterin and 7 other developers who fleshed out the idea behind a smart contract protocol that would be able to carry out preset instructions autonomously. This birthed the idea surrounding layer-1 protocols and led to the proliferation of new ecosystems. This was due to the robustness and flexibility of the Ethereum network and from this have sprung the decentralised finance (DeFi), non-fungible token (NFT), Play2Earn, Metaverse, and several more sub-sectors.
However, Ethereum’s success became its bane due to its reliance on the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus algorithm. The major benefit for the use of this archaic validation process is network security and integrity however, the trade-offs are much colossal.
The Ethereum network has a transaction throughput of only 17 TPS which is not entirely feasible for a modern-day smart contract protocol. Added to this is the high energy cost of validating transactions and the high gas fees needed to complete tasks on the foremost smart contract platform.
This rendered the second most popular blockchain protocol an infeasible playground for new ecosystems like DeFi and NFTs.
Polygon to the Rescue
With the crypto ecosystem rapidly expanding in the last half-decade, calls for a more efficient and low-cost option have increased. A few of Ethereum’s early founders broke away to build new protocols that address all the challenges of Ethereum. However, Polygon is an entirely different blockchain scope.
Founded in 2017 by a trio of developers as the Matic Network, Polygon is a layer-2 blockchain protocol that lifts the transaction burden off the shoulders of the Ethereum network. Built atop the Ethereum protocol, Polygon operates using a modular framework that enables it to process over 65,000 transactions per second (TPS) — a far cry from what the foremost altcoin network promises.
Other key benefits are low-cost transactions, low carbon footprint and low to nil network congestions. Polygon may not be a standalone smart contract network but the protocol has since become a major hub for decentralised applications (dApps) to build for the fast-rising Web3.
Another added bonus of building on Polygon is that dApps get to build in a high-performance platform without sacrificing the network’s security. This is due to Polygon’s strong attachment to the Ethereum ecosystem, one of the most secure protocols in the blockchain space.
Why Polygon?
Polygon is not the only scaling solution operating on the Ethereum ecosystem. In fact, there are tens of these zero-knowledge rollup networks but Polygon has been able to establish itself as a major hub and also assimilated a few like the Hermez Network.
This has largely been due to the network’s swift and innovative approach to the scaling issues inherent in the Ethereum network. While other rollups are still battling with scalability and fees, Polygon is already on course to become the face of the new blockchain ecosystem for Web3 on Ethereum.
Why? Polygon has the speed and enabled the development of user-friendly dApps — a major ingredient in the ongoing tussle of titans.
The consequence of being the first choice on Ethereum;
- 100 active validators
- 3.4 billion total transactions
- 52k+ smart contract creators
- 135M+ unique addresses
- 13,000 delegators on the PoS protocol
- 2 billion MATIC tokens staked, and
- A net worth of $140 million average daily gas saved
Polygon has become the mainstay for most blockchain-driven transactions and this is understandable. As such NFTs which require minting for the creation and subsequent sales would largely thrive on the Polygon network.
The Hamster Game’s unique use case for NFTs even make Polygon a more suitable choice for use. This is because buying and selling NFTs would usually incur gas fees or costs for validating transactions. Doing this on the Ethereum network could see a $5 transaction charged for well above $200 in peak trading sessions.
This is not the case with Polygon as you would essentially pay a minuscule in gas fees compared to Ethereum. Frequent trades on Polygon would not leave a dent in your crypto pocket and you can easily flip NFTs to earn more valuable tokens.
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