What is Polygon (POL)?

Polygon is a proof-of-stake blockchain running alongside the main Ethereum blockchain – with its own coin called POL (formaly MATIC).

Created in 2017 as an energy-efficient scaling solution for the Ethereum network, it aims to provide faster transactions at lower fees while enabling developers to build scalable dApps without sacrificing security.

A little bit of background

Polygon launched as The Matic Network in 2017 to tackle one of the biggest issues facing the Ethereum blockchain: scalability.

As dApps, NFTs and the DeFi ecosystem grew in popularity, more transactions were being processed on the Ethereum blockchain. As a result, transaction fees, called gas, got higher while simultaneously making the blockchain slower. Soon enough, there was too much traffic on the Ethereum blockchain – stalling its growth and making it very frustrating to use.

Here’s where the scaling solutions came in. Polygon, much like Avalanche, was born as a sidechain that runs parallel to the Ethereum blockchain and acts as a link for users to access everything on the Ethereum blockchain with much lower transaction fees and at higher speeds. Essentially, if the Ethereum blockchain is a highway then Polygon is the express lane. Both move in the same direction, but one makes the journey more convenient.

What makes Polygon unique?

Polygon uses a slightly different proof-of-stake model to secure the network. Their method allows validators to reach consensus with every new block, unlike traditional proof of stake, which processes many blocks to reach consensus more slowly. This new proof-of-stake method still requires validators to stake their POL, in exchange for the right to validate transactions and be rewarded with more POL.

How much faster and cheaper is it exactly? Well, currently Ethereum is only able to process roughly 15-30 transactions per second while Polygon can support up to 7,200 transactions per second at a fraction of the cost. Keep in mind, though: Polygon is not trying to compete with Ethereum. Its purpose is to make the Ethereum ecosystem faster and cheaper to encourage greater mass adoption.

Polygon supports more than 7,000 dApps and provides a large technological platform for developers to easily build more. It also offers a framework for blockchain networks that would allow users to create interconnecting blockchains – dubbing itself as Ethereum’s “internet of blockhains.”

What is POL?

Originally, Polygon was known as The Matic Network. After it rebranded to Polygon in 2021, the name MATIC was passed on to its native cryptocurrency. On 4 September 2024, MATIC was upgraded to POL across the Polygon network. That means every transaction that takes place on Polygon PoS uses POL as the native gas token.

POL holders use it for paying transaction fees, for staking to earn more POL, and as a governance token for voting on proposed changes to the network. It can also be bought and sold just like any other cryptocurrency.

Like many other cryptocurrencies, the supply of POL is limited and the max amount of coins will be capped at 10 billion.

Security incidents

Polygon has experienced the following security incidents:

MRC20 Critical Vulnerability (December 2021)

MRC20 Critical Vulnerability (December 2021): A critical bug was disclosed that could have allowed the theft of over 9.00 billion MATIC. A $3.46 million bounty was paid, and a hard fork was implemented to fix the flaw. Source: The Block

The above list of incidents may not be exhaustive. As always, it’s important that you do your own research to ensure you’re comfortable with an asset’s associated risks before investing in it.

Token supply and concentration

POL (the successor to MATIC) maintains a total supply of 10.00 billion. As of October 2025, there are approximately 75,743 individual holders of the ERC-20 POL token on Ethereum.

Visit this external link to see the distribution among POL’s top token holders.