Developer Tools & Ecosystem on Polygon
This is a recap in the form of an article of the speech I’ve given at DevX Tour Lisbon, the slides for it can be found here. We all know what the struggles of developing on Ethereum are like… for this reason, I'm excited to share Polygon a leading company in the blockchain industry & its solutions.
Background & Statistics
So what is Polygon? Formerly known as Matic Network, Polygon has since evolved into a leading company in the blockchain industry that provides innovative solutions. They have already produced quite remarkable numbers.
As we can see, Polygon has made quite an impact by having around 300M addresses with over 2.8B+ transactions, with nearly an average transaction cost of ~$0.018. However no matter how huge these numbers may be they don’t represent the number of builders, creators, and innovators in the ecosystem, so I would like to take a look at a few other ones.
That’s more like it. Having more than 325,000 contract creators, that’s more than a 50% increase compared to last year, and having deployed over 1.5M+ contracts is unbelievable. But no matter how high these numbers may be they are still far from Polygon's ambitious vision.
Value layer
After seeing those numbers I would like to emphasize this phrase, which you might have already seen on Polygon’s home page. “The Value Layer of the Internet”. Polygon’s vision for the future is to bring Ethereum to Internet scale. So that anyone can create and exchange data, a protocol that enables anyone, anywhere to create, program, and exchange value. Their goal is to overcome the scalability limitations of Ethereum and enable seamless transactions and interactions on the network.
Solutions
Now let’s talk about the solutions, Polygon offers various solutions to be precise an entire suite of them ranging from public chains to decentralized identity. I’m going to provide a slight insight into all of them and go a bit in-depth with Polygon ID which is their most recent product.
Polygon PoS
One of Polygon’s primary solutions is Polygon’s PoS (Proof of Stake), a consensus mechanism that brings scalability, energy efficiency, and security to the network. By utilizing PoS, Polygon enables faster transaction processing and reduces the environmental impact associated with traditional blockchain technologies. This helps in creating a sustainable and scalable blockchain ecosystem. However, shortly it might switch to a new architecture as proposed here called zkEVM Validium.
Polygon zkEVM
Another groundbreaking solution provided by Polygon is the zkEVM (Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine). This Layer 2 technology combines the power of zero-knowledge proofs with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility. By integrating zkEVM, Polygon ensures faster and more cost-effective transactions while maintaining the security and compatibility of Ethereum. This innovation opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for developers to build scalable applications.
Polygon Miden
Miden is a zero-knowledge virtual machine written in Rust. One thing to keep in mind is that the Miden VM is optimized for STARK-proofs and not for EVM equivalence. It is not yet ready for production use, but can already be used for experimentation.
Polygon supernets
Polygon Supernets are high-efficiency application-specific blockchains that you don’t have to maintain yourself. They are the fast track to Polygon Edge’s infrastructure without the inherent complexities of blockchains. It offers Modular and complex-minimized blockchain development that is interoperable and multichain-driven.
Polygon ID
Polygon also recognizes the importance of decentralized identity management in the blockchain space. That’s where Polygon ID comes into play. It addresses the challenge of identity verification and ensures the reliability of user identities. One key aspect of Polygon ID is Sybil's resistance, which could help prevent the creation of multiple fake identities. With Polygon ID, developers, and users can have greater trust and security when interacting within the ecosystem.
Let’s get a bit more into the concept behind it. We can imagine polygon ID as a triangle of trust, therefore it all comes down to the issuer. If the verifier can trust that the issuer only issues credentials to someone who has met a certain criterion, then they can also accept zk proofs based on the credentials they have issued. As seen in the image below.
To make it a bit easier to understand I would like to show a quick real word use case/scenario. Let’s say that I would like to go to the casino but they have a certain age limit & require proof that you have met that limit.
Let’s say I’m not too keen on giving up any info on my ID card, this is where polygon ID comes into play, I would provide a zk proof of my ID, we can certainly trust that the government only issues valid IDs, hence I could prove that I’m above the age threshold without giving up any information about my identity.
Developer tools
Now let’s shift our focus to the developer tools provided by Polygon. Polygon offers comprehensive Software Development Kits (SDKs) for nearly all of its solutions, which equips developers with all the necessary tools and resources to build on and with them. With SDKs, you have access to a wide array of features and functionalities that streamline the development process.
Additionally, Polygon provides a robust set of explorers, bridges, faucets… etc. everything one needs to begin their development journey with Polygon. But my personal favorites are, testnets, providing developers with a controlled sandbox like environment to experiment, test, and deploy their applications. This ensures a smooth transition from development to production, without compromising the stability and reliability of the network. Here you can find all the mentioned tools.
What makes Polygon truly appealing to developers is its compatibility with almost all Ethereum tools and frameworks. Whether you are familiar with Solidity or Vyper as smart contract languages, or you prefer working with popular frameworks like Truffle or Hardhat, you can leverage your existing Ethereum development knowledge on the Polygon network. The compatibility extends to popular Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) such as Remix and Visual Studio Code. And, of course, for Polygon security is paramount therefore they provide a range of security tools and best practices to ensure the safety of your applications.
Ecosystem
Let’s take a moment to explore the Polygon ecosystem. The Polygon network has witnessed the growth of a vibrant ecosystem of decentralized applications, or dApps. Polygon nearly doubled its market dominance compared to last year. These dApps leverage Polygon’s scalability and low transaction fees to offer innovative solutions across various industries hence many dApps have migrated or chosen Polygon as their development platform over other ones. These apps range from decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms to gaming, the possibilities are endless.
We can see Polygon is supported by many exchanges and infrastructure tools such as Alchemy or Quicknode. But even has Insurance applications, yield aggregators, and many more. Nowadays, Polygon is nearly supported by all apps or is specifically built on Polygon, such as Lens a social protocol. Here I have listed some of the most well-known ones, but this is just a fraction of the overall ecosystem. There are almost 800 listed in the Alchemy app list.
Community & Open source
In addition to dApps, Polygon embraces the principles of open-source software. The codebase of Polygon is available on platforms like GitHub, encouraging collaboration and community participation. This fosters an environment of innovation and continuous improvement as developers worldwide contribute to the platform’s growth.
Polygon also organizes hackathons, creating opportunities for developers to showcase their skills and compete for exciting prizes, workshops, talks… Moreover, my two personal favorites, are Polygon Village which serves as a virtual hub for connecting developers and enthusiasts within the Polygon ecosystem. While giving access to a wide range of services and offerings ranging from hosting, audit services, infrastructure & API-related services, talent discovery, and much more. The other is Polygon guilds which are local communities of enthusiastic developers, who host events, and workshops & have fun.
Advantages of developing on Polygon
So, why should you consider developing with Polygon? First and foremost, your existing Ethereum development knowledge can be seamlessly applied to the Polygon network. You can leverage your skills and experience to build scalable and interoperable applications without significant relearning or adjustment. This reduces the barrier to entry and accelerates your development journey.
In terms of performance, Polygon offers fast transactions and low gas fees. Transactions are processed rapidly, ensuring a smooth and efficient user experience. Gas fees are significantly lower compared to the Ethereum mainnet, making Polygon an attractive choice for developers looking to optimize costs and enhance user satisfaction.
Finally, in my opinion, the vibrant community surrounding Polygon is the most valuable asset. Developers have access to a wealth of resources, forums, and communities where they can seek help, collaborate, and share knowledge. By being part of this thriving ecosystem, you will also be part of a community that will accelerate your growth as a developer.
Conclusion
We have explored the world of Polygon, its vision, solutions, developer tools, and the advantages it offers to developers like yourselves. I encourage you to further explore Polygon’s offerings and opportunities. I will link further resources & sources for this article, where you can explore it yourself.
Further reading & sources
Haii, I hope you enjoyed reading this article, feedback is much appreciated, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions regarding this piece :)
