Polygon, the first scalability solution for Ethereum, has been around the corner of the crypto environment for almost 7 years, and it is still one of the most powerful networks out there. Despite the dip in the charts, the platform has been implementing its remarkable new roadmap that promises advanced developments.
Various crypto analysts believe that Polygon, with its ongoing migration to Polygon 2.0, will be one of the most important cost-effective scalability solutions in the future. This article will look into the incredible journey of the network so far and provide a guide to its future roadmap. Also, we will check its charts, and forecast the price.
What is Polygon?
When Ethereum became a success around 2017, a huge problem was the high gas fee that stemmed from the sudden increase in its market cap. Another problem was the rise of the transaction volume that resulted in network delays. These issues affected the overall performance of the blockchain and reduced the engagement of dApps.
Jayant Kanani, a data scientist and blockchain developer found a solution to scale Ethereum. Software engineer Sandeep Nailwal and designer Anurag Arjun also joined Jayant. They integrated Plasma technology and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) sidechain, creating Matic Network as the first layer-2 solution for Ethereum.
Launched in October 2017, Matic Network allowed faster and cheaper transactions for Ethereum users, and it was expanded in 2021 after renaming the network as Polygon while the ticker $MATIC remained the same.
Polygon 2.0: The Transformation from MATIC to POL
Radical upgrades were made in the network to further boost the scalability, and with those advancements, Polygon 2.0 was released in 2023. These developments enhanced Polygon’s status as a leading layer-2 solution.
Polygon 2.0 has replaced MATIC with POL, a next-generation token that is intended to power a vast ecosystem of ZK-based L2 chains. However, the migration is still in progress, and MATIC will continue to serve as the foundational token until the conclusion of the upgrade.
Polygon’s MATIC Token Details
MATIC is mainly used for governance. Staking, and as transactional fees. Those who hodl MATIC can participate in crucial decision-making through voting. Also, users can lock up their tokens to earn interest and various additional rewards. Let’s get into basic details.
Token Ticker | $MATIC |
Contract Address | 0x7D1AfA7B718fb893dB30A3aBc0Cfc608AaCfeBB0 (ERC-20) |
Total Supply | 10 Billion MATIC |
Circulating Supply | 2.33 Billion MATIC |
Market Cap | 1 Billion Dollars |
MATIC Token Allocation Table
Among the total supply of 10 billion, only 2.33 billion have been released to the ecosystem as of now. The remaining coins are reserved for various other processes. Here is a breakdown of the total allocation:
Category | Allocation Percentage |
---|---|
Ecosystem tokens | 23.33% |
Foundation tokens | 21.86% |
Network Operations tokens | 12.00% |
Advisors tokens | 4.00% |
Team tokens | 16.00% |
Launchpad sale tokens | 19.00% |
Private Sale tokens | 3.80% |
Historical Price Movements of MATIC
The golden period of MATIC was in December 2021 when it reached an all-time high of $2.92 per coin. After this remarkable surge, the market cap gradually fell. Despite showing some small wavelike uptrends, the coin continues its downward spiral journey.
The current price is $0.4292, an 85.16% reduction from the ATH. This drop is mainly because of various challenges including the pressures from SEC, increased competition, lack of monitoring that resulted in the arrival of various scammy projects, and regular network congestions. However, the latest data indicates that the user base has increased after initiating the upgrade.
Is Polygon Eying for a Breakout?
Crypto experts opine that the coin will surge after it completes the migration from MATIC to POL. The roadmap also suggests a bull run in the first quarter of 2025. Also, various events are scheduled in the coming months, including the launch of Newton in November 2024. It is a zero-knowledge Layer 2 solution made in collaboration with Magic.
The transformation to Polygon 2.0 indicates growth, and it is expected to attract various DeFi projects, dApps, and other services. It will also create an impact on the market sentiment. However, the charts show a bearish movement at the moment, and investors are confused about whether to invest or not.
If you are interested to hodl it for long, consider this bear trend as a dip, and diversify your portfolio by accumulating a small portion of MATIC. Otherwise, you can skip this coin. It is available in major exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Gate.io, Uniswap, Gemini, and Pancakeswap.