Ishan Pandey: Hi Sandeep, welcome to our series “Behind the Startup.” Please tell us about yourself and the story behind Matic/Polygon?
Sandeep Nailwal: Hi Ishan, great to be here! I’m Sandeep, the co-founder and COO of Polygon (Formerly Matic network). I have been involved with many tech businesses since my very early days. I have been active in the space since 2016, my journey into the blockchain industry started with a problem to solve: scalability and hence co-founded Polygon in 2017 with Jaynti Kanani and Anurag Arjun. Polygon is a protocol and a framework for building and connecting Ethereum-compatible blockchain networks, enabling Ethereum developers to scale their DApps for large scale usage.
Our team was the first team to create a working PoC for Plasma MVP. Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Poon started the Plasma Project.
Ishan Pandey: What was the driving force behind Matic’s rebranding as Polygon? What is the mission and purpose behind the rebrand?
Sandeep Nailwal: In order to expand our technical scope and mission, Matic Network is becoming Polygon — Ethereum’s Internet of Blockchains. The existing solutions will remain functional and of high priority. Our native token $MATIC remains critically important for securing and governing the network.
The vision behind Polygon further extends the scope of the platform to support other major Layer 2 solutions such as Optimistic Rollups, zkRollups, Validium etc. Polygon effectively transforms Ethereum into a full-fledged multi-chain system.
Ishan Pandey: Can you tell us about Polygon SDK and its different features?
Sandeep Nailwal:
Polygon SDK is a modular, flexible framework that supports building and connecting two major types of solutions:
- Secured chains (aka Layer 2 chains): Scaling solutions that rely on Ethereum for security instead of establishing their own validator pool.
- Standalone chains (aka Sidechains): Sovereign Ethereum sidechains, normally fully in charge of their own security, i.e. with their own validator pool.
Additionally, Polygon SDK will support and offer a number of auxiliary solutions and products which will extend Polygon functionalities, improve developer experience and introduce support for specific use cases. Examples of such solutions and products include:
- Inter-chain messaging protocols and modules;
- Data availability services;
- Shared security services;
- Adaptors for external blockchain networks;
- App-specific modules;
- Enterprise modules and products;
- Premium products and solutions etc.
Ishan Pandey: What kind of performance and transaction-handling can we expect from this dapp-ready Layer 2 Aggregator?
Sandeep Nailwal: Polygon’s multi-chain scaling solution allows for selecting Blockchains and Frameworks suited explicitly for the Dapp. This means the games and NFT dapps like Neon District and Aavegotchi can utilize chains like Polygon POS, which offer up to 7200 TPS, DeFi protocols that need higher security, can use solutions like zk and Optimistic Rollups, and enterprises can launch standalone sidechains designed for specific business use cases. All of this can be done seamlessly through the Polygon SDK.
Ishan Pandey: I also read that Polygon is planning to roll out staking to external validators. How will it work in technical terms and what would be its impact?
Sandeep Nailwal: Staking to external validators has been live for 2 months now, and we’re proud to have one of the strongest validator networks in the world, maintaining the security of the Polygon POS Chain. Foundation Nodes will be turned off in the next few weeks, moving towards a path of full decentralization and community.
We are also constantly working on new ways to make the delegation and staking experience seamless for users. Stay tuned :)
Ishan Pandey: How has joining hands with Infosys impacted Matic Network’s prospects in the crypto space?
Sandeep Nailwal: Infosys is one of Polygon’s pioneering transaction validators. The collaboration with Infosys, one of India’s leading tech companies and an ~80B NYSE listed giant, has accelerated a more robust technological infrastructure to power the blockchain ecosystem.
We’re excited to work with Infosys to bring more credibility and introduce big enterprise companies to public blockchains. Polygon is working closely with Infosys on many exciting collaborations.
Ishan Pandey: Can you explain what are standalone chains and shared security chains? Further, what will be their purposes?
Sandeep Nailwal: In simple terms, Stand-alone Chains are fully sovereign Ethereum-compatible blockchain networks. These networks are fully in charge of their own security, i.e. have their own pool of validators.
While Secured chains are Blockchain networks that use “security as a service” instead of establishing their own validator pool. The service can be provided either by Ethereum directly (via fraud proofs or validity proofs) or by a pool of professional validators (similar to Polkadot’s “shared security”).
Ishan Pandey: This year has witnessed the crypto market attaining an all-time high, especially with the Bitcoin boom. How will this corona boom affect the future of digital currencies?
Sandeep Nailwal: Cryptocurrency has started positioning itself as a safe haven asset, more like gold and other metals. Bulls are signalling that the crypto market is ready to take off. The price of everything in markets, from a small cap cryptocurrency to large cap ones, seems to be going up.
The pandemic’s sudden shock has spurred businesses by necessity to digitalize, which includes tech-enabled and remote services. Virtual currencies have stepped in to fill that need. In fact, the crypto market has been ramping up to replace the traditional financial system with a more advanced one for quite some time and the pandemic has fuelled the ignition. With increasing, institutional participation from firms like Tesla, Square Inc, Paypal, volumes in cryptocurrency markets has been overwhelming.
We believe Polygon will help accelerate the adoption of Crypto and enable higher accessibility, empowering smaller investors and creators.
Ishan Pandey: What are your views on the potential ban on cryptocurrencies in India?
Sandeep Nailwal: I believe that this entire ban propaganda is created to spread FUD and nothing else. India might introduce some regulations concerning the cryptocurrency market, but I don’t anticipate a ban. Crypto is a growing industry globally. India is a growing economy. I really don’t think India would take any step to blanket ban crypto, as it’s an emerging technology with the potential to revolutionize and inspire massive system changes.
Crypto is too big globally now to blanket ban and India is such a big economy and has so much potential and talent, that missing out on the biggest financial revolution in the history of mankind seems highly unlikely.
Having said that, Polygon’s entity structure is designed for such regulatory eventualities and our legal and accounting experts strongly believe that we are immune from any flux within the Indian regulatory system. The Indian entity that employs the Polygon team is completely isolated from cryptocurrencies and functions as a standard technology research company.
Ishan Pandey: How can devs start building on Polygon and how can one start using Polygon Dapps?
If you’re an Ethereum Developer, you’re already a Polygon developer! Leverage Polygon’s fast and secure txns for your Dapp; get started here.
Using Polygon and the 100+ Dapps across DeFi and NFT like Polymarket, Aavegotchi, Quickswap, Neon District and so many more is as simple as switching to the Matic Network on Metamask, instructions for which you can find here.
The purpose of this article is to remove informational asymmetry existing today in our digital markets by performing due diligence by asking the right questions and equipping readers with better opinions to make informed decisions. The material does not constitute any investment, financial, or legal advice. Please do your research before investing in any digital assets or tokens, etc. The writer does not have any vested interest in the company.