Polygon (formerly Matic Network) is a prominent "Layer 2" scaling platform built to improve the speed and reduce the costs of transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. Originally launched as a Proof-of-Stake sidechain, it has evolved into a comprehensive ecosystem of protocols—including the popular Polygon PoS chain and the newer Polygon zkEVM—that bundle transactions off-chain before settling them on Ethereum. In late 2023, the network began a major overhaul known as "Polygon 2.0," initiating a technical migration from its original MATIC token to the new POL token. This next-generation "hyper-productive" token is designed to secure multiple chains within the ecosystem simultaneously and serves as the fuel for the AggLayer, a novel architecture that aims to unify liquidity across all connected chains to make them feel like a single network.
