Compiled and translated by: Deep Tide TechFlow
Polygon is one of the most commonly used chains in Crypto, and its various initiatives to expand beyond the crypto community are themselves a great achievement. However, some have criticized Polygon in the past, claiming that it is "just a sidechain" and cannot align with Ethereum.
But with the release of Polygon 2.0, these criticisms may dissipate. Founders Nailwal and Mihailo Bjelic have shared their perspectives and views on topics such as the future of Polygon, the renaming of Matic coin, ZKSupernets, and the development strategy of Polygon.
Their goal is to "end the era of Web3 infrastructure and make applications, not infrastructure, the main focus of the ecosystem."
Here are the highlights of the conversation, compiled by Deep Tide:
Host: David, bankless
Speakers: Sandeep Nailwal (@sandeepnailwal) & Mihailo Bjelic (@MihailoBjelic), Co-founders of Polygon
Video source: Bankless Podcast
Episode: Link
Release date: 26th July
Design of Polygon 2.0
Design philosophy of Polygon 2.0: Sandeep Nailwal emphasizes that the design philosophy of Polygon 2.0 is derived from the Internet of Web 2.0, especially its two key features: unlimited scalability and unified liquidity.
He explained that if Web 3.0 wants to achieve the scale of Web 2.0 (the current internet), it needs to have these two characteristics. Infinite scalability means that as more applications and software are created, the network can continue to grow. Unified liquidity means that information and value can flow seamlessly within the network.
Polygon 2.0's technical architecture: Sandeep and Mihailo discussed in detail the technical architecture of Polygon 2.0. They mentioned a concept called the "aggregation layer" which can recursively combine ZK (zero-knowledge proof) and submit a single proof on Ethereum. This allows a transaction on one chain to be verified on another chain, enabling cross-chain transactions.
Development history of Polygon: Mihailo Bjelic reviewed the development history of Polygon, they encouraged experimentation, developed multiple clients, worked on multiple ZK projects, and even conducted experiments on data availability. They learned a lot from this process and started moving towards a more concrete architecture. He emphasized that this process took nearly two years and now they have full confidence in this architecture.
Future plans for Polygon: They also mentioned future plans for Polygon, including the transformation of Polygon POS (proof-of-stake) to ZK and their confidence in this new architecture. They stated that this new architecture is the result of their collaboration with multiple ZK teams over the past two years, and they are very satisfied and confident in this architecture.
Role of ZK and POS Upgrade
Application of Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZK) in Polygon 2.0: Sandeep explained how zero-knowledge proofs (ZK) are used to scale blockchain networks. In a blockchain network, if you need to prove the validity of a transaction, you don't need to provide all the transaction data, you only need to provide a ZK proof that proves the transaction is valid, which can greatly improve the scalability of the blockchain network.
Advantages of ZK: Sandeep emphasized the advantages of ZK, including its effectiveness and security. Since ZK is a proof of effectiveness, once you submit a ZK proof on Ethereum, Ethereum can confirm that the transaction is valid, and you do not need to wait for a 7-day withdrawal period.
In addition, due to the low computational cost of ZK proofs, you can submit a large number of ZK proofs on Ethereum to achieve scalability on a large scale.
Upgrade of the Polygon POS chain: Sandeep and Mihailo discussed the POS upgrade. They emphasized that they do not want the Polygon POS chain to be forgotten in the vision of Polygon 2.0. Therefore, they plan to upgrade the Polygon POS chain to ZK EVM technology.
This upgrade has two main outcomes: first, the Polygon POS chain will become one of the most widely used chains, and second, this upgrade will provide higher security and consistency.
Future plans for ZK: Sandeep and Mihailo also mentioned Polygon's future plans, including continuing to optimize the performance of ZK proofs, reducing the cost of ZK proofs, and promoting the development of Polygon 2.0. They expressed confidence in the vision of Polygon 2.0 and look forward to seeing more applications and software created on Polygon 2.0.
What do users need to do and when to upgrade?
During the upgrade process of the Polygon POS chain, it will be seamless for end users.
They don't need to perform any special actions as this upgrade process primarily involves validators and developers. Validators will need to perform a client upgrade, similar to other upgrades or hard forks they frequently undertake. Additionally, as assets on the Polygon POS chain will need to be bridged with new interoperability, the Polygon community will participate through voting and governance processes.
The Polygon POS chain will upgrade to a solution called "validium." In validium, consensus is reached on Ethereum, while the data layer is achieved outside of Ethereum.
This solution can provide higher throughput and lower transaction fees. As for the timing of the upgrade, it will depend on community feedback and governance processes.
They plan to publish a formal Polygon Improvement Proposal (PIP) for community discussion in a few weeks.
After the actual PIP is released, it may take one to two months to gather community consensus. Then, the implementation process will happen in several stages.
Sandeep and Mihailo are excited about this upgrade process as it will make the Polygon POS chain the first decentralized layer 2 network within the Ethereum ecosystem.
The Concept of $MATIC and $POL, Hyperinflation Tokens
The Matic token will upgrade to the POL token on a one-to-one basis. This upgrade is necessary as the token itself needs to evolve and gain new functionalities.
For all practical purposes and uses, due to the nature of the Matic ERC20 contract being non-upgradable, a new ERC20 contract, namely the POL token, needs to be deployed technically.
Hyperinflation tokens: Sandeep Nailwal explained their reason for referring to the Matic token as a third-generation token. The first generation is Bitcoin, which serves as the token of the network, without any utility for holders within the network. Then there's Ethereum, where each Ethereum holder can participate in the Ethereum mainchain and contribute to network security through staking. But this can only happen on the Ethereum network itself.
And in the case of Polygon, you can use a single token to validate across hundreds of chains, and you play multiple roles on the chain, such as validators, sequencers, data availability providers, etc. This is the concept of "Work Token", which means you can use this token to work in a broader network and provide value to the network.
Why is it called POL: Host David asked why it was named "POL" instead of "POLY," which seems more in line with the theme of the Polygon network.
Sandeep Nailwal explained that they did consider naming the new token "Poly," but they found that there was already a token called "Polymath," which was an ICO project in 2017.
They didn't want to confuse it with that project, so they chose the name "POL." They wanted to maintain a high-quality token name with only three characters, just like Bitcoin. So, the naming of the "POL" token was primarily to avoid confusion with existing tokens and to maintain a concise and high-quality token name.
In addition, they have proposed a new governance framework based on the new token, which includes three components: protocol governance, system smart contract governance, and community treasury governance. This governance framework was developed in collaboration with the community, and they are pleased to see the positive feedback from the community.
The Endgame of Polygon, ZKSupernets
Sandeep Nailwal stated that their ultimate goal has always been to create a infinitely scalable network where all chains can function as layer two networks for Ethereum and all chains can interoperate through ZK proofs.
He believes that this architecture can achieve unlimited scalability and seamless interoperability, which is crucial for mainstream adoption.
Sandeep Nailwal and Mihailo Bjelic mentioned the concept of "zkSupernets." In this architecture, multiple chains can function as layer two networks for Ethereum, and all chains can interoperate through zero-knowledge proofs (ZK). This means that each chain can operate independently while seamlessly interacting with other chains.
Sandeep Nailwal explained their zkSupernets plan. They plan to upgrade the existing Polygon network to zkSupernets, which will enable the Polygon network to achieve unlimited scalability and seamless interoperability. Many projects are already developing or have deployed zkSupernets, and they look forward to seeing more projects join.
Mihailo Bjelic also emphasized the importance of zkSupernets. He believes that with the development of Web3, we will see more and more dedicated chains, similar to dedicated servers in Web2. All these dedicated chains will be secured through ZK proofs and will be connected to the same liquidity source, achieving seamless interoperability.
Sandeep Nailwal further explained that their goal is to end the infrastructure era of Web3 and make applications, instead of infrastructure, the protagonists of the ecosystem. He believes that only when the infrastructure is powerful enough to support Web3 expanding to hundreds of millions of users, this goal can be achieved.
