A multi-chain Ethereum scaling ecosystem including the Polygon PoS chain, zkEVM, and the AggLayer cross-chain settlement layer.
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Polygon is a multi-chain Ethereum scaling ecosystem. The original Polygon PoS chain (launched 2020) is a sidechain with EVM compatibility and low fees, secured by its own validator set rather than Ethereum directly. Polygon zkEVM is a true ZK rollup that posts validity proofs to Ethereum. The AggLayer is a coordination layer connecting Polygon chains with each other and with external L2s. POL is the network's native token, replacing the older MATIC token via a 1:1 migration.
Polygon PoS uses a Heimdall + Bor architecture: validators stake POL, propose blocks on Bor (the EVM execution layer), and finalize them through Heimdall (Tendermint-based). zkEVM uses ZK proofs for L1 settlement, eliminating the optimistic rollup challenge window. The AggLayer aims to provide unified liquidity and atomic cross-chain transactions between participating chains.
Polygon PoS hosts a large DeFi and NFT ecosystem (Aave, Uniswap, OpenSea collections), and significant stablecoin supply. It is widely used by enterprise integrations (Starbucks, Reddit, Nike) due to low fees and EVM compatibility. zkEVM caters to use cases requiring stronger Ethereum security guarantees. The CDK (Chain Development Kit) lets projects launch their own ZK-secured chains.
Polygon PoS is technically a sidechain with its own security, not a true rollup, which is a trade-off versus zkEVM. The MATIC-to-POL migration introduced complexity that some users found confusing. Polygon's multi-chain strategy has many parts; understanding which chain to use for which purpose requires effort.