Crypto Spotlight: MATIC

Ready to meet another new cryptocurrency? You’re in luck - we’ve recently added MATIC to the ever-growing Wirex family. Let’s get to know a bit more about it.

What is MATIC?

MATIC is the token that powers the Polygon network, a protocol and framework for building and connecting Ethereum-compatible networks. It does so by attaching multiple ‘side chains’ to the Ethereum blockchain, which support several different DeFi protocols. This helps reduce network traffic, resulting in faster transactions and lower costs.

What does it do?

MATIC is used to pay transaction fees on the Polygon network, as well as participate in the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus. This involves validators and delegators staking their MATIC in staking contracts in order to achieve consensus and secure the network.

Who created it?

Polygon was created in India in 2017 - originally as the Matic Network - by Ethereum developers Jaynti Kanami, Sandeep Nailwal, Anurag Arjun and Mihailo Bjelic.

Its initial offering in 2019 raised the equivalent of $5.6 million in ETH, from the sale of 1.9 billion MATIC tokens. The network went live in 2020 and rebranded as Polygon in 2021.

What makes it unique?

Polygon provides developers with the tools they need to easily produce fast, scalable blockchains and dapps. It’s already used by several well-known DeFi projects, including Aave and SushiSwap.

MATIC has experienced a recent surge in popularity, too, due to an increasing number of people turning to PoS crypto, which are deemed more energy efficient.