Scalability is one of the biggest concerns for blockchain networks in the present times. The attention on better speed of transactions in Polygon has shown how scalable blockchain networks can lead the blockchain revolution in future. Polygon is basically a Layer 2 scaling solution focused on achieving scale of operations by using sidechains to facilitate off-chain computation.
At the same time, it provides a decentralized network of PoS or Proof of Stake validators. As Polygon aims to resolve the problem of scalability in blockchain networks, it also introduces some additional value advantages. The following discussion would help you find out more about the transactions on Polygon and how they are different.
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What is the Transaction Speed in Polygon?
The first thing you must know about Polygon is the fact that it has been tailored as a layer 2 scaling solution. It includes the protocols meant for resolving the scalability issues in Ethereum. The estimate of polygon transactions per second stands at an impressive 65,000 transactions. Polygon emerged as one of the prominent layer 2 scaling solutions for DeFi applications seeking higher speed and lower costs on transactions.
The efficiency of Polygon in scalability improvement ensured that more than 7000 decentralized applications use the blockchain network. You can find an average estimate for polygon transactions per day with the fact that the blockchain network has recorded more than one billion transactions in 2021.
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Working of Polygon
Before you understand the factors underlying the lower Polygon transaction time, it is important to understand the working of Polygon. The layer 2 blockchain uses its native token MATIC for its different operations. Ethereum has been criticized a lot for the limited number of transactions each second, with almost 14 transactions per second in the base layer.
At the same time, transactions on Ethereum cost a specific amount of gas fees on Ethereum. The gas fees could increase during network congestion, and the gas fees could increase to almost $50 to $80. Network congestion also results in slower processing of transactions on Ethereum, thereby preventing users from interacting with blockchain smart contracts. The problems could become more complicated in the case of DeFi users or NFT owners.
How is the polygon transaction fees different from the gas fees on Ethereum? Polygon can help in reducing gas costs for transactions through the use of side chains for processing transactions. Side chains enable the Polygon network to deal with almost 65000 transactions every second.
Polygon ensures the transaction fees are quite minimal in the number of pennies in comparison to the average transaction fee on Ethereum, which amounts to almost $15 for every transaction. Polygon also serves a collection of multiple protocols and the flexibility for choosing a reliable scaling option. For example, ZK-proofs can help in proving validity of a specific statement without disclosure, thereby saving processing time.
Project teams can integrate different features using Polygon, such as a Proof of Stake blockchain bridge, optimistic rollups, ZK rollups, and plasma side chains. The answer to “How many transactions does a Polygon have?” would point at the development of the blockchain bridge as the new addition.
As compared to the plasma chain in the earlier variant of Polygon, i.e., MATIC network, the blockchain bridge introduces the facility for developers to ensure development of decentralized applications on one platform. With the benefit of processing transactions on its own blockchain, Polygon can ensure faster and lighter transactions on Ethereum.
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Bundling the Transactions
The reduction in polygon transactions per day depends on the effective bundling or batching of transactions. ZK rollups help in processing the transaction bundles off the main chain alongside creation of validity proofs. Subsequently, the validity proofs are sent to the primary blockchain. Validity proofs work as the proxy representative for the bundle, thereby reducing the amount of data on the main chain. As a result, bundling of transactions off-chain helps Polygon in achieving a considerable reduction of time and gas fees needed for validating a transaction block.
On the other hand, the transactions in Polygon also involve optimistic rollups, which leverage fraud proofs as the unique proof system. Following the discovery of a fraudulent transaction, the fraud-proof protocol could help in self-executing and determining the suitable transaction according to the data on main blockchain. Any individual submitting fake transactions to the main blockchain would have their stakes slashed through optimistic rollups.
What is Special about Polygon?
The working of Polygon and estimates of Polygon transaction time show that it is obviously a special layer 2 scaling solution. One of the best things about Polygon is that it does not compromise on the decentralization aspect while resolving the problems of scalability and usability. At the same time, Polygon also allows better use of the existing developer ecosystem and community. Polygon is basically an off-chain scaling solution and also offers support for all existing Ethereum tools. The key features of Polygon which highlight more details about transactions on Polygon include the following.
The foremost highlight of Polygon network in terms of scalability advantages points at the Polygon transaction fees, which are considered trivial in comparison to Ethereum. In addition, you have the advantage of higher throughput with over 10,000 transactions per second on a single side chain.
On top of it, you can add more chains for facilitating horizontal scaling. Furthermore, the seamless UX and developer abstraction from the main blockchain to Polygon also promotes better usability. Polygon also stands strong in terms of security by enabling chain operators with stakes in the Proof of Stake system.
Architecture of Polygon
The easiest way to understand transactions in Polygon would focus on the architecture of the scaling solution. Polygon Network is basically a layer 2 scaling blockchain application platform. It features the hybrid Proof of Stake alongside plasma-enabled side chains. The understanding of Polygon transactions becomes easier with a deep dive into different components in Polygon architecture. Polygon features an elegant design with a common validation layer, which is different from the other execution environments, such as completely developed EVM side chains.
The estimate of polygon transactions per second relies heavily on the Proof of Stake mechanism in Polygon architecture. Polygon enables the Proof of Stake mechanism by deploying a collection of staking management contracts on Ethereum. In addition, the network also employs a collection of incentivized validators operating Heimdall and Bor nodes. It is important to remember that Ethereum is first base chain supported on Polygon, along with planned support for new base chains in the future. The three important layers in the architecture of Polygon include the following,
- Ethereum smart contracts
- Heimdall layer
- Bor layer
Let us take a look at the implications of these layers in Polygon architecture to figure out more details about Polygon transactions.
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Smart Contracts
The Polygon smart contracts are a critical requirement for the appealing Polygon transactions per day estimates. Polygon network maintains the collection of smart contracts on Ethereum for addressing different important functionalities. The Polygon smart contracts support staking management in the Proof of Stake layer. At the same time, it also ensures delegation management alongside focusing on validator shares. The smart contracts also maintain records of the checkpoints or snapshots of the state of side chains.
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Heimdall Layer
The Heimdall layer is actually the Proof of Stake validator layer, which works in unison with the Polygon smart contracts on Ethereum. Heimdall layer primarily focuses on enabling the Proof of Stake mechanism for Polygon. Polygon has based the design of Heimdall over the Tendermint consensus engine featuring key changes in the signature scheme and different data structures. The basic functionalities of block validation or block producer committee selection.
Heimdall layer also helps in creating a checkpoint for representing side chain blocks to Ethereum in the Polygon architecture. The Heimdall layer is crucial for lower Polygon transaction fees as it takes on many other responsibilities in Polygon Network. Heimdall layer helps in managing the aggregation of blocks generated by Bor to develop a Merkle tree. It also publishes the Merkle root at periodic intervals to the root chain with checkpoints.
Validators on the Heimdall layer carry out the following responsibilities for every set of blocks generated on Bor.
- Validation of all blocks since last checkpoint
- Creation of Merkle tree from the block hashes
- Publication of Merkle tree root to main chain
The checkpoints are an important aspect in ensuring more Polygon transactions per second as they serve crucial functionalities. First of all, checkpoints help in proving the finality of Root Chain. In addition, checkpoints also offer accurate proof of burn in the case of asset withdrawal.
The Heimdall layer works to achieve the desired objectives of Polygon Network effectively through the following processes.
A specific section of active validators from the pool has to be selected for the role of block producers. The block producers have to be selected for a specific span, and the span would be determined by consensus voting. Block producers take on the task of creating blocks and transmitting them to the rest of the network.
The overview of “How many transactions does a Polygon have?” would also draw attention to the checkpoints associated with the Heimdall layer. Checkpoints feature the root of all the block hashes created in a specific interval. Each and every node should verify the checkpoint and associate their signature with the same.
The next step in the working of Heimdall layer refers to selection of a proposer from the validator set. This selected proposer takes on the responsibility of collecting all signatures for a specific checkpoint. The proposer would also commit the collected signatures to the main blockchain.
The responsibility of a validator for creating blocks and proposing checkpoints depends considerably on their stake ratio in the overall pool.
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Bor Layer
The Bor layer is the block producer layer for Polygon network. As a matter of fact, it is responsible for bundling different transactions into blocks. The block producers are generally shuffled on a periodic basis through committee selection on the Heimdall layer. Polygon selects block producers for a specific duration, known as a span. The transactions in Polygon involve the production of blocks at the Bor node.
At the same time, it is important to ensure that the side chain VM is completely compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine. You should also notice that Heimdall nodes ensure periodic validation of the blocks generated on Bor layer. The set of blocks on Bor also comes with a significant highlight in the functioning of Polygon network. The Merkle tree hash of the blocks produced on Bor is an important requirement for the checkpoint you must regularly commit to Ethereum.
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Role of Validators in Polygon Transactions
The detailed description of the three-layered Polygon architecture shows proof of extremely lower Polygon transaction fees in comparison to Ethereum. However, it is also important to note how the actors in the Polygon network influence the transactions on Polygon. Validators are basically participants in the Polygon network working by locking up the native MATIC tokens in the system.
The validator works for running Heimdall validator nodes and Bor block producer nodes. Validators have to stake MATIC tokens as a type of collateral to secure the network and earn incentives. All validators receive rewards according to their stakes at every checkpoint, along with an additional bonus for the selected proposer. Users can check their reward balance updates in the contract referred to during the process of claiming rewards. It is important to note that validators could face risk of having their crypto assets slashed if the validator node commits malicious acts.
The selection of validators on Polygon through an on-chain auction process also ensures credibility of the network. Validators can run a full node, verify and participate in consensus, produce blocks and enter checkpoints on the main Ethereum blockchain.
Role of Delegators in Polygon Transactions
The growing number of Polygon transactions per day also draws attention to the role of delegators in its architecture. Delegators are basically the token holders who could not or will not run a validator node. On the contrary, the delegators take on the responsibility of securing the network. Delegators achieve the same through delegation of their stake to the validator nodes. The significance of delegators in the working of Polygon network is evident in their role in selection of validators.
Delegators could carry out the delegation transactions through the Polygon smart contracts on main Ethereum blockchain. In this case, the MATIC tokens have to be associated with the next checkpoint recorded on the Ethereum mainnet. On top of it, delegators could also discover the options for moving out of the system according to their preferences. However, delegators must wait for around 9 days to withdraw their stake from the network.
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Bottom Line
Polygon transactions are special in the fact that they are faster and simpler. Interestingly, Polygon is the only layer 2 scaling solution which allows a facility for staking the native token on the Polygon network. It has been tailored to ensure better ease of use for developers, businesses as well as general users. As of now, the estimates of Polygon transactions per second amount to almost 65000 at the maximum.
The common transaction per second rate on Polygon is 10,000, which is a substantial improvement for the scalability and usability issues. Polygon can work as a critical driver of the DeFi revolution by enabling better scalability and performance of Ethereum-based decentralized applications. The architecture of Polygon showcases a bird’s eye perspective of how transactions work on the Polygon network. Learn more about the different components and the methods to get started with Polygon right now.
*Disclaimer: The article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide any investment advice. Claims made in this article do not constitute investment advice and should not be taken as such. 101 Blockchains shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this article. Do your own research!
