Understanding Polygon requires first understanding Ethereum's limitations. Ethereum processes roughly 15 transactions per second — far less than Visa's 24,000 TPS. As usage grew, fees spiked and the network became congested. Polygon fixes this without sacrificing security.

What Is a Layer 2?

A Layer 2 is a separate blockchain that runs on top of a base blockchain (Layer 1). Layer 2s process transactions off the main chain and periodically submit compressed summaries back to Ethereum, dramatically increasing throughput while keeping security anchored to L1.

Polygon zkEVM: The Next Generation

Polygon's zkEVM uses zero-knowledge proofs to verify transaction validity on Ethereum. Unlike the PoS sidechain, zkEVM transactions inherit Ethereum's full security guarantees — while still being dramatically cheaper and faster than mainnet.

Bridging Assets to Polygon

The official Polygon bridge allows you to transfer ETH, USDC, USDT, and other ERC-20 tokens to the Polygon network in 7–10 minutes. Once bridged, you can interact with DeFi protocols and NFT platforms at a fraction of the cost.