June 12, 2023

Introducing Polygon 2.0: The Value Layer of the Internet

Our vision for Polygon is simple: to build the Value Layer of the Internet. Just like the Internet allows anyone to create and exchange information, the Value Layer is the fundamental protocol that allows anyone to create, exchange and program value.

The Internet democratized access to information; the Value Layer democratizes access to the global economy. It enables decentralized finance, digital ownership, new mechanisms for coordination and much more. It is the missing piece of an Internet that serves users, not gate-keepers, rent-seekers or middle-men.

Polygon 2.0 is our blueprint for building the Value Layer. It is a set of proposed upgrades that radically reimagine almost every aspect of Polygon, from protocol architecture to tokenomics to governance.

Over the coming weeks, we will detail each component of Polygon 2.0, addressing topics like the future of the Polygon PoS chain, the utility and evolution of the Polygon token, and the transition to greater community governance of the protocol and treasury. We will lay out a roadmap for how Polygon will become the Value Layer of the Internet, offering unlimited scalability and unified liquidity via ZK technology.

Building the Value Layer

Ethereum introduced the concept of the Value Layer. It demonstrated that people can create, exchange, and program value seamlessly and securely, without intermediaries. But Ethereum and the crypto ecosystem currently don’t resemble the rest of the Internet.

The Internet as we know it is:

Infinitely Scalable: Throughput on the Internet scales elastically; when we need more capacity, we build it.

Unified: Information exists in a shared environment, accessible from anywhere in the world.

Individual blockchains aren’t infinitely scalable; they have strict throughput limits. We can add capacity by creating new chains, but not without fragmenting liquidity and reducing security and capital efficiency. Enter Polygon 2.0.

Polygon 2.0 is a network of ZK-powered L2 chains, unified via a novel cross-chain coordination protocol. For a user, the entire network will feel like using a single chain. The network can support a practically unlimited number of chains and cross-chain interactions can happen safely and instantly, without additional security or trust assumptions. Unlimited scalability and unified liquidity.

Polygon 2.0 will be the Value Layer that looks like the rest of the Internet. It will expand Ethereum to become what it was always intended to be.

Polygon 2.0 Rollout

Polygon 2.0 is the culmination of over a year of collaboration between Polygon Labs, developers, researchers, applications, node operators, validators, and the broader Polygon and Ethereum communities. Some of these discussions can be found on the community forum.

Given the huge scope of Polygon 2.0, we will be detailing all its components over the coming weeks via a series of blog posts, community meets, AMAs with the founders and engineers, and more.

Now that the Polygon ecosystem has a formal governance process, which continues to expand to empower the community, the role of builders, creators and all others in the Polygon ecosystem is more meaningful than ever. Stay tuned, get familiar with Polygon 2.0 in its entirety and join the conversation. Only the Polygon community, who controls the Polygon protocol, has the right to accept and implement Polygon 2.0. Let’s start the next chapter!