Get an Edge With Polygon!
So you’re trying to make an Ethereum-compatible dApp? You’ve looked into deployment onto EVM-compatible L2s, explored sidechains, forks, and bridges. Yet, it still seems so complex! The reality is that modern solutions for dApps to deploy onto Ethereum are still complex, requiring myriad moving parts in order to deploy successfully. However “Polygon Edge”, a new scaling solution for dApps, seeks to take the complexity out of deployment, creating a fully compatible, flexible platform for developers to deploy onto the EVM-compatible Polygon L2.
Understanding the Problem
Before we dive into the innovations in Polygon Edge, we first need to understand how modern dApps interact with the Ethereum blockchain. The Ethereum “mainnet,” or the main Ethereum blockchain, has seen difficulty scaling in recent years because the layer 1 Ethereum blockchain uses a “Proof of Work” consensus protocol. That means that for each transaction to complete in a block on the Ethereum blockchain, miners must process complex equations. This leads to each block being mined approximately every 14 seconds, with the average block being able to fit 70 transactions.
Ultimately, this system has led to network congestion. How can hundreds of millions of people globally, all trying to transact at the same time, only be able to transact 70 times every 14 seconds? While proof of stake systems on Ethereum will be slowly implemented, the problem remains - Ethereum’s mainnet is incapable of high volume in the status quo.
Popular Solutions
In order to solve Ethereum’s scaling issues, community developers have created a few main solutions such as optimistic rollups, sidechains, and plasma chains. These protocols seek to increase transaction speeds while allowing for higher transaction volume. This translates to lower gas fees and faster speeds for users.
Most solutions use “off-chain scaling,” which require no changes to the Ethereum L1 mainnet. These might build an L2 solution, building a whole new blockchain atop of Ethereum while still allowing for interchain interaction via bridges. These L2 solutions batch transactions before submitting them to Ethereum’s mainnet to be secured. Others may be “rollup” solutions, which essentially execute transactions outside of the Ethereum mainnet and then post data to the L1 to reach consensus.
Both solutions increase transaction speeds for very low gas cost, but are difficult to scale due to the necessary interaction across other L2s like Polygon, Boba, and NEAR. Moreover, as individuals migrate their tokens to L2 solutions, they must use bridges to move their assets cross-chain.
So, let’s say that a developer wants to create a dApp that allows its users to use ETH in their wallet on a specific L2 solution. First, the developer has to consider his protocol’s needs in that L2. Would he prefer an optimistic rollup? Or perhaps a zkRollup? In doing this, to ensure interoperability, he would then need to continue bridging to each successive chain he’d like to interact with. Ultimately, without a single solution, this can become extremely complicated.
So, where should developers even start when choosing type of L2s, type of bridges, type of chains, etc. to develop on? Without a single, centralized solution, development can become complex – and often be a barrier to dApp development.
Polygon Edge
Now, let’s try to understand how we can leverage the power of Polygon Edge to solve this problem. By leveraging the existing Polygon ecosystem, Polygon has built a modular, extensible framework for developers to build EVM-compatible blockchains networks, sidechains, and other scaling solutions atop Polygon and Ethereum. In essence, Polygon provides a “copy-paste” modular guide for developers to create their own blockchain networks by developing plugins that attach to Polygon Edge (no forks required)!
Polygon Edge blockchain networks usually consist of 4 nodes, all validator nodes, which are able to propose blocks and validate blocks from other proposers. Each set of 4 nodes (which can differ per each protocol) runs on its own VM. This allows dApps using Polygon Edge to retain their own autonomous blockchains and have Byzantine Fault Tolerance while still ensuring privacy amongst different projects built upon Polygon Edge.
Unlike other scaling solutions, which may only provide developers with the ability to create an off-chain solution (say a single optimistic rollup or sidechain), Polygon Edge allows developers to access an entire suite of Ethereum JSON-RPC wallets, bridges, and chains. Polygon Edge also supports communication between multiple blockchain networks, enabling ERC-20 and ERC-721 token transfers via centralized bridges. So, instead of individually adding specific wallet support and a litany of bridges, all developers have to do is port their code to polygon edge! All in all, polygon edge allows developers to batch multiple scalability solutions into a single service.
Security and Practicality
Inevitably, with such an “easy” solution for developers, doubts will arise in speed and security of the Polygon Edge blockchain.
Polygon Edge uses an Istanbul Byzantine Fault Tolerant (IBFT) consensus mechanism. Instead of a Proof of Work system like many L2s and Ethereum’s Mainnet, IBFT uses both Proof of Authority and Proof of Stake mechanisms.
Proof of Authority allows for certain reputable and known validators on the network to produce blocks, allowing for faster transactions and less time between block transactions. Proof of Stake allows for each block to be “mined” by validators, who are chosen at random to verify blocks. By combining both PoA and PoS, IBFT has been able to create a secure and lightning quick scaling solution.
All in all, Polygon Edge has proved itself to be a capable, simplistic solution for developers to scale.
Polygon Edge in the Future
Ultimately, with Polygon Edge offering to give developers a one-stop shop for the implementation of their dApps onto Polygon, alongside a host of other necessary scalability tools, development will become faster, easier, and much more convenient. Decreasing barriers to entry for developers across the world will be a vital step in the proliferation of decentralized finance. With Polygon Edge, we’re certainly on the road towards having #DeFiForAll.
Author is a Decentralized Finance (DeFi) intern at Polygon, highly interested in synthetics, web3 derivatives, and blockchain applicability in the real world. They’re a student at New York University – Stern School of Business, studying finance. Other interests range from baseball to The Office to geopolitics.