How to Buy Polygon (MATIC) – A Complete Beginner’s Guide

Over the last six years, several Ethereum scaling solutions have emerged. Among them is Polygon. This network’s ability to execute fast and cheap transactions has attracted many developers. Moreover, Polygon has its native token, MATIC. It is one of the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

In this article, you will talk about the Polygon ecosystem and show you how to buy MATIC.

Exploring Polygon

The Polygon blockchain is designed to improve the performance of Ethereum by processing transactions faster using the plasma framework. The decentralized chain is backed by Binance and Coinbase.

So, how many transactions does Polygon process in a second? The correct answer is 65,000. On the other hand, Ethereum can only handle 17.

Several decentralized applications are now available on Polygon and use MATIC as their preffered mode of payment.

What Makes Polygon Special?

• One of the aspects that make Polygon unique is its security. The blockchain adopts tight security measures to safeguard transactions.
• Moreover, Polygon uses the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. This means it is more energy-efficient than Proof-of-Work blockchains.
• Transaction finality on Polygon is also fast, usually under two seconds.
• Polygon lets MATIC holders stake their tokens to earn yield.
• The Polygon bridge facilitates easy token transfer from the Ethereum mainnet.

Comparison Between Polygon and its Competitors

So, how does Polygon compare to other scaling solutions (layer-2 networks)? Let’s find out.

Polygon vs. Loopring

While Polygon uses Plasma technology to scale Ethereum, Loopring adopts zKRollups. The latter focuses more on providing tools for creating decentralized finance protocols rather than just scaling Ethereum. Nonetheless, Polygon has witnessed wider adoption than Loopring.

Polygon vs. Arbitrum

The only thing differentiating these layer-2 networks is the technology they use for Ethereum scalability. Whereas Arbitrum employs Optimistic Rollups, Polygon adopts Plasma, as mentioned earlier.

The Polygon Ecosystem

Web3 developers Anurag Arjun, Jyanti Kanani, and Sandeep Nailwal are the brains behind Polygon. Their blockchain comes with smart contract functionality, allowing easy development of decentralized applications and NFT projects.

MATIC Wallets

The Polygon ecosystem is incomplete without crypto wallets that support its native token, MATIC. Here are the options for storing your MATIC tokens online: MetaMask, ZenGo, Wirex, Crypto.com’s self-custody wallet, and Rainbow Wallet. If you prefer keeping your crypto asset offline, you can use Ledger or Trezor.

Earning With MATIC

As mentioned, Polygon is a Proof-of-Stake chain. Therefore, users must stake MATIC tokens to secure it. This is not free. Anyone willing to stake earns considerably high yields. You can stake your MATIC directly on the Polygon chain or through yield farms like SushiSwap and Aave.

Where to Buy MATIC

As a starter, the easiest way to purchase MATIC is via centralized exchanges like Kraken, Coinbase, and Binance. For the purposes of this guide, we will show you how to buy it from Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange by market cap.

1. Download the Binance mobile app and sign up by entering your email and password.

2. Verify your Binance trading account. This is done by completing the know-your-customer procedure.

3. Next, fund your account with USDT. You can buy this stablecoin using your debit card or through Binance’s peer-to-peer platform.

4. After that, press “Spot” and use the search box to find the MATIC/USDT trading pair.

5. Once the pair comes up, enter the amount you want to spend on MATIC and place a buy order by clicking the “Buy” button.

And that’s how you buy MATIC on a centralized exchange. To sell the crypto asset, simply hit the “Sell” button.

Do you prefer buying MATIC without providing personal details? Well, you can use decentralized exchanges like UniSwap and PancakeSwap. Note that you will need a funded self-custody crypto wallet.

Is MATIC a Good Investment?

With some cryptocurrency analysts recently predicting that MATIC’s value will range between $35 and $45 by 2030, this token can be considered a good long-term investment. However, these predictions are not guaranteed to come true, so if you want to invest in MATIC, do it responsibly.