Polygon wants to become the Visa of Web3
How do you prove you know secret information, without giving the secret away?
(We don't have the answer).
But some cryptographers do.
In the crypto world, this method of proving knowledge, without actually giving it away; is known as zero-knowledge-proof.
(Though the cool kids of Web3 simply refer to it as 'zk').
Zero-knowledge-proofs are important in Web3, because they make everything run faster...
The less checks need to be made → the quicker transactions can be processed.
The 'holy grail' or 'trilemma' of cryptocurrency, is creating a system that is equal parts scalable, secure, and decentralized (so far, this holy trinity has yet to be properly achieved).
...and of the three, Zero-knowledge-proofs help bolster both scalability and security.
Mihailo Bjelic, co-founder of Polygon, has tweaked this combination (probably to better fit his narrative), to read like this:
“The holy grail of Web3 infrastructure should have three major properties: scalability, security, and Ethereum compatibility”.
(Conveniently) his company's new product, the Polygon zkEVM, is designed to do a few things, really well:
It puts streetwear brands to shame, as far as heavy abbreviation goes.
'zkEVM' expands to Zero Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine.
...which means it can confirm transactions are legit on the Ethereum network, without sharing a users private info.
( Ethereum compatibility)
It can supposedly lower Ethereum's network costs by 90%, and dramatically increase its maximum transactions per second (tps).
( Scalability)
It will do all of this while maintaining the same security as Ethereum.
( Security)
Alright, so it ticks all the boxes - but how does all of this fancy new functionality translate to the real world?
Simply put, Polygon wants to become the Visa/Mastercard of Web3 - by matching and/or surpassing their ability to processes roughly 1,700 transactions per second.
Nailing this core functionality is the first step - next is usability.
And right now in Web3, usability is (somehow) the steeper hill to climb.
We hope they reach the top.