What happened
The cryptocurrency Polygon (MATIC -4.56%) has seen impressive price action today. As of 1:24 p.m. ET, it had surged more than 14% over the last 24 hours.
This move has followed broadly bullish price action among large-cap cryptocurrencies today. It is the second-largest upside among top-20 cryptocurrencies, next to Solana, at the time of this writing.
So what
As a layer-2 network, Polygon is designed to enhance the scalability and transaction speed of the Ethereum network. Those using Ethereum know how big a problem Polygon is solving. This layer-2 solution is built on a proof-of-stake mechanism, which is much more energy-efficient (and faster) than Ethereum's current proof-of-work mechanism.
Accordingly, Polygon has garnered attention as the layer-2 network of choice among various high-profile projects. Currently, Sushiswap and Aave use Polygon's network. And this weekend, it was announced that Uniswap would be joining this growing list of networks.
It was also announced that the Mysterium network has launched its open-source ecosystem of protocols. This project is also built on top of Polygon's layer-2 network, and has seen rapid adoption. Those intrigued by the growth potential of crypto in what could shape the future of the internet appear to be honing in on Polygon today.
Now what
Both Uniswap and the Mysterium network are significant projects that investors are watching closely. Those looking at the underlying infrastructure powering these networks may want to consider the value Polygon adds.
As far as utility goes, Polygon is making a strong argument as the layer-2 network of choice among large-scale projects. Accordingly, it's perhaps not surprising to see it outperform its peers today.