Polygon (MATIC 1.33%) hit an all-time high of $2.87 in December 2021 but has since been shredded and sits at just around $0.93 at the time of writing (October 28). Despite this year-long slump, Polygon has arguably achieved more than any other blockchain in 2022, and that could lead to the Ethereum (ETH 0.84%) scaling solution surpassing its previous all-time high and hitting $3.
The list of achievements in 2022 varies between new technology and budding partnerships with some of the most well-known companies in the world. Let's start with Polygon's technological accomplishments.
A revolutionary upgrade
Polygon is best known for making Ethereum transactions faster and cheaper. Referred to as a layer 2 blockchain or sidechain, Polygon offloads transactions from Ethereum's blockchain and adds them at a later date.
Developers prefer to build their applications on Polygon because of its compatibility with Ethereum -- but without those high fees and slow speeds.
And it looks like more developers might be making the move to Polygon. Known as a zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM), this new technology will allow developers that have written code for applications on Ethereum to now take advantage of Polygon's benefits with little additional work. With the introduction of zkEVMs, developers will now be able to migrate their Ethereum smart contracts to Polygon without having to rewrite any code.
In addition, the introduction of zkEVMs will lower transaction fees by 90% and increase speeds even further. Planned for release in early 2023, zkEVMs could dramatically alter the landscape of Ethereum's scaling problem and prove that Polygon is a leader in the crowded field of layer 2 solutions.
A growing list of partnerships
The flexibility and novelty of Polygon are slowly being recognized by developers but even better, companies are now taking notice of the blockchain's potential. In just the last year, Polygon has notched partnerships with some of the most notable companies in the world.
In May, Meta Platforms (META -10.56%) announced they would take the leap into non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Users on Facebook and Instagram would be able to connect their digital wallets to their accounts and be able to show off their NFTs on the platforms. Polygon was one of four blockchains selected to be part of this integration.
Another important partnership that developed in 2022 was with the entertainment giant Disney (DIS -1.01%). Every year, Disney selects a group of inductees for their Accelerator Program, an initiative that aims to partner with up-and-coming innovators that could benefit Disney's future endeavors. Disney's pursuit of leveraging Web3 and metaverse technologies (which utilize blockchains) led the company to induct Polygon into the 2022 Accelerator Program class. As a member, Polygon will receive time, funding, and resources from Disney to further develop its goal. Disney's ultimate goal is that a partnership will form out of the investment.
The case for $3
Blockchains derive their value from the utility they support. And few other blockchains have been able to build for added utility in the future like Polygon has in 2022. If Polygon's blockchain stays on this trajectory and continues to attract developers and their applications, then its value should subsequently increase over the coming years.
While it might be difficult for Polygon to reclaim its previous all-time highs anytime soon, there is a strong chance that when macroeconomic conditions improve and this crypto winter thaws, it could reach the $3 mark.
To do that, Polygon would need to roughly triple from today's prices. But when considering that Polygon was able to hit a price of $2.87 without the recent technological innovations like zkEVMs and its new partnerships, it seems plausible that a $3 price tag is well within reach.
