Bitcoin and Polygon are two of the top cryptocurrencies in the world. However, they are not both the same, in fact, they are more different than they are similar.
If you’re wondering which of the two you should invest in, we are here to help. In this guide, we bring you a concise comparison of the two assets to help you decide on which one to buy as an investment.
We will highlight the major differences between the two, with emphasis on their strengths and weaknesses so that you can easily decide for yourself which one you wish to invest in. Without any further waste of time, let’s dive right into it.
What is Bitcoin (BTC)?
Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency in the world, probably because it was the first and is now the biggest. In fact, many people have heard of Bitcoin but not any other cryptocurrency. The project was created to provide a way to carry out quick electronic transactions.
However over the years, the Bitcoin network has become slower, which led to a massive increase in the cost of transactions using the network. As a result, Bitcoin has become unsuitable for everyday buying and selling.
This is the reason why the network is no longer very popular for transactions, but it has found a new use case. Investors now use BTC as an investment asset and a store of value. Why is this asset particularly attractive as a store of value? Because of its limited supply.
There are only 21 million BTC that can ever be available for circulation. This means that the world will have to compete for the 21 million coins, making it scarce. Going by the law of demand and supply, the asset is expected to become much more valuable in the future.
Bitcoin operates a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism, which is a consensus mechanism that requires a set of people known as miners to help verify transactions and ensure that the network is secure.
This requires the use of powerful computers to solve mathematical puzzles, something critics say is wasteful and destructive to the environment because it needs a lot of power to run. Millions of investors around the world now rely on BTC as a hedge against inflation since the price has gone up consistently for years.
What Is Polygon (MATIC)?
Polygon is a Layer 2 network created to help Ethereum become more scalable. The network runs on the Ethereum network as an additional network to process transactions faster, thus reducing cost.
As a Layer 2 network for boosting scalability, Polygon network is fast, much faster than Ethereum, so that transactions are processed more quickly and fees are much lower. However, Polygon depends on Ethereum and whatever goes wrong with the Ethereum network will likely go wrong with the network as well.
MATIC, the network’s native token is used to pay transaction fees on Polygon and also for governance. Holders can also stake the token and get rewarded for helping to secure the network.
There are a total of 10 billion MATIC tokes available, almost all of which is already in circulation. The network combines the Plasma Framework and the proof-of-stake blockchain architecture as its consensus mechanism.
With faster speed and much lower transaction cost, Polygon is more suitable as a payment network, and MATIC as a payment token compared to Bitcoin.
Which is Better?
If you’re looking to buy a crypto asset you can hold as a long term investment, Bitcoin is the perfect choice. However if the goal is to have a cryptocurrency you can use to pay for goods and services, Polygon is the better option.
Although the crypto market grows generally and all crypto assets have the potential to appreciate in value, Bitcoin is more likely to sustain its growth and it is far more secure than Polygon, so it makes a better investment.
