The Polygon (CCC:MATIC-USD) altcoin, formerly known as Matic Network, is among the most popular cryptocurrencies in the world. The coin started the year at approximately 1.9 cents and hit an all-time high in mid-May.
Polygon recently rebranded itself. This change came with a focus by the crypto on multiplatform usage of Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD) transactions. But despite the name change, the Polygon crypto kept its token name, MATIC.
Since the end of March, the crypto has risen over three times from 36.42 cents per token to $1.13. But lately, the altcoin has been losing steam. That is not surprising. From China cracking down on crypto to regulators going after Ripple (CCC:XRP-USD), the negative sentiment is strong.
But it gives you a great opportunity to buy cryptos at dip discounts, MATIC-USD being a prime example. Polygon, in particular, is looking very attractive now that it is back under a dollar. From an all-time high of $2.62, MATIC-USD is currently trading at 78.6 cents. This means you will get more bang for your buck compared to just a few months ago.
And considering the core fundamentals have not changed, this asset is trading at a deep discount and presents an excellent opportunity.
Why Should You Buy MATIC-USD?
Four Indian software Engineers created the project; Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal, and Anurag Arjun. At the moment, Polygon is one of the biggest suppliers in various crypto sectors such as decentralized finance (DeFi), decentralized applications (DA), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and the popular decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).
Although Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) still stands out as the foremost crypto, there are thousands of cryptos in the market today. Ethereum more often than not is considered the No. 2 to BTC. However, both are facing issues related to scalability.
Polygon aims to solve this problem through layer two side chains on the Ethereum blockchain. Sidechains help handle some transactions rather than have the Ethereum main chain handle every transaction.
If blockchain and decentralization revolutionize the internet, sidechains will play a big role. Since it is still unclear which approach to sidechains will succeed, Polygon is adopting multiple scaling solution strategies. This is why the project rebranded from Matic to Polygon.
Polygon currently uses plasma sidechains. But, it has indicated that it is looking to implement optimistic rollups.
The use case of Polygon as an Ethereum scaling solution is massive. It will considerably decrease transaction costs to a level where they are almost negligible and will lead to an exponential increase of projects on Ethereum, ranging from financial applications to government applications.
Price Prediction
Polygon is one of the fastest-growing projects in the crypto-verse. But its price has recently been under serious pressure. It lost a lot of value in June after the price started falling in late May.
Providing a price prediction for MATIC-USD is difficult. Like with most young cryptocurrencies, the token’s success will depend heavily on the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum. If you look at the price charts for Ethereum and MATIC-USD, you’ll find their trajectory is very similar.
According to Wallet Investor, MATIC-USD will close the year at $2.93 per token. Gov.capital believes the token will end the year at $3.317. With the upcoming Ethereum 2.0 implementation, these projections are not overtly bullish.
Hold With a Six-Month Horizon in Mind
This is an exciting time in cryptocurrencies as institutional players enter the market. However, the inherent utility of altcoins will have a much bigger role in which cryptos succeed long term. Tokens hyped up by social media influencers will fade away. But cryptos with solid fundamentals are likely to continue pushing upward.
If you purchase MATIC-USD now, you should wait for at least six months and then reevaluate. There is a lot of money to be made by simply purchasing and holding; you can make a lot of money by simply buying the coin.
Polygon is solving a real problem, and with the upcoming Ethereum 2.0 implementation, more projects looking to build Dapps solving real-world issues will look to Polygon. Meme coins can make you money if you catch the wave at the right time but their long-term upside is pretty limited. That’s why you are safer investing in MATIC-USD.
On the date of publication, Faizan Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Faizan Farooque is a contributing author for InvestorPlace.com and numerous other financial sites. Faizan has several years of experience analyzing the stock market and was a former data journalist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. His passion is to help the average investor make more informed decisions regarding their portfolio. Faizan does not directly own the securities mentioned above.
