Polygon

Tokenization in various forms, like real estate and digital collectibles, allows assets to be brought onchain for global liquidity. One example is tokenized Pokémon cards on Polygon PoS by Courtyard_NFT. With the collectibles market worth $460B+ in 2023, there's great potential to innovate in this space. An interview with Courtyard sheds light on the onchain excitement, part of a series focusing on tokenization projects in the Polygon ecosystem.

Polygon has released the Type-1 upgrade to the zkEVM prover, allowing EVM chains to become ZK Layer 2 without forking. Projects like Immutable zkEVM and MantaNetwork plan to leverage this upgrade, which offers lower costs, lower latency, and better user experience. The Type-1 prover maintains Ethereum's execution logic and can prove existing Ethereum blocks at an average cost of $0.002 to $0.003 per transaction. Further improvements, including a Type 2 mode, are in the pipeline for a 30 to 50X cost reduction over the next year.

Polygon Village Build Ideas and Village Startup Support have selected teams for their respective programs, aiming to support builders in the web3 space. Village Build Ideas will assist startups focusing on DeFi, NFTs, gaming, and more, while Village Startup Support offers guidance and mentorship to founders like those working on tokenized investment strategies, blockchain games, decentralized platforms, and more.

Polygon PoS chain is gaining momentum with significant activity in 2023 and the start of 2024. It was the second most popular chain for first-time developers after Ethereum. There was a significant growth in EVM L2 smart contracts, with Polygon PoS accounting for a large portion. The number of addresses swapping on Uniswap on Polygon PoS has doubled, and around 70% of onchain gaming development is associated with the Immutable and Polygon ecosystem.

SocialFi announced its focus on the Polygon ecosystem, welcoming @friendzone_pro to join early access to Friendzone and earn points. The platform will utilize the innovative B^2 Network powered by @alt_layer team. Visit for more details on the ecosystem of solution providers.

B² Network will allow projects to build Bitcoin rollups on Polygon CDK, fostering evolution, collaboration, and prosperity in the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Polygon announces integration with Astar zkEVM on their Aggregation Layer, creating a web of zk-secured Layer 2's for unified liquidity and scalability. The AggLayer aims to solve fragmentation in blockchain design by combining modular and monolithic paradigms. Aggregated blockchains will offer the benefits of both sovereignty and interconnected liquidity, with AggLayer v1 launching on mainnet in February.

Crypto Policy Bootcamps organized by Polygon Labs, Solana Foundation, fund_defi, and NEAR Foundation are expanding to Paris on March 15th and London on March 18th. Applications are open for those interested in crypto advocacy and shaping policy discourse.

Polygon Village has launched Village Startup Support, a program offering tailored support to select founders. The program provides immersive guidance, strategic support, 1:1 mentorship, and access to an elite network. After a rigorous selection process, 17 founders were chosen for the first cohort. The selected teams cover various areas, including tokenized investment strategies, blockchain gaming, NFT rentals, cross-border payments, and more.

Lens Protocol is introducing Open Actions, a feature that brings smart contracts into the feed, providing powerful development tooling.