Polygon, the leading layer-2 network on Ethereum, is already a booming ecosystem across multiple Web3-native verticals such as gaming and decentralized finance. However, its scalability advantages are already being leveraged to provide a plethora of real-world use-cases.

Below are just a small handful of these implementations that demonstrate the Polygon ecosystem’s far-reaching implications, and the ways in which it is, even now, being used to further transparency, equality, and much more, in a global setting. 

Education: Soulbound Degrees in Mongolia

Soulbound tokens (non-transferable NFTs), which are themselves a novel blockchain implementation, are breaking into the global education sector, using Polygon’s network.

The National University of Mongolia is now providing graduates with their diplomas in the form of soulbound tokens. This comes as part of a wider initiative by the NUM to launch a ‘Meta University’, in collaboration with several other organizations. 

Using soulbound tokens to denote educational milestones provides a fraud-proof and immutable way of delivering and proving academic qualifications.

Anti-Corruption: Police Accountability in India

Police scrutiny and accountability has remained a poignant issue for some time now.

Using Polygon’s foundational framework, Police in Uttar Pradesh, home to the Taj Mahal, are recording public complaints on the blockchain, as part of an initiative to further transparency in law enforcement and reduce corruption and inefficiency. 

By leveraging the immutability of Polygon’s network, complaints can remain free from manipulation and interference. This revolutionary use of blockchain technology was first announced in 2022.

Consumer Finance: Switzerland’s Crypto Hub

In 2022, the Swiss city of Lugano announced its intentions to become the crypto capital of Europe. As part of this ambition, Lugano further announced plans to launch its own local stablecoin, LVGA, using Polygon to ensure the fast, efficient, and secure running of the token.

Residents will be able to use LVGA “to pay their annual taxes, parking tickets, public services and student tuition fees”.

Lugano further intends to establish a $116 million fund to accelerate the development of blockchain-based businesses in the geography and it seems likely that many of these start-ups will also look to use Polygon to take advantage of both its efficiency and its existing ecosystem.

Traditional Finance: JPMorgan x DeFi

Traditional financial institutions have historically proved hesitant around adopting blockchain technology.

However, in late 2022, despite criticisms of the industry from its CEO, financial-giant JPMorgan executed its first cross-border cryptocurrency transaction and it did so on the Polygon network. 

The transaction was associated with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and involved tokenized versions of the Japanese Yen (JPY), and the Singapore Dollar (SGD).

What is Polygon? 

Polygon is the largest of all Ethereum layer-2 networks and its purpose is to improve the scalability and efficiency associated with Ethereum itself.

Polygon boasts a total value locked of nearly $1 billion at time of writing, according to data from DefiLlama, and its native token, MATIC, holds a market capitalization of approximately $6.8 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

For a list of real-world use cases published via Polygon’s blog, click here.