Building the Future of Web3 With Polygon Blockchain

1/ Sandeep Nailwal @sandeepnailwal, COO & Co-founder of Polygon 0xPolygon, joins Heslin Kim @HeslinKim, CGO & Founding Team member at Gevulot @gevulot_network to discuss building the future of Web3 with the Polygon blockchain.

2/ From its inception, Polygon's mission has been clear: to create a network that is infinitely scalable, able to handle billions of daily transactions, and bring Web3 to the scale of the internet.

3/ Nailwal reveals that Polygon has invested nearly $1B in zero-knowledge (ZK) technology, establishing the strongest ZK research and engineering teams in the space. Polygon was the first to create a fully functional ZK rollup.

4/ Introducing Polygon's Aggregation Layer (AGGLayer): a protocol that allows anyone to create their own chains using Polygon CDK. These chains are integrated and feel like a single chain to the end user, similar to how the internet feels unified despite its underlying complexity.

5/ The AggLayer aims to connect potentially thousands of chains, providing a seamless experience for users. Nailwal draws parallels to the internet, where users join from various locations but experience a unified network.

6/ Polygon's AggLayer has already attracted numerous projects, including major layer-1 blockchains, exchanges launching their own chains, and global brands in Southeast Asia. Enterprises are also leveraging CDK chains for regulated, trustless solutions.

7/ Nailwal emphasizes the importance of trustlessness over decentralization. ZK solutions provide trustlessness, allowing users to exit assets or data if needed, while businesses can choose their level of decentralization based on regulatory and compliance requirements.

8/ Polygon ZKVM chain, Polygon PoS chain, OKX chain, and Japan's leading blockchain, Astar Network, are all connected to the AggLayer. Many more integrations are lined up in the coming weeks, showcasing the significant traction of the CDK stack.

9/ Nailwal believes that the AggLayer architecture aligns closely with Vitalik Buterin's vision of a credibly neutral interoperability layer. Polygon is working to make the AggLayer more neutral while ensuring value accrues back to the Polygon community.

10/ The end goal is to abstract away the underlying blockchain complexity for users. They should simply experience a "trustless internet" where they have ownership of their money and data, without worrying about which specific chain they are using.

11/ Nailwal sees Web3 as enabling "trustless compute," similar to how cloud computing provides "trustful compute." Web3 will support use cases across various sectors, including travel, education, real estate, finance, and media, where users demand more ownership and trustlessness.

12/ Polygon's PoS chain is set to become a ZK-proven chain (validium), reducing the need for a large number of validators. The AggLayer, however, will benefit from massive decentralization and an increasing number of validators.

13/ Nailwal introduces Sentient, an open-source AI protocol closely connected to his vision. Sentient aims to create a decentralized marketplace for AI models, with a novel concept called "model loyalty" that ensures monetization for model creators while keeping the models open.

14/ Led by Pramod Vishwanath, a Princeton computer science professor and co-inventor of 4G, Sentient combines cutting-edge AI and cryptography research to foster an open-source AI ecosystem that benefits both creators and users.

15/ Looking ahead, Nailwal is dedicated to growing the Polygon ecosystem over the next 5-10 years. He believes Polygon will become a dominant player in the Web3 stack, particularly in the aggregation layer, connecting various blockchain ecosystems.

16/ Nailwal affirms that Polygon, with its AggLayer, represents the "ZK endgame" for scalability. In the coming months, the industry will witness the true potential of Polygon's infinitely scalable, unified blockchain ecosystem.

[Commentary: The fireside chat highlights Polygon's significant strides in ZK technology and its vision for a scalable, user-friendly Web3 future. The AggLayer represents a major milestone in blockchain interoperability and scalability.]