Overview of Polygon's partnerships: Is this crypto’s mainstream adoption moment?

Is anyone doing more than Polygon to get the next billion people into cryptocurrencies? Bear market or not, the Ethereum Layer-2 has been signing deals left and right with the world’s most valuable brands. The visibility these deals bring to the industry as a whole is invaluable. The number of new users it attracts to the Polygon network is massive, and the network effect it triggers could be crucial. More users mean more transactions, which means more interest in Polygon’s native currency $MATIC and ultimately a stronger network

The L2 solution began in 2017 as the Matic Network. Focused on becoming the gateway to Ethereum, the Mumbai-based startup rebranded to Polygon in 2021. Since then, they have onboarded real-world businesses into the virtual world of DeFi, NFTs, and other smart contract-based technologies. Polygon’s hands-on approach paid off and already, they’re the go-to blockchain for brands like Disney, Nike, Mastercard, Mercedes-Benz, and DraftKings among others.

The convenience of their tools and the low cost for users are attractive, sure. However, Polygon’s main driver is the fact that the blockchain attained carbon-negative status last year. In today’s climate, brands need to align themselves with the ESG agenda and appease the NFTs-are-bad-for-the-environment crowd. These factors combined made Polygon the blockchain of choice for serious business everywhere. And mind the network effects again, because once Meta, the NFL, Adobe, JPMorgan, and Starbucks decide to work with a specific platform, that’s exactly what the brands that follow are going to do. 

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Polygon partnerships with big brands

The Polygon team has been working overtime, this list is ridiculous. There are no blockchains that come even close to them in star power.

• The fantasy sports giant DraftKings is building an NFT marketplace on Polygon. Sure, they will sell sports-related NFTs, but what else will an innovative company like DraftKings build? Since the Polygon Studios brand is part of the deal, many believe that blockchain games are in the works.
• For their part, Adobe partnered with Polygon to build an NFT marketplace for Behance. The portfolio-focused social media platform for designers and artists will allow them to mint and sell their own NFTs. 
• Over at the Premier League, Liverpool F.C. launched its LFC Heroes Club NFT collection on the Polygon network.
• I extensively covered the “Starbucks Odyssey” loyalty program. The Polygon-based solution will join “the ubiquitous coffee shops’ massively successful gift card and loyalty programs, mixed with the 25 million people addicted to using the Starbucks mobile app. That translates into more than $1 billion in stored value. And now, you can add NFTs with real-life utility and rewards to the pot.”
• In that same article, I touched on Reddit’s massively successful NFT marketplace that doesn’t even mention NFTs. “Reddit managed to sell the product to that unfavorable audience by avoiding all crypto jargon and calling them “blockchain-backed collectible avatars.” For Redditors and users, wallets are called “vaults.” At first, all the pieces were reasonably priced. Between $10 and $100 a pop.”
• Not a partnership per se, since Polygon did not claim involvement of any sort, but former President Donald Trump launched his inaugural NFT collection on their blockchain, which sold out in less than a day.
• The NFL and Ticketmaster recently partnered to offer NFTs of “Virtual Commemorative Tickets” to fans who witnessed selected games. This is a pilot program with which the league is testing how the football crowd reacts to digital collectibles. 
• The organization’s partnership with Meta might be the biggest of them all. The social-media giant chose Polygon to power Instagram’s NFT needs. “Instagram users will soon be able to use the site to mint, showcase and sell digital collections powered by non-fungible token (NFTs) on Polygon, giving creators a new way to engage with and monetize their fan communities.”

Interesting projects over at Polygon

• Nike is currently developing its own NFT marketplace on Polygon. The project’s name is .Swoosh, and the platform will serve as the nerve center for all of Nike’s activity around NFTs, virtual apparel, and other digital products.
• A Mastercard initiative, the credit card company recently launched a program for assisting new musical acts in navigating the treacherous but potentially profitable Web3 world. According to Polygon’s own blog, “a first-of-its-kind curriculum will teach the artists how to build (and own) their brand through Web3 experiences like minting NFTs, representing themselves in virtual worlds and establishing an engaged community.”
• The Mercedes-Benz initiative is even more compelling. According to the Polygon blog, “Acentrik, a decentralized data marketplace developed by Mercedes-Benz, is leading the charge in blockchain adoption by enterprises by deploying on Polygon in August. Acentrik is using tokenization of data assets to facilitate data sharing and monetization for enterprises across domains.”
• Disney flipped the script on Polygon and invited their representatives to their accelerator program focused on NFTs, AR, and AI. The organization went through the program and recently announced, “We’re developing a proof of concept for EXCLUSIVE digital collectibles to recognize Disney employees during special occasions.”

Polygon partnerships with financial giants

• Once anti-bitcoin investment bank JPMorgan Chase recently partnered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore to launch Project Guardian on Polygon. The program’s aim is to serve as a bridge for tokenized assets to travel across borders.
• One of the biggest online payment processors, Stripe will use Polygon to pay users of their Stripe Connect solution. A pilot program is currently active on Twitter, “With crypto payouts, a select group of creators on Twitter—our first partner—will be able to use cryptocurrency-based rails to receive their earnings from Twitter.”
• The commission-free platform for stock trading, Robinhood, recently doubled down on its crypto efforts and released a wallet on the Polygon network. According to the blog post, “Robinhood Wallet users will be able to trade and swap tokens, get crypto rewards and connect to decentralized apps (dApps) immediately upon downloading the beta of the app. All of this while paying no network fees.” 

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In Conclusion

These lists are impressive, to say the least. Polygon is working with everybody under the sun. It could be argued that the blockchain’s differentiating factor is the plug-and-play Web3 integration they offer to normal businesses. And don’t forget what Ryan Wyatt, Polygon Studios’s CEO, recently told Decrypt: 

“The gaming and esports veteran hinted that Polygon has big plans in the works for Web3 gaming, as well, and that some of the previous game announcements have been overshadowed by its big brand partnerships—a ‘champagne problem,’ in his view.”

Besides that, the organization is not forgetting smaller players. They recently partnered with Game7, a Web3 Gaming DAO, to give grants to game builders. Also with Flipkart, an Indian e-commerce giant, to create the Blockchain-eCommerce Centre of Excellence. And with “Web3 infrastructure platform Kaleido to give businesses the power to build custom blockchains tailored to their needs.” 

In 2023, expecting big announcements from the Polygon camp is a safe bet.

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Buy/ No Buy Recommendation

As far as we can see, Polygon-based partnerships and the up and coming STOs may prove to be the most interesting crypto trends taking shape in 2023. Does that mean that $MATIC is going to increase in price? Not necessarily. The price has responded positively to every major Polygon announcement, but overall, $MATIC is following a similar bear market path as all other cryptocurrencies.

If you think that means that the major alliances are not priced in yet, consider buying $MATIC.