As the Polygon network delves more into stablecoin payments and settlement infrastructure, the layer-2 blockchain recorded its first block-time decrease since inception, reducing the average block time by 250 ms to 1.75 seconds.
The most recent blocks on the network were generated in 1.75 seconds, according to Polygonscan. According to Lucca Martins, a software engineer at Polygon, the improvement allows the network to handle around 14% more payments per second, up to a theoretical maximum throughput of 3,260 TPS.
Network Speed Upgrade
Reduced network congestion and accompanying increases in transaction fees are critical for high-frequency use cases like payments, stablecoins, or decentralized finance (DeFi) trading, and shorter block times may assist clear transaction backlogs quicker.
Polygon is aiming to position itself for use cases that seek wider institutional adoption, such as private stablecoin payments, and this update is part of that endeavor. Polygon added a new wallet function on Tuesday that lets users privately route stablecoins via a shielded pool that is verified by zero-knowledge proofs.
In order to keep the Polygon (POL) token emissions at the intended 1% following the block time reduction, the update is part of the Polygon Improvement Proposal (PIP-86), a two-step move that aims to further cut block time to 1.5 seconds and scale down checkpoint rewards.
By making it possible to conceal senders, recipients, and quantities onchain and by implementing Know Your Transaction (KYT) screening and auditable files, Polygon hopes to attract more institutional customers with its new wallet functionality.
Polygon community lead Smokey said that the functionality provides more anonymity for firms using stablecoins for transactions. A number of major credit card companies have also merged with Polygon. Visa, the worldwide leader in payments, added support for Polygon Base, the Canton Network, Arc, and Tempo to its stablecoin pilot on April 29.