Welcome to the 12th Alpha newsletter. We curate alpha for you. That’s it; that’s the newsletter.
We used to think of Polygon (formerly Matic Network) as just an Ethereum side-chain. Well, much has changed and there is good reason to believe that Polygon is becoming one of the greatest Ethereum L2 scaling solutions.
The latest fundamentals
The major news from Polygon’s Zk-Day was that Mir Protocol has joined the Polygon suite of rollups. $400 million is a mega acquisition and puts Polygon at the forefront of scaling Ethereum using Zk-Rollups.
![Twitter avatar for @0xPolygon](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/0xPolygon.jpg)
You can dive deeper into the tech here.
![Twitter avatar for @mirprotocol](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/mirprotocol.jpg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,h_314,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F217df458-b3cd-4cbd-9c5b-f6d2843fbcc9_420x420.png)
There has been an increasing narrative on Twitter that many monolithic layer 1s will eventually pivot to become an Ethereum rollup.
![Twitter avatar for @RyanSAdams](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/RyanSAdams.jpg)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FFGMRt6JWUAUAoL8.jpg)
This is a nice graphic that illustrates Polygon’s thesis and framework; and showcases the various different chains they will have aimed at scaling Ethereum.
$MATIC adoption continues and the metrics are looking better and better each week.
![Twitter avatar for @RaphaelSignal](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/RaphaelSignal.jpg)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FFGRww0HX0AkRHBZ.png)
Uniswap is about to deploy on Polygon.
![Twitter avatar for @haydenzadams](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/haydenzadams.jpg)
![Twitter avatar for @MihailoBjelic](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_40/MihailoBjelic.jpg)
170M $MATIC is being staked by the co-founder. He must be confident.
![Twitter avatar for @sandeepnailwal](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/sandeepnailwal.jpg)
And it’s a sign that Polygon has the right type of founders.
![Twitter avatar for @cryptoMaxi420](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/cryptoMaxi420.jpg)
The first $MATIC ETP has been launched.
![Twitter avatar for @CoinDesk](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/CoinDesk.jpg)
$MATIC has been one of the strongest performers during this turbulent period for the market. They do say you should buy the alts showing the most strength in market downturns.
![Twitter avatar for @coingecko](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/coingecko.jpg)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FFGX_V22VUAElkcY.jpg)
A key point here is revenue and bridge inflows are on the rise. This suggests much more activity is happening on Polygon.
![Twitter avatar for @RaphaelSignal](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/RaphaelSignal.jpg)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FFGGj-1fXoAUq-0j.png)
The growth in VRF requests on Polygon is something to take note of. This will be linked to gaming, NFT or lottery applications.
![Twitter avatar for @link_hound](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/link_hound.jpg)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FFGNdz9GVgAApKoC.png)
A very cool pilot project on Polygon involves the NFL!
Another development that has gone slightly under the radar.
![Twitter avatar for @UmbraCash](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/UmbraCash.jpg)
If you want to go deeper with some more fundamental analysis. BillyBobBaghold has a thread for you.
![Twitter avatar for @BillyBobBaghold](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/BillyBobBaghold.jpg)
TA ideas
Imagining a run with the Coinbase NFT marketplace launch as the climax…
Another idea.
![Twitter avatar for @TechDev_52](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/TechDev_52.jpg)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FFFVcCp3X0AU8828.jpg)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FFFVcCp3X0AY6xAG.jpg)
But, wait, is there a catch?
Because we don’t want to just live in an echo chamber, it’s important to recognise different opinions. Here is another thread and perspective on why the acquisition might not be as bullish, at least for the price, as you might think.
![Twitter avatar for @adamscochran](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/adamscochran.jpg)
![Twitter avatar for @TheBlock__](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_40/TheBlock__.jpg)
We like the memes
Like the Dark Knight Trilogy and a fan of Polygon? This one is for you…
![Twitter avatar for @0xkhan_](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/0xkhan_.jpg)
And that’s your alpha.