QuickSwap founder: L2s are the path to mass adoption

2 years ago

As Ethereum state prices rise, the concatenation that inspired Web3 is becoming gentrified, with precocious transaction costs pushing little affluent users onto competing blockchains oregon scaling solutions.

This means that galore usage cases are becoming unfeasible successful the proverbial layer-one downtown, and suburban neighborhoods are being developed to let for a cost-effective layer-two blockchain experience.

Since getting acquainted with Polygon astir the clip of its motorboat successful precocious 2019, Sameep Singhania has been an avid protagonist of projects built connected the protocol. In 2021, helium created QuickSwap, a decentralized speech (DEX) serving the needs of the budding Polygon ecosystem.

Singhania near a promising vocation arsenic a bundle developer successful 2017 to enactment arsenic a freelance developer, lone to find himself penning codification for an array of blockchain projects successful the DeFi and layer-two sector. Among the galore projects helium worked on, helium spent 18 months with blockchain e-commerce tract OpenBazaar, and served arsenic pb developer for DeFi speech ParaSwap.

Polygon is 1 layer-two solution built connected Ethereum, and it offers users little fees erstwhile transacting on-chain. QuickSwap is Polygon’s superior DEX and functions arsenic a bosom of the network.

A DEX for Polygon

After moving connected possibly dozens of projects connected Polygon from 2019 onward, Singhania “realized that to turn the Polygon ecosystem, we request a DEX.”

This was due to the fact that portion “99% of blockchain projects person a token,” listings connected fashionable exchanges are not casual to arrange, and galore users are not consenting to make an relationship astatine an obscure speech conscionable to commercialized a peculiar token that is not listed elsewhere. A DEX tin relation arsenic the cardinal marketplace quadrate of a blockchain network, giving its users entree to everything they request without having to task to different chain.

Singhania recalls being encouraged to make a DEX by Polygon’s co-founder, Sandeep Nailwal, who enactment him successful interaction with Roc Zacharias, a marketer with Lunar Digital Assets. “That’s however we acceptable up a squad — we had developers, we had a selling team, a cleanable mix, and we launched the app,” helium explains.

Polygon — antecedently called Matic Network, with MATIC remaining its ticker — is simply a layer-two blockchain. That means it’s a blockchain built connected apical of an existing chain. Whereas Lighting is an illustration of a layer-two, oregon L2, built connected Bitcoin, Polygon is built upon Ethereum. As a result, Polygon-based tokens tin beryllium sent to Ethereum addresses, whose users tin retrieve them simply by switching to the Polygon web connected a DApp specified arsenic MetaMask.

The oft-stated vantage of L2 solutions is that they are much nimble than their behemoth parents, allowing for faster and cheaper transactions. With Bitcoin transactions costing implicit $10 and taking astir 10 minutes for the archetypal of six confirmations, it is wide that transacting connected the genitor concatenation is not applicable for mundane transactions successful El Salvador, for example, wherever laborers tin gain arsenic small arsenic $100 per month. Instead, Salvadorans usage Bitcoin Lighting, whose transactions outgo arsenic small arsenic 1 satoshi.

The transaction costs connected the Ethereum web are overmuch higher, making it “unusable by the tiny users” who are efficaciously priced out of utilizing DeFi solutions oregon decentralized exchanges similar Uniswap. In January 2021, a “normal Ethereum transaction connected Uniswap outgo astir $100,” Singhania recalls.

“If I’m a mean idiosyncratic and I privation to bash a tiny trade, I cannot bash it connected Ethereum — the mean transaction size connected Uniswap is determination astir $50,000.”

“Polygon is determination to standard Ethereum,” Singhania says, which has its pros and cons. He further explains that portion “Ethereum is the astir unafraid solution retired there,” it comes astatine the outgo of precocious state fees and comparatively dilatory transaction times.

That’s not precisely desirable for an system — smaller denominations of currency beryllium due to the fact that not everything tin beryllium done with $100 bills. L2s are the reply for allowing smaller transactions connected existing networks similar Bitcoin and Ethereum. On Polygon, users tin speech Ethereum-based tokens, NFTs, and interact with astute contracts cheaply.

📣LIVE NOW: @mcuban, @hackapreneur, @CryptoRocky, @AaveAave, & @0xPolygonspeak connected Polygon Power Hour!

– @mcuban "People are astir apt a full batch much progressive connected Aave and QuickSwap connected Polygon, than Ethereum L1 versions" – Mark Cubanhttps://t.co/99rGSoa04U pic.twitter.com/ySjxu049td

— QuickSwap (@QuickswapDEX) June 15, 2021

The pressing request for L2s is comparatively new, due to the fact that transaction costs person risen importantly successful the past 2 years on with the blockchain idiosyncratic base. On QuickSwap, transactions betwixt the implicit 23,000 disposable pairs outgo lone a fewer cents. “You tin fundamentally usage QuickSwap to commercialized immoderate ERC-20 token which has liquidity and exists connected the Polygon network,” Singhania says. Fees are people paid successful MATIC.

Considering the savings, switching integer assets from Ethereum to Polygon seems similar an evident solution for galore users. However, immoderate activities, similar the trading of six-figure NFTs, stay decisively distant from the Polygonian suburb. Similarly, Singhania acknowledges that those making million-dollar trades person little to summation from Polygon.

There are 2 superior ways to determination assets to Polygon, according to Singhania: speech withdrawals and bridges. “A batch of large exchanges similar Binance enactment deposits and withdrawals connected the Polygon network,” which means that the Ethereum web tin perchance beryllium avoided entirely. As for assets already connected Ethereum alternatively of connected a centralized exchange, they tin beryllium bridged, which is efficaciously an inter-blockchain transfer.

“Both L1 and L2 applications person their ain pros and cons and they some person their usage cases — present it’s up to the idiosyncratic to take which level amended suits their needs”

Learning the ropes

Singhania, 31, grew up successful India’s capital, New Delhi. He had an aboriginal passionateness for coding since precocious school, describing the process of coding “like magic happening,” whereby “wonderful stuff” could beryllium created with conscionable a fewer lines of code. He followed his passionateness successful 2008 to JSS Academy of Technical Education, connected the outskirts of the capital, wherever helium completed a bachelor successful machine subject and served arsenic a field IBM Ambassador.

Graduating successful 2013, helium began his vocation successful bundle investigating and automation astatine Dell, but soon realized that helium wanted to “focus much connected development” alternatively of remaining a bundle tester, a relation with little opportunities for originative input, for the remainder of his career. He made the power to bundle developer successful 2015 astatine Drishti-soft Solutions, wherever helium worked connected lawsuit work bundle and organized web improvement grooming sessions.

Still not rather settled successful the relation and successful hunt of “something wherever I don’t get bored,” Singhania switched implicit to bundle freelancing successful 2017. “When you bash freelancing, you get to cognize a batch of radical and larn astir a batch of caller industries and domains,” helium recalls, noting that helium was yet funny successful his work. One of these caller industries was blockchain, which helium had antecedently heard astir portion moving arsenic a developer.

“I again came crossed this blockchain and Bitcoin worldly portion searching for a project, truthful I decided to springiness it immoderate much clip and bash immoderate much probe — to fig retired ‘what is this Bitcoin? What is this blockchain?’”

By mid-2018, Singhania was a full-time blockchain technologist for a fig of projects, including Akila Labs, Bitgrit, and Toptal, wherever helium developed ERC-20 tokens and astute contracts for things similar airdrops, token vesting and crowdsales. Notable among this was 18 months spent moving with the decentralized marketplace startup OpenBazaar, “which was trying to physique thing precise akin to Amazon — but connected blockchain” utilizing the peer-to-peer InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), Singhania recalls with excitement.

Compounding knowledge

“When DeFi was conscionable starting” successful 2018, Singhania worked arsenic the pb developer and archetypal worker of ParaSwap, an aggregator DApp which brings unneurotic aggregate DEXs truthful that users tin seamlessly commercialized cryptocurrency pairs which bash not beryllium unneurotic connected immoderate exchange. All of this trading is done done Singhania’s astute contracts, which “handle millions of dollars everyday,” helium says proudly, adding that the level saw 3.3 cardinal dollars successful measurement successful the past month.

“That task allowed maine to marque an introduction into DeFi — it fundamentally introduced maine to everything retired determination similar Uniswap, Bancor, Kyber Network, due to the fact that to physique ParaSwap we needed to larn everything astir DeFi.”

With DeFi nether his belt, Singhania encountered layer-two blockchain solutions portion moving connected a dice crippled for 1 of his clients, a blockchain casino.

He soon realized that “it was excessively costly to bash it connected Ethereum” — adjacent though 2019 state fees were a fraction of what they are today. Something caller was needed, and Singhania “started exploring for layer-two solutions,” helium recounts. He archetypal built his dice crippled connected the present defunct layer-one Loom Network which unopen down soon thereafter, Singhania scouted retired Matic Network, which was successful precocious 2019 “very caller and their mainnet was not launched.” Working with the Matic Network team, present called Polygon, Singhania got the dice crippled up and running, becoming acquainted with the Polygon web successful the process.

Ethereum dice games are not the archetypal to endure from scaling issues. Erik Voorhees’ SatoshiDICE, for example, was launched successful 2012 and soon accounted for implicit fractional of Bitcoin transactions. With transaction prices increasing, making tiny on-chain bets connected Bitcoin’s main furniture has since go impractical.

.@QuickswapDEX has shown tremendous maturation connected Polygon PoS & has go the biggest Polygon-native decentralized exertion successful presumption of users, TVL, & volume.

We’re offering them $1m successful liquidity mining incentives to fortify the platform’s liquidity

🌐:https://t.co/Z3fb8BOCmw pic.twitter.com/gHN9ZL89U6

— Polygon | $MATIC 💜 (@0xPolygon) September 30, 2021

Onboarding the adjacent generation

Now that Polygon is simply a low-cost enactment to L1 and has a reliable DEX, Singhania believes that the adjacent measurement successful scaling the furniture is to amended the idiosyncratic acquisition successful bid to marque it user-friendly for millions of radical who are caller to cryptocurrency. As QuickSwap is simply a cardinal constituent of the Polygon ecosystem, overmuch of the work falls to his shoulders.

“The mode that things are designed close now, it’s not for a novice — it’s for a well-trained crypto user.”

In Singhania’s view, the terms of MATIC tin beryllium expected to travel the adoption of the Polygon layer. If the squad continues to execute, “it is conscionable a substance of time” arsenic to erstwhile prices mightiness statesman a dependable climb. One happening is clear: Singhania is nary longer bored with his enactment and is “not doing immoderate benignant of freelancing due to the fact that I don’t person time.”

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