Cardano vs Polygon (Matic): Which One Is A Better Investment?

What Is Cardano?

Cardano is an open-source, decentralised network designed to increase security and sustainability for developing and executing smart contracts and dApps.

Cardano follows a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, uses Haskell programming language (which is the basis for Plutus we’ll refer to later) for smart contracts, and has the coin ADA as its native cryptocurrency.

Cardano comes with various features for developers and users to make it stand out. Let’s elaborate on them in the following section.

Read more: Cardano vs Ethereum: Which One Is A Better Long-Term Investment?

Cardano Features

The following features are among the key features of the Cardano platform.

• PoS Consensus Mechanism: To avoid the problems caused by Proof-of-Work mechanisms, Cardano uses a PoS algorithm, which is more sustainable and energy-efficient.
• Layered Architecture: The layered architecture of Cardano lets it separate value accounting from smart contracts’ processes and performance, which results in the platform’s increased flexibility and scalability.
• Formal Verification: To prove code correctness, Cardano uses the formal verification method, which minimises bugs and vulnerabilities.
• Plutus: Cardano uses the Plutus programming language, which is based on the Haskell language. Plutus is used because of increased security and efficiency.
• Interoperability: Cardano strives to increase its interoperability to transfer data and assets among various blockchains.
• Governance: Thanks to its decentralised governance system, Cardano allows the community to participate in decision-making.

Now that we know the basics of Cardano, let’s learn about Polygon and its features and start comparing these two famous blockchain platforms.

Read more: Solana Vs Cardano: Which One Is Built For The Future?

What Is Polygon (Matic)?

Polygon (formerly known as Matic Network) is a decentralised platform developed to provide solutions for Ethereum scaling issues.

Polygon tries to increase transactions’ speed, security, and fees on the Ethereum blockchain. This platform uses a PoS algorithm to process transactions faster than Ethereum.

Polygon is an infrastructure for dApps and a solution for high gas fees when the Ethereum network tries to process multiple transactions.

Polygon’s native cryptocurrency - MATIC - is used to pay transaction fees. To learn more about Polygon (MATIC), follow me to read the next section.

Read more: What Is the Next Cryptocurrency to Explode in 2023?

Polygon (Matic) Features

The following list gives the main features of the Polygon (Matic) platform.

• Scalability: Using a layer-2 scaling solution, Polygon can process transactions faster and cheaper than the Ethereum network.
• Interoperability: Since Polygon is compatible with the Ethereum network, it can transfer data and assets between the two networks seamlessly.
• Security: Polygon’s security is maintained by a network of validators and a PoS consensus mechanism.
• Low Fees: Polygon charges lower transaction fees than Ethereum, so more users are willing to use it.
• Accessibility: Polygon lets developers create and deploy dApps and is therefore accessible to many developers.

Now, it’s time to focus on Caradano vs Polygon and learn their similarities and differences to make smart investment decisions.

The Key Differences Between Cardano vs Polygon (Matic)

The following table depicts Cadano vs Polygon (Matic), focusing on their main differences. But detailed comparisons will follow the table, which will include the two projects’

• Price History,
• ROI,
• ATL,
• ATH,
• Consensus Mechanism,
• Architecture,
• NFT,
• Fees,
• The Latest Developments, and
• Price Prediction.

Cardano vs Polygon (Matic): Price History

One of the main factors giving you the perspective and the big picture about these two projects is comparing their price performance. Why is it a key factor?

Because it shows the highest and lowest price levels and the range of change, which can be used to predict the future performance of Cardano and Polygon.

• First Trade: Cardano started trading on Oct 18, 2017, at $0.02684535. Polygon’s first trade dates back to Apr 27, 2019, at $0.00547046.
• First Significant Spike: Cardano experienced its first significant spike on Jan 04, 2018, when it was traded at $1.18. Polygon saw its first eye-catching uprise on May 18, 2021.
• May 2019: It was the time when Cardano was experiencing a steady downtrend after its early spikes. On May 10, Polygon recorded its lowest level at $0.00314376.
• January 2020: Cardano experienced minor highs and lows and was traded at $0.04320534 on Jan 21, 2020. Meanwhile, Polygon was traded at around $0.02876205 during the same days.
• July 2020: Cardano saw small spikes and reached $0.123990 on Jul 20, 2020. At the same time, Polygon was going slightly down and was traded at $0.02160112.
• January 2021: Cardano saw the first signs of a spike after a long time and reached a trading price of $0.376312 on Jan 21, 2021. Polygon was in a similar condition, hoping to reach better trading prices, and was traded at $0.04027524 on Jan 30, 2021.
• September 2021: A series of uptrends started for Cardano coin (ADA) in January and led to its highest price level of $3.09 recorded on Sep 02, 2021. In those days, Polygon was also recording higher trading prices despite fluctuations. On Sep 03, 2021, each Polygon coin (MATIC) was traded at $1.45.
• December 2021: Since its highest price level, Cardano went on a downward journey and was traded at $1.39 on Dec 09, 2021. However, Polygon experienced better days in December 2021 and even hit its highest price level of $2.92 on Dec 27, 2021. 
• March 2022: Cardano’s downtrend continued and recorded its lowest trading price on Mar 13, 2020, at $0.01925275. Polygon experienced a downward trend since its highest level and was traded at $1.68 on Mar 31, 2022.
• September 2022: ADA rose slightly since its lowest level and traded at $0.447301 on Sep 26, 2022. After March 2022, Polygon started going down, and on Sep 26, 2022, each MATIC was priced at $0.740411.
• Today: Now, on Feb 06, 2023, each ADA is traded at $0.391543, while each MATIC is priced at $1.20.

All in all, ADA had a higher price level than MATIC. But the price is not all, as we need more financial factors to be able to make a smart choice between Cardano and Polygon.

Read more: Algorand vs Cardano: Which One Is Better and Faster?

Cardano vs Polygon (Matic): ROI, ATL, and ATH

Return on Investment (ROI) estimates the profitability of a cryptocurrency in various time frames. The ROI percentage can be negative or positive, indicating that the investment has led to loss or gain.

The following table compares Cardano vs Polygon regarding ROI in different time frames to help us understand how they’ve performed so far and what we can expect in the future.

Although ROI shows the lucrativeness of cryptocurrencies, it’s not the only thing we can rely on. To get a better understanding of a project’s financial magnitude, we need to know its ATL and ATH.

• Cardano ATL: $0.01925275 recorded on Mar 13, 2020, which is 1938.4% lower than its current price ($0.391943).
• Polygon ATL: $0.00314376 recorded on May 10, 2019, which is 37976.3% lower than its current price ($1.20).
• Cardano ATH: $3.09 recorded on Sep 02, 2021, which is 87.3% higher than its current price ($0.391943).
• Polygon ATH: $2.92 recorded on Dec 27, 2021, which is 59% higher than its current price ($0.391943).

As mentioned above, one side of analysing Cardano vs Polygon is financial factors. But the other side includes consensus mechanisms, architecture, NFT, fees, and the latest developments, which we’ll go through in the following sections!

Learn more: Sushiswap vs Uniswap: An In-Depth Review

Cardano vs Polygon (Matic): Consensus Mechanism

Both Cardano and Polygon (Matic) platforms use a PoS consensus mechanism.

In this consensus algorithm, users stake the native coins of the platform, which entitles them to some rights.

Learn more about staking: What Are The Different Types Of Staking? Which One Is The Best?

They get to create new blocks, validate transactions, and receive staking rewards by helping the platform’s processes. To learn the differences between PoS and PoW, read Consensus Mechanisms: A Matter Of PoW And PoS.

Cardano and Polygon (Matic) use PoS to

• secure their networks,
• improve efficiency and sustainability, and
• streamline accessing dApps and smart contracts.

Read more: The 10 Most Scalable Blockchains With The Fastest Transaction

Cardano vs Polygon (Matic): Architecture

As Cardano and Polygon have different goals and aim at varying targets, they have different architectures. Let’s see how they differ.

• Cardano is an independent blockchain network aimed at providing a secure and scalable infrastructure for dApps and smart contracts.
• Its modular architecture makes it open to future upgrades and improvements in a backwards-compatible way.
• Using a formal verification process, Cardano maximises the security and reliability of its smart contracts.
• Polygon (Matic) is a Layer 2 scaling solution on top of the Ethereum blockchain, not a standalone blockchain platform.
• Relying on Ethereum for speed and security, Polygon provides faster and more cost-effective transactions for dApps.
• Polygon serves its users with a PoS algorithm and Ethereum's structure, and being compatible with Ethereum lets it transfer data and assets seamlessly.

Comparing the two platforms, we’ll see that Cardano is an independent blockchain network with a modular architecture, while Polygon (Matic) is built on top of the Ethereum blockchain as a Layer 2 scaling solution.

Both architectures are secure and scalable for dApps and smart contracts but offer different services.

Cardano vs Polygon (Matic): NFT

Cardano and Polygon support NFT transactions but with some differences. The following table shows which project does better in each category.

As the above table indicates, we can’t say only one of these two projects is better regarding NFT transactions. In this category, everything depends on your preferences and priorities.

Learn more: The Best Cardano NFT Marketplaces In 2023 By Fee And Volume

Cardano vs Polygon (Matic): Fees

Cardano rewards participants for providing computational resources to validate transactions. The fees on Cardano are dynamic, meaning that they can change based on network demand.

Polygon has lower fees than Cardano, as it uses sharding and requires fewer computational resources to validate transactions.

Cardano vs Polygon (Matic): The Last developments

As any other crypto project under the limelight, Cardano and Polygon strive to improve their features and services to attract more users. Let’s see how these two projects have evolved recently.

Cardano Latest Developments

• Cardano has recently released the Mary hard fork, which introduces a new governance model and natively supports NFTs.
• Cardano is developing Project Catalyst, a decentralised governance system to let ADA stakeholders propose and vote on network upgrades and developments.

Polygon Latest Developments

• Polygon (Matic) has increased the number of dApps, and several high-profile projects are among the ones recently joining it.
• Polygon is trying to implement new security measures to protect against “51% attacks” and scams.

Now that we’ve considered almost everything about Cardano vs Polygon so far, it’s time to look into the future and see what price growths crypto experts predict for Cardano and Polygon.

Cardano vs Polygon (Matic): Price Prediction

It's no secret that myriads of crypto enthusiasts check price predictions for their favourite coins to get a general idea of the cryptocurrency’s future price performance.

The following table summarises the price predictions for Cardano and Polygon from 2030 to 2030. Remember that these numbers are not 100% reliable as they are predictions based on the previous and current performance of ADA and MATIC.

Polygon (Matic) vs Cardano: Which One Is Better?

As you may have learned by now, there is no one perfect crypt project in the market. Each project comes with pros and cons, and smart investors choose the ones that best suit their needs.

All in all, our Cardano vs Polygon comparison shows that for those who prioritise security and community, Cardano can be a better choice.

However, if someone’s looking for fast transaction processing times and lower fees, Polygon has a lot to say. Also, price predictions expect Polygon to reach higher peaks than Cardano.

Read more: 10 Best Free Crypto Screeners in 2023

Summary

This article gave a thorough review of Cardano vs Polygon, comparing their price history, ROI, ATL, ATH, consensus mechanism, architecture, NFT, fees, the latest developments, and price prediction.

Needless to say, you need to do your own research before making any investment decisions, and to conduct this research, you can fully rely on Cryptologist to find all you need in one place.

FAQ

You can find answers to the most frequently asked questions about Cardano vs Polygon in the following subsections.

Which Coin Is Better Matic or Cardano?

The answer to this question relies heavily on your needs and preferences. Cardano is more secure and has a more active community, while Matic (Polygon) is faster and more cost-effective.

Can Polygon Hit $5?

Crypto experts predict that Polygon can hit $5 in 2026.

Does ADA Have A Future?

ADA ranks #8 in market cap rankings and is backed by an active community. Many experts believe that ADA can have a bright future in the coming years.