Polygon, an Ethereum scaling platform, today announced the addition of fiat payment onramps for its network, thanks to a new partnership with Alchemy Pay.
Alchemy Pay will create a bridge between fiat and crypto payments by embedding into the Polygon Network, enabling any Polygon-based protocol to set up a fiat on-ramp. Additionally, the move will simplify DeFi app payments on e-commerce platforms, such as Shopify and other networks.
More than 4,000 hosted apps within Polygon’s DeFi ecosystem will now be able to enact transactions on their DeFi apps via direct fiat on-ramps to traditional financial payment platforms like Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and multiple local payment channels.
Currently, Alchemy Pay handles $5M in daily transactions, mostly from Asia and Europe. A higher volume of U.S. transactions is foreseen after Shopify completes integration with Polygon by the end of 2021.
“DeFi protocols have been flourishing but challenges with Ethereum’s usability at a global scale have slowed development. Scaling solutions are vital to DeFi’s ability to go mainstream. Polygon is already solving the problem of Ethereum’s slow and costly transactions, and now thanks to Alchemy Pay, we can provide an essential gateway between fiat and crypto transactions. This development opens up new capital inroads that will propel users of polygon’s DeFi ecosystem onto the next level in their commercial development.”
– Sandeep Nailwal, Co-Founder of Polygon
As a full-stack scaling platform, Polygon has become a leading solution in reducing congestion on Ethereum. In September, the number of daily active users on Polygon regularly surpassed those on Ethereum. Yet, rather than being a competitor to Ethereum, Polygon facilitates activity on Ethereum.
Still, DeFi advocates acknowledge that Ethereum needs to find ways to accept fiat into the ecosystem. The network’s ability to manage transactions between fiat and crypto will be crucial for drawing users.
“The integration of fiat payment options is key to the goal of a frictionless payment experience on crypto networks. It will reduce the tendency of users to hold tokens long term and make it more appealing to use them within dApps. This, in turn, will appeal to developers who want to build DApps that people can actually use. Both Polygon and Alchemy Pay enable people to use blockchain apps and DeFi platforms rather than just speculate on the tokens.”
– John Tan, CEO of Alchemy Pay
Moreover, Polygon and Alchemy Pay are also both part of a newly-forming Blockchain Infrastructure Alliance (BIA) of leading blockchain infrastructure builders. The BIA is made up of crypto exchanges, stablecoin issuers, DeFi platforms, payment solutions, and other vital roles to promote and drive the growth of the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. The BIA funds research and nurtures projects that seek to optimize DeFi and blockchain infrastructure.
