Polygon Chain
Public, Permissionless. Polygon Chain is the public, permissionless blockchain that serves as the default settlement of the Open Money Stack. No API key required. Anyone can connect a wallet, deploy a contract, and transact. Sub-5 second finality, 3,800 TPS sustained throughput, $0.002 average transaction cost, and full EVM compatibility mean it works with Hardhat, Foundry, Ethers.js, and Wagmi without modification. With 159M unique wallet addresses and $54B in stablecoin transfer volume, Polygon Chain is production-proven at the scale financial applications require. Polygon Chain overview, architecture, network stats, and how to start building.Polygon CDK
Build private blockchains. Connect to public liquidity. For institutions that need dedicated, private blockspace but also connection to broad crypto liquidity, Polygon CDK provides a composable, privacy-on-a-spectrum selection of features for financial institutions: custom throughput, custom fee structures, and compliance-grade controls. Polygon partners with you to design and launch a bespoke chain; CDK is the product, not a self-serve kit. Every CDK chain ships with Agglayer connectivity, so it joins the broader blockchain ecosystem from day one. Operators choose between sovereign (pessimistic proof), validium, and private validium operating modes. CDK supports 20,000+ TPS when tuned for payment workloads, with granular network controls: gated access, API keys, and ACLs for read and write permissions. Polygon CDK docs, operating modes, Agglayer connectivity, and how to launch a bespoke chain.Choosing between Polygon Chain and Polygon CDK
Most applications start on Polygon Chain. Institutions with regulatory or privacy requirements, dedicated throughput needs, or custom fee structures work with Polygon to launch a bespoke CDK chain that stays connected to the broader ecosystem via Agglayer.