The Network Selection Decision
Choosing the right blockchain is the most consequential early decision for any token project. The wrong choice can doom a project before it launches. This case study documents INRC's evaluation process and ultimate selection of Polygon.
Networks Evaluated
- Ethereum Mainnet: Maximum security and DeFi ecosystem, but prohibitive gas fees (-50/tx)
- BNB Smart Chain: Low fees with large ecosystem, but centralization concerns (21 validators)
- Avalanche: Fast and cheap, but smaller DeFi ecosystem and weaker India market presence
- Polygon PoS: EVM-compatible, sub-cent fees, 65k TPS, strong DeFi ecosystem via Uniswap
Why Polygon Won
Three factors were decisive: (1) Uniswap V3 is natively deployed on Polygon — giving INRC immediate DEX access to the largest decentralized exchange; (2) Polygon's fees of under .01 make INRC accessible to Indian users making small transactions; (3) Full EVM compatibility means all Ethereum tooling (MetaMask, ethers.js, OpenZeppelin) works natively.
Testnet Challenges
Development began on Polygon Mumbai testnet. Key challenges encountered and resolved:
- Faucet rate limits on Mumbai testnet MATIC requiring multiple wallet addresses
- Gas estimation discrepancies between testnet and mainnet (solved by adding 20% gas buffer)
- PolygonScan Mumbai verification requiring exact compiler settings to match
- Uniswap V3 testnet liquidity pool creation requiring both token and MATIC balances
Mainnet Deployment
After successful testnet validation, INRC was deployed to Polygon Mainnet. The deployment transaction consumed approximately 2.1M gas units — at Polygon prices, this cost under . The entire deployment + verification + initial liquidity setup cost less than in total fees.
Learnings
Key lessons from the Polygon integration: always test on testnet extensively before mainnet deployment; verify contracts immediately after deployment; establish liquidity within the first hour of deployment to prevent price manipulation from thin markets.