Two of the biggest and most popular Ethereum scalability solutions — Polygon and Binance Smart Chain — became available in MEW wallet app, in the most substantial update since the launch of our mobile wallet in March 2020. The low fees and fast speeds offered by BSC and Polygon fundamentally improve the way users can interact with Ethereum assets and decentralized applications.

During the crypto market surge in the beginning of 2021, transactions on Ethereum became notoriously expensive, difficult, and frustrating. At the precise moment when users wanted to move their funds urgently, the fees were so high and the network so unreliable that it was almost not worth the effort.

On one hand, it’s a good problem to have — as crypto prices go up and network activity increases, the rising tide lifts all Ethereum platforms, wallets, and DApps. On the other hand, high gas prices, stuck transactions, and bad trades discourage users, creating a barrier to entry that defeats crypto’s purpose of financial inclusion.

While Ethereum 2.0 promises to solve these issues, the full transition to the proof of stake model is still some time away. Meanwhile, other scalability solutions are already available. Whether it’s Layer 2 or multi-chain support, Ethereum’s reach is expanding through additional compatible networks that help manage Ethereum assets off the busy mainnet. With this MEW wallet app update, crypto’s promise of easy, cheap, and fast transactions is coming true right now in the palm of your hand.

Binance Smart Chain and Binance Bridge

In order to manage Ethereum assets like tokens, stablecoins, and NFTs, a compatible chain needs to support smart contracts just like Ethereum does. The original Binance Chain didn’t have this capability, having been created for optimal crypto trading. Binance introduced a parallel Binance Smart Chain (BSC) that is similar to Ethereum, but can provide faster and cheaper transactions without congesting the original chain.Even if you are completely new to Binance Smart Chain, you can buy BNB with just a few clicks via our partner Simplex, move funds from Ethereum to BSC using the Binance bridge, and start sending transactions and swapping tokens on BSC — all without leaving the app. When you’re ready to explore BSC DApps like Pancake Swap, you can do so from the DApp Browser tab.

Polygon Network

While Binance Smart Chain is a huge update in itself, we didn’t stop there. Polygon Network (previously Matic), the protocol that’s building a multi-chain Ethereum ecosystem, has seen impressive growth in recent months with popular platforms like Aave, SushiSwap, 0x, and others getting onboard. Polygon is more than just a single alternative chain — it connects Ethereum with various Layer 2 networks and side chains to provide seamless chain interoperability, nearly instant transactions, and very low fees.

Starting today, you can select Polygon from the dropdown list of networks in your MEW wallet app to send transactions, swap tokens, and explore Polygon DApps in the Browser right from your phone.