Layer 2 blockchain Polygon is set to migrate its MATIC token to POL as a part of its Polygon 2.0 upgrade.
According to a July 18 X post from the Polygon Foundation, the upgrade will commence on September 4. POL will replace MATIC for gas payments and staking in its proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus.
Over time, the token “will play a crucial role in the AggLayer,” Polygon’s growing network of aggregated blockchains.
“The current community consensus proposes that POL will support broader roles in the Polygon staking hub (to be released in 2025), including block generation, zero-knowledge proof generation, and participation in Data Availability Committees (DACs).”
The POL upgrade went live on the Polygon testnet on July 17, allowing developers and infrastructure providers time to prepare for the mainnet upgrade.
Users holding MATIC on the Polygon network will see automatic token upgrades, while those on Ethereum, Polygon zkEVM, or centralized exchanges will need to bridge, update smart contracts, or use a migration contract.
For users on most major centralized exchanges, Polygon expects the upgrade to be done automatically.
If non-custodial users fail to update Remote Procedure Call (RPC) settings in their crypto wallets, it may incorrectly display “MATIC” instead of “POL” as the token symbol. RPC settings allow wallets to communicate with a specific blockchain network.
At the time of publication, there is no deadline set for MATIC holders on Ethereum and Polygon zkEVM to upgrade to POL.
“The community will have the power to establish a deadline in the future,” the announcement noted.
Plans to replace MATIC with POL were initially announced in July 2023, with the Ethereum contract for the POL token launched on October 25.
POL migration is the first step in laying the foundation for Polygon 2.0, touted as the “Value Layer of the Internet.” The upgrade promises significant scalability and liquidity improvements.
POL will have an initial supply of 10 billion and offer holders governance rights in the Polygon 2.0 ecosystem. 2% of POL supply will be set aside annually for validator rewards and the community treasury.
This announcement comes as Polygon’s NFT sale volume eclipsed that of Solana and Bitcoin earlier this month, despite a 70% drop in the overall number of NFT buyers.
