Polygon Labs, the developer behind the layer-2 network Polygon, has announced a significant technical upgrade. The upgrade involves replacing the current MATIC token with a new token called POL. This transition is part of Polygon’s strategic plan known as ‘Polygon 2.0,’ which was introduced in the roadmap last year.
The decision to introduce the POL token was first proposed to the Polygon community in July 2023. The POL token will serve as the primary token for all Polygon networks, replacing MATIC in this role. The upgrade will involve technical changes that will establish POL as the native gas and staking token for Polygon’s main proof-of-stake chain (Polygon PoS).
Furthermore, as the upgrade progresses, POL will also play a crucial role in securing other blockchains within Polygon’s broader network, including the AggLayer. Polygon describes POL as a versatile token that can offer valuable services across the entire Polygon ecosystem.
For current MATIC holders on the Polygon PoS chain, the transition to POL will be seamless, and their MATIC tokens will automatically convert to POL tokens. However, users holding MATIC on Polygon’s zkEVM rollup, centralized exchanges, or the Ethereum blockchain will need to follow specific steps outlined by Polygon to facilitate the token swap.
Polygon conducted a test of the token upgrade on July 17 in a controlled network environment to address any potential issues before implementing the changes on the mainnet.
For more information on Polygon’s upgrade process and the implications of the POL token, you can refer to Polygon’s official blog post.