Exciting Polygon Shift: 10B MATIC Becomes POL

Polygon developers have officially launched the migration of the MATIC token to its successor, POL. After a year of intense discussions within the community, this transition marks a pivotal moment in the network’s journey toward becoming a ZK (Zero-Knowledge) chain and further integrating with AggLayer.

The POL token, now the native gas and staking currency of the Polygon PoS chain, retains the familiar tokenomics of MATIC, including a supply cap of 10 billion tokens. Exchanges are expected to swiftly list the upgraded token, enhancing its accessibility and trading volume. For MATIC holders on the Polygon PoS chain, the migration is seamless and requires no action. However, holders on Ethereum, Polygon zkEVM, or centralized exchanges must actively migrate their tokens via a dedicated contract.

A key aspect of this upgrade is the 1:1 exchange ratio from MATIC to POL, with an innovative emissions model that gradually increases by 2% over ten years. This approach is designed to foster sustainable growth, with continuous rewards for validators. “This emissions model ensures ongoing incentives, attracting new validators to the network,” the blockchain highlighted in their announcement.

Polygon Rebranding in Progress

POL’s introduction is more than a simple rebranding. It signals the blockchain’s broader ambitions to enhance its ecosystem. The new token will play a vital role in block production, zero-knowledge proof generation, and participation in Data Availability Committees (DACs). This expansion of functionality positions the network as a key player in the evolving blockchain landscape.

Polygon employs two primary scaling solutions, the sidechain known as Polygon PoS and the zero-knowledge rollup network, Polygon zkEVM. These solutions aim to consolidate liquidity and state across multiple chains, further solidifying the network’s role in the multi-chain universe.

Originally proposed in July 2023, the POL token was officially announced as the upgrade to MATIC on September 4, 2024. As this migration progresses, it will be crucial to monitor how POL performs in the market and how the expanded functionalities contribute to the network’s long-term success.