The long-anticipated upgrade from MATIC to POL will commence on September 4th, marking a significant shift for the Polygon PoS network, the company announced.
In the first phase of this transition, POL will replace MATIC as the native gas and staking token, setting the stage for broader applications in subsequent phases, including its role in the AggLayer.
From MATIC To POL, What Does the Upgrade Mean?
The Polygon team emphasized that this upgrade is a fully community-driven initiative, shaped by extensive feedback and governance. Last year, the proposal to replace MATIC with POL, known as PIP-17, garnered immediate and substantial community engagement.
The consensus was clear: as Polygon evolved into an aggregated blockchain network, a more versatile token was needed to reflect its expanding utility.
When the POL ERC-20 contracts were deployed on Ethereum in October, it marked the beginning of this community-led vision. Over time, further proposals and community discussions refined the specifics of POL, culminating in the comprehensive upgrade now set to take place.
With the potential to offer services across any chain in the Polygon network, POL is being hailed as a “hyperproductive” token. By making sure that the Polygon network’s native token can safeguard and sustain its ongoing expansion, the update aims to future-proof the system.
For the long future, POL is anticipated to be essential to the Polygon staking hub, which is scheduled to debut in 2025. POL’s immediate utility will be found on the Polygon PoS network, where it will function as the native gas and staking token and be crucial to network security.
What will be the Impact on MATIC Holders?
For existing MATIC holders, especially those connected to the Polygon PoS network, the switch to POL will be smooth. The upgrade will immediately change MATIC to POL, which can be used as the native gas and staking token on Polygon PoS, therefore no action is needed.
It might take some activity to move MATIC holders on Ethereum, Polygon zkEVM, or centralised exchanges to POL. With the deployment of a migration contract, users can seamlessly update their MATIC to POL-on Ethereum without requiring permissions. The community is still in charge of setting a timeline for this migration, even though there isn’t one as of now, the Polygon team clarified.
It is a major technological undertaking to upgrade from MATIC to POL, and careful planning is needed to guarantee security and reduce interruptions. To achieve this, on July 17th, the POL update was released on the testnet. Before the mainnet migration, this “dress rehearsal” seeks to find and fix any possible problems and familiarise users, developers, and infrastructure providers with the upgrading procedure.