Polygon, the Ethereum scaling solution, has executed a significant technical upgrade, migrating its native token MATIC to the new POL token. The upgrade, finalized on September 4, is part of Polygon’s broader vision for Polygon 2.0 and aims to enhance the network’s utility and scalability.
MATIC holders will have their tokens automatically converted to POL-on a 1:1 basis. POL will now serve as the native gas and staking token for the Polygon network.
Polygon Labs CEO, Marc Boiron, describes POL as a “hyperproductive” token, designed to generate fees from multiple sources, unlike its predecessor, MATIC, which only earned fees from gas and staking. POL can earn additional fees from activities like staking to secure data availability and decentralizing a sequencer.
This upgrade is a crucial step in realizing Polygon 2.0, which includes the development of the Polygon CDK and AggLayer. The AggLayer is designed to connect various blockchains, providing “infinite scalability” and unifying blockchains, including Layer-1s like Ethereum and Bitcoin.
While the migration to POL is in effect, MATIC holders are not required to upgrade their tokens immediately. The transition will be automatic for staked MATIC.
Despite the technical advancements, MATIC’s price dropped by 7.2%, settling at $0.3778 within 24 hours. The token’s market cap stands at $3.7 billion, with a 24-hour trading volume of $313.75 million.
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