Polygon Labs has announced a major upgrade to its native cryptocurrency, marking a pivotal step in the evolution of the Polygon network. The MATIC token has been officially upgraded to the Polygon Ecosystem Token (POL) on a 1:1 basis, becoming the network’s primary gas and staking token as of September 4, according to a statement shared with CCN.
This upgrade is a key component of Polygon 2.0 and aims to enhance community engagement in the network’s growth. Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, emphasized that the upgrade will enable the community to participate more actively, citing the introduction of 2% emissions as a new incentive for involvement.
“Even though the full migration hasn’t occurred yet, the first season of the community grants program has already enabled some emissions for community use,” Boiron said in an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph.
Currently ranked as the 21st largest cryptocurrency globally with a market capitalization of $3.7 billion, Polygon’s technical upgrade follows extensive community discussions and consensus-building over the past year.
POL: The Hyperproductive Token
A key motivation behind the upgrade was to transform POL into a “hyperproductive” token. Boiron explained that as POL becomes more integrated within the Polygon Network, it will have the ability to generate revenue from multiple sources.
“POL goes beyond the scope of traditional tokens like Ether (ETH), which earn fees only from gas transactions. While MATIC earned fees from gas and staking, POL will also capture fees from additional activities such as staking to secure data availability and decentralizing sequencers, with more revenue-generating opportunities to come,” Boiron noted.
Seamless MATIC to POL Migration
The migration process from MATIC to POL is designed to be seamless for token holders. There is no hard deadline for upgrading, and all staked MATIC will be automatically converted to POL without requiring any action from users. The testnet upgrade was successfully implemented on July 17.
The new POL token will also be embedded within Polygon’s Aggregation Layer (AggLayer), a cross-chain interoperability protocol designed to connect isolated blockchains. This technical shift is part of the broader vision of Polygon 2.0, including the Polygon CDK and AggLayer’s final development phase, aimed at achieving “infinite scalability” and unifying all blockchains, including major layer-1 networks like Ethereum and Bitcoin.
With these updates, Polygon is setting the stage for a new era of decentralized finance and blockchain interoperability, solidifying its role as a key player in the evolving Web3 landscape.
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