Polygon 2.0: POL Token Launches to Replace MATIC

Popular scaling and interoperability blockchain, Polygon, has hit another milestone today as the developers release the newest native token: POL. Today marks the first day that POL is live on the Ethereum mainnet, meaning it can be traded and used by the Polygon community. It’s been a big week for the DeFi network after its secondary protocol Polygon zkEVM reached its all-time high in total value locked (TVL) and the price of MATIC soared 22.3%. 

However, the release of POL may just be the biggest news yet, as the development team continues on their merry way along a lengthy and ambitious roadmap to becoming the top scaling solution for Ethereum (ETH) and the world of decentralised finance. 

What is POL and Why the Upgrade?

POL is being plugged as a “hyperproductive token”, which is a fancy way of saying that it has a lot of functions. In simple terms, the release of POL is a pivotal step along the broader trek toward upgrading to Polygon 2.0. In its current state, Polygon is largely a proof-of-stake network, 

which although effective at scaling Ethereum, has several flaws. 

The team wants to eventually transition to a zero-knowledge-based chain (zkEVM), which is not only faster and more efficient, but also more secure. For this upgrade to become reality, the new L2 chain needs a native token that can perform multiple roles across multiple blockchains – and that’s where POL comes into the picture. Token holders will be able to validate transactions across multiple chains (various Polygon ecosystem blockchains). 

How Does the Upgrade Impact MATIC Holders: What Should I Do?

For now, the introduction of POL will have absolutely no impact on MATIC holders. In a blog post, Polygon’s development team disclosed that community users will not be impacted in any way by POL. Investors, dApp developers and community members can continue to use MATIC, Polygon PoS and Polygon zkEVM as they always have. Similarly, node operators on either protocol will be unaffected by POL going live.

It is worth noting that as Polygon continues its transition to a zk-focused protocol, it’s likely that MATIC holders will eventually have to take action and convert their MATIC to POL. It has been suggested that holders will simply be able to swap these two tokens at a ratio of 1:1. But for the time being, MATIC holders can sit back and watch as the Polygon ecosystem continues on its journey to a new and better DeFi ecosystem.