Earlier this month, Polygon (POL) migrated from its previous MATIC ticker to the POL one that is now synonymous with Polygon. Those who have been in the crypto sector for long enough may remember that Polygon was actually formerly called the Matic Network before rebranding to Polygon.
Unlike with that previous change, which was essentially in name only, this change is a completely new token which is meant to be an upgraded version of Polygon, with varying benefits which we’ll discuss. Let’s jump in.
Polygon 2.0
When Polygon originally rebranded from Matic Network to Polygon, it was because Polygon aimed to be the “internet of blockchains” for Ethereum, much like Cosmos aims to be for a variety of blockchain networks. But the direction of Polygon has shifted from being just an internet of blockchains to the “Value Layer of the Internet” and an aggregated blockchain network. The switch to POL will theoretically allow for a nearly infinite number of Polygon chains, which should allow it to achieve both goals, and is the true objective.
Still, in order for Polygon to reach the goal of being the value layer of the internet, the current structure of the Polygon ecosystem and how the old MATIC token functioned within it had to change.
Why Polygon is Migrating MATIC to POL
Polygon considers the POL token to be the next generation in tokens, or as they call it, “hyperproductive” tokens. Though MATIC was a perfectly good token, it was limited as it powered a single chain that allowed Ethereum to scale during times of high network congestion. Polygon 2.0, and the POL token, is the next level in the Ethereum scaling journey, with zero-knowledge proofs (zkProofs) facilitating the expansion of Ethereum block-space across a multitude of layer-2 (L2) chains and also inheriting Ethereum’s security.
POL will then be a hyperproductive token that can accommodate an ecosystem of zk-based L2 chains and still enables its holders to become validators and receive rewards, but with two major improvements:
- Validators can validate multiple chains, i.e. as many chains as they want;
- Every chain can offer multiple roles (and corresponding rewards) to validators.
This new structure will allow for huge scaling and growth while also making the network ready for the future, and at the same time offering practically unlimited opportunities to POL holders, which are noted below.
Benefits of POL
Ecosystem security: A highly decentralized pool of PoS (Proof-of-Stake) validators can provide security, resilience, and credible neutrality to every Polygon chain. Validators are incentivized to join the pool and secure as many chains as possible.
Infinite scalability: POL can support exponential growth of the Polygon ecosystem and eventual mainstream adoption. It enables the validator pool to scale to support thousands of Polygon chains without sacrificing security.
Ecosystem support: The Polygon ecosystem and the industry in general are still in early phases and will require ongoing support in years to come. POL can offer a sustainable, in-protocol mechanism for those activities.
No friction: Blockchain protocols often require both users and developers to hold, stake or consume their native tokens in order to use the network. This causes friction and degrades user and developer experience. POL is designed in a way that does not introduce any such friction.
Community ownership: With decentralization as its core value, Polygon is meant to be governed by its community. POL should be enabled to hold governance rights, i.e. be utilized in governance frameworks.
Course of Action for MATIC Holders
If you’re a MATIC holder then you may have to do something in order to swap your MATIC to POL, as MATIC no longer has any functionality within the Polygon ecosystem. What you have to do depends on where you currently hold your MATIC.
If you have your MATIC on the Polygon L2, then you don’t need to do anything, as the tokens will be automatically migrated from MATIC to POL. Even if you’re staking your MATIC, it will just be migrated automatically. All you might need to do is update your wallet RPC settings so that your wallet displays POL instead of MATIC.
If you have your MATIC on Ethereum, then you’ll need to upgrade your MATIC to POL using the Polygon Portal Interface. This interface is a smart contract that swaps your MATIC for POL.
For those with their MATIC on other layers, such as zkEVM, you’ll have to bridge them back to Ethereum and then use the same interface to swap them.
There is no time limit for token migrations at this time, and the team has said that there likely won’t be any sort of time constraint introduced for at least 4 years, so users have lots of time to migrate their tokens if necessary. For full details on the switch, check Polygon’s official blog post here.
Closing Thoughts
The growth of Polygon as a network over the past few years has been nothing short of remarkable, and it has become one of the top places for developers in that same time.
The switch from MATIC to POL is just another step in the network’s continued growth and positions it well for future scaling and mass adoption. It will be interesting to see just how hyperproductive POL can become.
