Polygon launches Ethereum token POL to replace MATIC

On October 25, the Polygon Labs team deployed a smart contract on the Ethereum mainnet for the new Polygon Ecosystem Token (POL), which is intended to replace MATIC.

The POL token upgrade is now live on Ethereum mainnet.

Polygon 2.0, released this summer, is a roadmap for scaling Ethereum to build the Value Layer of the Internet. POL unlocks that future.

POL is a next-generation token that can power a vast ecosystem of ZK-based L2 chains.… pic.twitter.com/gmrsu0ZqLz

— Polygon (Labs) (@0xPolygonLabs) October 25, 2023

The idea of launching the new coin proposed in mid-July as part of the Polygon 2.0 upgrade. The chief objective of the initiative is to provide scalability for the network without compromising security.

Specific proposals to replace utility token MATIC with POL appeared in September. The asset also uses a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.

The Polygon team said that the coin “will help create an extensive ecosystem of second-layer solutions based on zero-knowledge proofs.”

POL also opens the way to implementing other aspects of the Polygon 2.0 roadmap, including the creation of a separate layer for staking, upgrading the current PoS mechanism to zkEVM-2 and developing a unified liquidity protocol.

The developers stressed that POL is not yet used in operations within protocols, so network participants do not need to swap their MATIC. After a full launch, the token can be converted at a 1:1 ratio.

The initial supply of the asset will be 10 billion, increasing by 2% annually.

Earlier in June, Polygon Labs outlined the proposed Polygon 2.0 architecture.