Today, Polygon outlined the latest technical details before reaching the long-awaited update that will see the crypto MATIC become POL.
This will represent the new gas token of the Polygon Pos network and will unlock new on-chain functionalities, including the validation of multiple chains within an aggregated network and the increase of scalability.
Here is the official date for this migration that will surely leave a mark within the cryptocurrency landscape. What do users need to do to exchange the old MATIC tokens for the new POL?
All the details below.
Polygon 2.0: the migration from MATIC to POL
In September of last year, the developers of Polygon had published some guidelines for the transition of the project towards the version 2.0.
Through the PIP (Polygon Improvement Proposal) published in the governance section, they had proposed structural changes in the on-chain architecture of Polygon.
The objective of the group was to develop a layer of second-level networks interconnected with each other, under the guise of the future “infrastructure of the value of the internet”.
The new network conglomerate has been designed to improve the web3 environment through unlimited scalability and unified liquidity.
As a central element of this development plan, Polygon has also decided to migrate its crypto MATIC to the new POL asset.
1/ Our vision for Polygon is simple: to build the Value Layer of the Internet.
The Internet allows anyone to create and exchange information. The Value Layer allows anyone to create, exchange, and program value.
Enter Polygon 2.0: a blueprint to build the ultimate Value Layer. pic.twitter.com/9eYSr3H1L5
— Polygon | Aggregated (@0xPolygon) June 12, 2023
POL represents a hyperproductive token that can be used to provide valuable services to any chain in the Polygon network, including AggLayer.
Soon POL will become the designated gas token to advance transactions on the Polygon PoS, tasked with managing the security of the network.
In the long term, the crypto community agrees that in 2025 POL will likely support broader roles in Polygon’s staking hub.
Among these, the most important are: block generation, the generation of zero-knowledge proof and participation in data availability committees (DAC).
Furthermore, after PIP-42 the developers of Polygon decided that the PoS validators will have to stake SOL in order to continue earning rewards and transaction fees.
This update, scheduled soon, reflects Polygon’s vision in seeking to develop a competitive, scalable, and flexible network layer.
Here is the official date for the arrival of POL on the markets: how to redeem the crypto on Polygon PoS
After months of technical adjustments, Polygon has announced the final date for the migration of the crypto MATIC, which will become POL.
According to a post on X, the much-anticipated transition will take place on September 4, 2024.
The conversion rate is set at 1:1 with MATIC, with the new token maintaining the old tokenomics and being launched with an initial supply of 10 billion and an annual emission of 2%.
It is worth noting that the update of POL has been active on testnet since July 17, in order to resolve any migration issues in advance.
This phase allows users and developers to familiarize themselves with the update processes and the various graphical interfaces, minimizing the chances of interruptions during the launch on the mainnet.
SAVE THE DATE: MATIC → POL
After community consensus, the long-awaited upgrade is set for September 4th
• Initial phase: POL replaces MATIC as the native gas and staking token for Polygon PoS
• Subsequent phases: POL will serve a crucial role in the AggLayer
More details
pic.twitter.com/SyxsFAlOeZ
— Polygon Foundation (@0xPolygonFdn) July 18, 2024
It is important to note that all MATIC token holders on the Polygon PoS network will not have to do anything to migrate to POL: everything will happen automatically.
Some non-custodial wallets like MetaMask, Rabby, and Zerion, despite the automated transition, might still display the ticker MATIC instead of POL. In this regard, for a more accurate display, it is advisable to update the RPC settings and use the correct contract address on the respective wallet in use.
At the moment there is no official contract available for the transition from Polygon Pos, so be careful not to fall into scams!
All official data on the new POL token will be published by the project team on September 4 or shortly before.
Until then, it is better to refrain from any attempts at migration on your own.
Instead, for holders of MATIC on Ethereum, Polygon zkEVM, or centralized exchanges (CEX), an action might be required if a user wishes to upgrade MATIC to POL.
What should MATIC holders on the Ethereum network do?
The holders of MATIC tokens on Ethereum must manually switch to the POL crypto, using a specific migration function.
For the more experienced, this is the official migration contract for the Ethereum network: 0x29e7DF7b6A1B2b07b731457f499E1696c60E2C4.
For less prepared users, the advice is to wait for specific guidelines directly from the Polygon team, possibly with an easy-to-use interface.
However, if you are impatient and want to immediately hold the new POL tokens in your wallet, you can do as follows.
First of all, copy the migration contract and paste it on Etherscan.
Then on the various items present on the lower part of the page, click on the item “contract” and then “write as a proxy”. To be able to interact with the contract, it is necessary to connect your wallet by clicking on “connect to web3”.
Once these steps are completed, we can effectively go and confirm the first 7 functions of the contract. Here, simplifying, the user is asked to burn the MATIC tokens and mint the new POL tokens, executing one step at a time.
Very interesting to note that from function 8 onwards you can actually go and perform the reverse step of the “unmigrate”, thus retrieving the original MATIC tokens.
Each function requires the approval of the contract and the payment of a small fees.
ATTENTION: those who hold MATIC in stake with a protocol operating on Ethereum, will not have to do anything, just like the users of Polygon PoS.
The Polygon team will automatically perform the migration and you will find POL instead of the MATIC put in staking.
At the moment, the developers are trying to publicly deprecate the name MATIC on the front-ends of the protocols to avoid confusion.
In any case, even after September 4th, you might still come across some small dapp that will still use the name MATIC.
Additional information for MATIC holders on Exchange and on Polygon ZkEVM network
As for the holders of MATIC on centralized exchanges and on the Polygon ZkEVM network, the issue changes further.
On exchange the transition should happen automatically almost everywhere.
On some platforms like Bybit, Kraken, Gate.io, Butget Kucoin and others, we can already see the name POL on the crypto markets instead of the ticker MATIC.
Binance and Coinbase have not yet completed this step, and therefore the name of the coin for now remains MATIC.
As for the holders on Polygon ZKEVM, users will have to manually bridge as likely explained for Ethereum.
Users will probably have the ability to exchange MATIC for POL directly through swap on DEX, without having to interact with the contracts of the block explorer.
It is alternatively possible that a dedicated website will be provided for secure migration.
At the moment, a migration contract is not available and therefore we cannot show you how to handle the practice manually.
We are waiting for further details from the Polygon team regarding the most appropriate method to execute the transition on the zkEVM network.