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On September 4, the Ethereum scaling network will complete a migration from its longstanding MATIC token to $POL, which will then become the native token of its network. The migration forms an integral part of the Polygon 2.0 roadmap.
Ahead of the shift, here’s a look at what to expect from the migration—and what you need to do if you’re a MATIC holder.
What is the “MATIC” to “$POL” migration?
The $POL migration will phase out MATIC as Polygon's native token.
In lieu of MATIC, $POL will become the native gas and staking token for Polygon's main proof-of-stake chain, Polygon said in a July blog post.
Why is Polygon moving to $POL?
The $POL migration sets the groundwork for Polygon 2.0, the roadmap for Polygon’s evolution into a zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) system, complete with its own network of interoperable application-specific blockchains.
Per Polygon, $POL will bring added utility to the network. As with MATIC, Polygon blockchain validators that participate in staking may earn rewards by restaking their $POL to secure other chains in the Polygon supernet.
In subsequent updates, $POL will be employed to secure other blockchains within Polygon’s broader “aggregated” network, aka the “AggLayer,” which is a core component of Polygon 2.0.
The AggLayer will aggregate zero-knowledge proofs from all connected chains and ensure the security of near-instant, atomic cross-chain transactions, Polygon explained in a blog post in January.
Do users need to do anything before the $POL migration?
MATIC holders on the Polygon proof-of-stake chain do not need to do anything ahead of the $POL migration, according to Polygon. Their tokens will be converted automatically to $POL.
Meanwhile, MATIC holders on the Ethereum network may migrate their tokens to $POL via the Polygon Portal Interface.
MATIC holders on the Polygon zkEVM layer-2 network or centralized exchanges may also have to take some action to upgrade MATIC to $POL, such as bridging them to Ethereum. An already-deployed migration contract is available to help holders switch from MATIC to $POL on Ethereum in a permissionless manner. Polygon warns, however, that this process is for advanced users.
Finally, MATIC holders that hold MATIC as ERC-20 tokens in hardware wallets such as Ledger may need to manually convert to $POL using their wallet, although Polygon has not yet detailed this process.
When is the deadline for converting MATIC to $POL?
There is currently no deadline for MATIC holders on Ethereum and Polygon zkEVM to convert MATIC to $POL, per Polygon’s blog post.
However, the Polygon community may be granted the authority to establish a deadline in the future, Polygon said in its post.