Polygon Officially Begins Transition From MATIC Token to New POL Token

In a notable development for the crypto community, the Polygon team has officially kicked off the transition from the MATIC token to the new POL token

The Polygon team has officially begun the transition from the MATIC token to the new POL token in a notable development for the crypto community. This marks a significant milestone for the second-layer blockchain network.

The transition, which was first announced in July, began being executed on Wednesday. As part of this process, MATIC holders saw their coins automatically converted to POL at a 1:1 ratio.

“We interrupt your doomscroll with another reminder – MATIC will be upgraded to POL tomorrow,” the Polygon team tweeted on Wednesday, along with a link to a blog post outlining the technical upgrade.

As explained in the blog, the migration from MATIC to POL is a critical step in aligning Polygon with its vision as an “aggregated network of blockchains.”

In the initial phase, POL will succeed MATIC as the native gas and staking token for the Polygon Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network. In the future, the new token is set to play a crucial role in the AggLayer affiliate blockchain aggregation system.

“The technical upgrade from MATIC to POL marks a critical juncture for Polygon networks, enhancing utility and aligning with the vision of Polygon as an aggregated network of blockchains,” the blog post reads, with the Polygon team sharing further details on the migration.

It is worth noting that the transition was prompted by the intentional burning of the MATIC upgrade keys years ago, which aimed to prevent any further changes to the token.

“The main reason the upgrade was technically necessary is because the MATIC upgrade keys were intentionally burned years ago. That basically means we can't make changes to that token,” Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron said in an interview on Tuesday.

The new POL token is also set to introduce changes to Polygon's tokenomics, including a reduced annual emission rate of 2% of the total supply.

A portion of the issued POL coins will be allocated to rewarding Polygon's Proof Of Stake (PoS) validators, while the remaining coins will be directed to the project's treasury to fund ecosystem development, such as a grant program.

Centralized exchanges have already begun rolling out support for the MATIC to POL migration. Binance, for instance, announced that it would be delisting MATIC pairs from its platform on September 10 and replacing them with the new POL token on September 13.

Amid the transition, the price of MATIC remained relatively stable on Wednesday, with the coin trading in the $0.38 price range for most of the day. Despite a 5.34% drop over the past 24 hours, MATIC largely held its ground.