Polygon Labs deploys $POL token to mainnet, intended to serve as the next generation of $MATIC and the cornerstone of the Polygon 2.0 upgrade

Polygon Labs has deployed the smart contracts for its new POL token on the Ethereum mainnet, marking a key milestone in the Polygon 2.0 roadmap. POL is designed as a “next-generation” or “hyperproductive” upgrade to Polygon’s existing MATIC token and is intended to become the primary token for the Polygon ecosystem over time, supporting staking, governance, and other roles across a network of zero-knowledge (ZK) based Layer 2 chains. The contracts include a token contract, migration contract, and emission manager as outlined in Polygon Improvement Proposal PIP-17. Although POL is now live on mainnet, it does not immediately replace MATIC; existing Polygon PoS and Polygon zkEVM systems continue operating unchanged for now, and any full migration from MATIC to POL will proceed gradually and require governance approval. The upgrade path envisions MATIC holders converting their tokens to POL via an upgrade smart contract, positioning POL as the unified gas and staking asset for Polygon’s evolving multi-chain architecture. This deployment lays the technical groundwork for subsequent Polygon 2.0 steps, including a new staking layer for Polygon L2s, upgrading Polygon PoS to a zkRollup, and implementing ZK-powered interoperability and shared liquidity across the network.

✨ AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

More coverage

• Polygon's $POL crypto contracts deployed on Ethereum mainnet (binance.com)
• Polygon 2.0 Milestone: POL Contracts Are Live on Ethereum Mainnet (polygon.technology)
• Polygon Ecosystem Token (POL) - GitHub (github.com)
• MATIC falls 5% as Polygon Labs activates next-gen POL token on ... (cryptoslate.com)
• Building on PoS - Polygon Developer Docs (docs.polygon.technology)

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