MATIC To POL Conversion Is Outlined In The Preliminary Enhancement Proposals For Polygon 2.0

Polygon Labs' vision of an interconnected layer-2 Ethereum ecosystem powered by zero-knowledge cryptography begins in earnest following three inaugural enhancement proposals that will begin the transition to Polygon 2.0.

The scaling technology company unveiled Polygon 2.0 in June 2023, delineating plans for a four-protocol-layer scaling ecosystem. The staking, interop, execution, and proving layers all contribute to the formation of an ecosystem of interconnected chains that facilitates rapid value transfer and information exchange.

Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, recently explained how the ecosystem seeks to become the value layer of the internet by utilising zero-knowledge (ZK) technology to provide Ethereum with low-cost, high-throughput performance.

On September 14, Polygon released three Polygon Improvement Proposals (PIPs) for community consideration and voting, with implementation scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The PIPs delineate technical details for "Phase 0" of the establishment of an interconnected network of Ethereum-scalable layer-2 chains powered by ZK. This includes a proposal and specifications for the transition from MATIC tokens to POL tokens, which will become the native token of the Polygon proof-of-stake (PoS) protocol.

PIP-17 will include the beginning of the MATIC to POL upgrade. This comprises the transition to POL as the native gas token and staking token for the Polygon ecosystem, the launch of the staking layer, and the migration of Polygon public chains.

PIP-18 contains both the technical description of POL tokens and the accompanying contracts that will manage token emission and migration. Existing MATIC tokens may be converted into POL tokens at a 1:1 ratio. The PIP specifies an initial supply of 10 billion and an annual emission rate of 2%, split evenly between validator stake rewards and a community fund.

PIP-19 proposes a change from MATIC to POL for the native gas token on Polygon PoS, while assuring maximum backwards compatibility.

According to Polygon's announcement, PIP-19 will not affect contracts on Polygon PoS, and neither will the properties of the protocol's native token. However, the upgrade may affect contracts on Ethereum that are anticipating MATIC from the native MATIC bridge.