POLYGON PROPOSES GOING FROM MATIC TOKEN TO “POL”

Scaling Ethereum “to the size of the internet.”

That’s a sizable goal, but one that Polygon developers have set for the future of their “Layer 2” blockchain, which is known for offering technology which can reduce transaction costs of utilizing the Ethereum network.

Three newly released Project Improvement Proposals (PIPs) build on a June announcement about Polygon’s ambitions.

Among the specific proposals is replacing the current Polygon network MATIC token with a 2.0 upgraded token which would be called “POL.”

How POL Might Expand Ethereum Utility

PIP-17, describes how the POL coin might be implemented on the network. It will take the place of the current MATIC token as the native gas and staking asset of the Polygon ecosystem.

The proposal outlines how POL would power a next level of scalability for Ethereum, which is known for high transaction fees, and limited transaction times on its base network layer:

Polygon 2.0 is the next iteration in the Ethereum scaling journey, with zero-knowledge proofs (“zk”) facilitating the expansion of Ethereum block-space across a multitude of L2 chains whilst also inheriting its security.

POL represents a next-generation token able to accommodate an ecosystem of zk-based Layer 2 chains by enabling the following utility:

Staking,

Community ownership, and

Governance.

Anyone who uses Ethereum to directly transact, in say the purchase or creation of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) or to gain access or conduct DeFi, knows how painful Ethereum can be.

Polygon and its MATIC token, have opened up a path to lower transaction fees and times, while still offering interoperability with Ethereum. Polygon is used on platforms like Unstoppable Domains (a web3 domain registrar) and Opensea, one of the largest NFT marketplaces.

Other PIP proposals

PIP-18, the second proposal, discusses Polygon 2.0’s initial phase, according to a breakdown by AmbCrypto.com. (“Polygon mulls replacing MATIC with a new token in 2.0 upgrade,” 14 Sep 2023.)

It claims that when the 2.0 upgrade occurs, end-users and developers on the current Polygon PoS and Polygon zkEVM chains don’t need to change anything.

The third suggestion, PIP-19, requests that a method be used to maintain compatibility with smart contracts on Polygon PoS while switching from MATIC to POL coin on the blockchain. The coding attributes of POL will continue to be the same as those of MATIC in this way.

The Polygon development team has invited the community to comment on these suggestions. As each plan is agreed, the group will put it into practice.

TRENDPOST: AmbCrypto noted that Polygon has seen a drastic 40-percent hit on the price of its MATIC token, since the SEC classed it among a group of crypto tokens it’s attempting to paint as “securities.”

But let’s face it—current SEC head Gary Gensler has basically signaled that he views every crypto token except Bitcoin as a security.

As we’ve repeatedly forecast, the 2024 election will be extremely consequential for crypto technology—and financial and internet efficiency and innovation.

In the meantime, it’s a positive sign that Polygon is continuing to move forward with technological innovation that supports the future of Ethereum.

Ethereum paved the way with Smart Contract technology that essentially allowed blockchains to support software type programming.

Ethereum, by far, contains the largest group of crypto projects that utilize its network and smart contract technology. They number in the thousands.

Scaling Ethereum for web3 is something that should and must happen for crypto tech going forward. Polygon is working on answers.