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Polygon Labs introduced its latest Ethereum contract for their new token, named the Polygon Ecosystem Token, abbreviated as POL, on October 25. This new token is poised to take the place of the currently used MATIC token eventually. Notably, at this juncture, the existing MATIC token holders are not required to swap their holdings for the new POL token.
Records from the blockchain indicate that the POL token came into existence on October 25. The essence of this introduction was explained by the Polygon team: they envision POL as the driving force behind a broad ecosystem of zero knowledge-based Layer 2 chains. Through the application of a re-staking protocol, the tokenholders can place their stakes across various chains, undertaking several functions simultaneously.
With the initiation of this token, other elements of the Polygon 2.0 vision can be set into motion. These next steps include the introduction of a renewed staking platform specifically designed for the Polygon community, refining the existing proof-of-stake network to the advanced zkEVM layer-2, and laying the groundwork for a unified liquidity protocol spanning across all Polygon networks.
Although the POL token has been introduced, its practical applications within the Polygon network remain untouched for now.
Key operations such as staking on the Polygon proof-of-stake and Polygon zkEVM are still being managed with the MATIC token. Even gas fees in the proof-of-stake network are still charged in MATIC. This underscores the point that current MATIC users and stakeholders have no pressing need to transition to POL.
Rewinding a bit, on June 29, Polygon Labs made their intentions clear about crafting a fresh layer-2 ecosystem, dubbing it "Polygon 2.0." Subsequent to this, September 14 saw them revealing plans about the new token, POL, for Polygon 2.0, though back then, it was still in the conceptual phase without any active deployment on Ethereum.
To ensure seamless transactions across networks, Polygon's upcoming layer-2 ecosystem is set to employ zero-knowledge proofs. This development will place them in direct competition with the emerging Optimism ecosystem from Optimism Labs that leans on optimistic rollup technology for securing inter-network communications.
