Polygon has doubled down its efforts to create an interconnected layer-2 Ethereum ecosystem powered by zero-knowledge technology for its recently unveiled Polygon 2.0’s roadmap. As such, Polygon Labs – the organization behind the scaling solution – has released three PIPs.

The implementation will, however, begin as early as Q4 of this year if the community endorses these proposals.

The Proposals for Polygon 2.0

In a blog post, Polygon Labs presented three Polygon Improvement Proposals (PIPs) that provide a comprehensive roadmap for Phase 0 with the overarching aim of establishing an interconnected network of zero-knowledge-powered layer-2 chains.

PIP 17 focuses on the Polygon Ecosystem Token (POL) and outlines the transformation of MATIC into POL, which will serve as the upgraded native token for Polygon 2.0, as well as accompanying contracts. Meanwhile, the initial configurations are designed to handle emission management and token migration.

The proposal also notes that POL tokens can be migrated at a 1:1 ratio from existing MATIC tokens. POL’s initial supply stands at 10 billion with a yearly emission of 2% evenly distributed between validator staking rewards and a community treasury.

PIP 18 proposes several crucial components, including the initiation of the POL upgrade, the transition from MATIC to POL as the native (gas) token for Polygon PoS, the adoption of POL as the staking token for Polygon PoS, and the launch of the Staking Layer, along with the migration of Polygon’s public chains to leverage this new layer. The post explained,

“Polygon 2.0 envisions a network of interconnected ZK-powered L2 chains that, on aggregate, expand Ethereum blockspace and create the Value Layer of the Internet. This environment is seamlessly interoperable, offering access to unified blockspace across all Polygon chains as well as infinite scalability.”

Smooth Transition

PIP 19 aims to upgrade the native gas token on Polygon POS, replacing MATIC with POL while ensuring maximum backward compatibility. PIP 19 primarily involves upgrading the native MATIC Bridge Contract, allowing the native token on Polygon PoS to transition from being backed by MATIC to being backed by POL.

Importantly, this transition will not alter any of the contracts currently in place on Polygon PoS or any functionalities of its native token. However, it’s worth noting that contracts on the Ethereum side that rely on MATIC from the native MATIC Bridge may be affected by this upgrade. The overall objective is to smoothly shift to POL as the native gas token on Polygon POS while minimizing disruptions to existing contracts and operations.