• Ethereum layer-2 Polygon deployed native token POL on Goerli testnet, progressing towards 2.0 upgrade.
  • Polygon’s co-founder Mihailo Bjelic called it a milestone and part of the planned modular architecture shift.
  • Five public Polygon Improvement Proposals (PIPs) now cover key components for Polygon 2.0

Ethereum layer-2 Polygon took a significant step toward its highly anticipated 2.0 upgrade this week with the deployment of native token POL on the Goerli testnet.

MATIC co-founder Mihailo Bjelic announced the activation, calling it a milestone in realizing the planned upgrades that will transition Polygon to a new modular architecture.

The testnet deployment comes on the heels of Polygon Improvement Proposals (PIPs) describing the mechanics and distribution model for the new POL token. Two additional PIPs were also just released, proposing tweaks to the token burning mechanism.

POL goes live on Goerli as upgrade proposals advance

In total, there are now five public PIPs covering critical components needed to launch Polygon 2.0. These include transitioning the existing MATIC token to POL, utilizing POL for staking and gas fees, and modifying the network’s EIP-1559 burn protocol.

More than 20 million MATIC have been burned via EIP-1559 since the mechanism was added to the network in January 2022. The upgrades look to expand burning while ensuring continuity.

With the proposals advancing and POL’s testnet availability increasing, the network appears to be coalescing around a viable 2.0 transition plan. The team promises to share further rollout details and a new governance council structure in the coming weeks.

By methodically testing upgrades and incorporating community feedback, the team hopes to smoothly evolve into a more scalable and interconnected multi-chain ecosystem without disrupting existing operations.