[Crypto projects](https://revain.org/projects/) › Polygon

# Polygon (POL): how it works, supply and reviews

## In short

- **Type**: EVM-compatible proof-of-stake chain that anchors its state to Ethereum with checkpoints
- **Initial supply**: 10 billion POL, matching the MATIC supply 1:1 at migration
- **Risks and caveats**: Each span has a single block producer chosen from a small pool of validators; if it stalls, a new span is needed to resume blocks.
- **Checked**: 31 October 2026

## Key facts

- **Ticker**: POL
- **Official site**: [polygon.technology](https://polygon.technology/)

Key facts checked on 31 October 2026 against official sources.

## What is Polygon

Polygon Chain (Polygon PoS) is an EVM-compatible proof-of-stake blockchain anchored to Ethereum through periodic checkpoints. POL, which replaced MATIC in September 2024, is its gas and staking token.

## Network and consensus

| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | EVM-compatible proof-of-stake chain that anchors its state to Ethereum with checkpoints |
| Consensus | Two layers: Heimdall (proof-of-stake consensus, CometBFT and Cosmos SDK) and Bor (block production, based on Go Ethereum) |
| Finality | Deterministic finality in about 2 to 5 seconds through milestones |
| Validators | Up to 105 active validators; minimum stake 10,000 POL, staked on Ethereum |
| Chain ID | Mainnet chain ID 137; gas token POL |
| Launched | Mainnet went live in 2020 (as Matic Network) |

## Supply and issuance

| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Initial supply | 10 billion POL, matching the MATIC supply 1:1 at migration |
| Issuance | Ongoing emission; effectively 2% a year after June 2025 (validator rewards and community treasury) |
| Emission cap | Governance can change the rate by upgrading the EmissionManager, within a per-second mint cap in the POL contract |
| MATIC migration | MATIC converts to POL 1:1; migrated MATIC is held, not burned, and can be converted back while governance allows it |

## What POL is used for

- Paying gas fees on Polygon Chain
- Staking by validators and delegators to secure the network and earn rewards
- Funding the community treasury through part of the emission

## Who develops and governs Polygon

- **Governance**: Off-chain process: Polygon Improvement Proposals (PIPs), protocol governance calls and the community forum
- **Foundation**: Polygon Foundation; Sandeep Nailwal is its co-founder and CEO
- **Company**: Polygon Labs, which runs polygon.technology and lists its own leadership team
- **Founders**: Started as Matic Network in 2017 to improve Ethereum infrastructure
- **Open source**: POL token, migration and emission contracts are published on GitHub; the token contract is not upgradable

## History

| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Matic Network is founded to scale Ethereum. |
| 2020 | The Matic PoS mainnet goes live. |
| 9 February 2021 | Matic Network rebrands as Polygon. |
| October 2023 | The POL ERC-20 contracts go live on Ethereum, proposed in PIP-17. |
| 4 September 2024 | POL replaces MATIC as the native gas and staking token of Polygon PoS. |
| 3 September 2025 | Polygon reports that 99% of MATIC has migrated to POL. |

## Security and audits

- POL minting is rate-limited, and features such as unmigration can be locked or unlocked through governance.
- Polygon warns that the MATIC to POL migration has attracted scams and asks users to verify contract addresses through official sources.

## Official POL contracts

| Network | Contract address |
|---|---|
| Ethereum | [0x455e53CBB86018Ac2B8092FdCd39d8444aFFC3F6](https://etherscan.io/address/0x455e53CBB86018Ac2B8092FdCd39d8444aFFC3F6) |
| Polygon PoS (native token system contract) | 0x0000000000000000000000000000000000001010 |

POL on Ethereum is listed in the official pol-token repository; on Polygon PoS it is the native gas token, exposed through the genesis system contract 0x...1010.

## Risks and caveats

- Each span has a single block producer chosen from a small pool of validators; if it stalls, a new span is needed to resume blocks.
- POL has ongoing emission, and governance can change the emission rate within the contract's mint cap.
- The MATIC-POL migration contract has an owner who can disable converting POL back to MATIC.

## Official links

- Website: [polygon.technology](https://polygon.technology/)
- Docs: [docs.polygon.technology](https://docs.polygon.technology/)
- Source code: [github.com/0xPolygon](https://github.com/0xPolygon)
- Token contracts: [github.com/0xPolygon/pol-token](https://github.com/0xPolygon/pol-token)
- Blog: [polygon.technology/blog](https://polygon.technology/blog)

## Questions and answers

**What is Polygon?**

Polygon Chain is an EVM-compatible proof-of-stake blockchain anchored to Ethereum. Its gas and staking token is POL.

**Is MATIC the same as POL?**

POL replaced MATIC on 4 September 2024 through a 1:1 migration. MATIC on Polygon PoS converted automatically; MATIC on Ethereum can be migrated in the Polygon Portal.

**What is the supply of POL?**

POL started with 10 billion tokens, matching MATIC 1:1, and has an effective 2% annual emission after June 2025.

**How does Polygon reach consensus?**

Heimdall proof-of-stake validators finalise Bor blocks through milestones in about 2 to 5 seconds and submit checkpoints to Ethereum.

**When was Polygon founded?**

It was founded as Matic Network in 2017, launched mainnet in 2020 and was renamed Polygon in February 2021.

## Sources

- [Polygon Docs — Polygon Chain overview](https://docs.polygon.technology/pos/overview)
- [Polygon Docs — Architecture overview](https://docs.polygon.technology/pos/architecture/overview)
- [Polygon Docs — Bor](https://docs.polygon.technology/pos/architecture/bor/introduction)
- [Polygon Docs — POL](https://docs.polygon.technology/pos/concepts/tokens/pol)
- [Polygon Docs — Migrate to POL](https://docs.polygon.technology/pos/concepts/tokens/matic-to-pol)
- [Polygon Docs — MATIC](https://docs.polygon.technology/pos/concepts/tokens/matic)
- [Polygon Docs — Governance fundamentals](https://docs.polygon.technology/pos/governance/governance-fundamentals)
- [Polygon Docs — RPC endpoints](https://docs.polygon.technology/pos/reference/rpc-endpoints)
- [Polygon Docs — Genesis contracts](https://docs.polygon.technology/pos/reference/contracts/genesis-contracts)
- [pol-token README (GitHub)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/0xPolygon/pol-token/main/README.md)
- [Polygon — About](https://polygon.technology/about)
- [Polygon blog — Matic Network becomes Polygon](https://polygon.technology/blog/matic-network-becomes-polygon-ethereums-internet-of-blockchains-expands-mission-and-tech-scope)
- [Polygon blog — MATIC to POL migration coming September 4th](https://polygon.technology/blog/save-the-date-matic-pol-migration-coming-september-4th-everything-you-need-to-know)
- [Polygon blog — MATIC to POL migration is now live](https://polygon.technology/blog/matic-to-pol-migration-is-now-live-everything-you-need-to-know)
- [Polygon blog — MATIC to POL migration is 99% complete](https://polygon.technology/blog/matic-to-pol-migration-is-99-complete-everything-you-need-to-know)

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Page updated: 2026-10-31

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Source: https://revain.org/projects/polygon/