Polygon's POL Token Surges 6.4% Ahead of Major Network Upgrade

Polygon is set to undergo its most complex hard fork to date on Thursday, July 10. This significant upgrade, known as Heimdall 2.0, will introduce a new consensus layer to Polygon's proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain. The primary goals of this hard fork are to reduce finality and eliminate legacy technical debt, thereby enhancing the overall efficiency and performance of the network. According to Polygon's co-founder, Sandeep Nailwal, this hard fork is the most technically complex the platform has undertaken since its launch in 2020. The complexity of the upgrade underscores the significant advancements and improvements being made to the Polygon network. The new consensus layer, Heimdall 2.0, is designed to strengthen Polygon's ability to support real-time payments and other high-frequency transactions, making it a more robust and scalable solution for decentralized applications and services. This upgrade is a critical step in Polygon's ongoing efforts to improve its infrastructure and maintain its position as a leading blockchain platform.

The upgrade follows a change in the leadership structure of the Polygon Foundation, transitioning from decentralized governance to having Sandeep Nailwal assume complete executive control. Nailwal emphasized the need for Polygon to move faster and more aggressively with full conviction and focus. The new update will reduce the blockchain’s finality to about five seconds and minimize the chance of chain reorganizations beyond two blocks. This will allow the network to be more stable and bridges to be more secure, improving user experience and upgradeability. Polygon previously noted that the estimated time for script execution, excluding potential troubleshooting or preparation, would be roughly 30 minutes on the mainnet. Nailwal asked the community to prepare for temporary instability and advised investors to be cautious while the system upgrades its core consensus engine. He also mentioned that the PoS chain will be unable to complete blocks on Thursday while the upgrade is happening, which could last for up to three hours. Nailwal also said that the move is a step toward making checkpoints faster and making way for future improvements. Although most validators updated before the deadline, the CEO of the Polygon Foundation told node operators who were still using older versions to get ready right away. To that end, Nailwal says, “Let’s make this the smoothest upgrade yet. Most validators have already upgraded, but in case you haven’t yet, test early, spread the word, and ping us if you hit snags.”

In June, Polygon’s native POL token experienced weeks of flat price changes. However, as July 10 approaches, it is finally starting to show signs of strength. The price of POL is up 6.4% in 24 hours, trading at $0.1997 at the time of writing. POL has a market capitalization of $1.8 billion. POL also outperformed the broader crypto market. According to the Block’s GMCI 30 index, which measures the performance of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, it has gained 1.7%. Meanwhile, the Polygon price is trying to break above a descending trendline that was made by joining several highs that have been made since mid-May. At $0.197 and $0.199, this level is close to the daily resistance level and the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA). This makes it a key area of resistance. With a daily finish above the 50-day exponential moving average (EMA) at $0.199, POL could keep going up and reach $0.220. It is the 50% Fibonacci retracement from the high point on May 11 at $0.277 to the low point on June 22 at $0.164. On the daily chart, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is 56 and pointing up. This means that the trend is moving in the bullish direction. It also has green histogram bars that are rising above its neutral zero line. This means that positive momentum is building and the trend is continuing up.