POL (ex-MATIC) wallet

What is POL (ex-MATIC) (POL)?

POL is the token that replaced MATIC as the native asset of Polygon PoS, the Ethereum sidechain most people mean when they say "Polygon". Every transaction on Polygon PoS pays its fee in POL, and validators securing the chain stake POL through contracts that sit on Ethereum. Polygon Labs also positions it as the staking token for its broader network of chains, but for a holder the day-to-day role is simple: it is the gas coin of Polygon PoS and an ERC-20 on Ethereum.

What changed with the migration

The rename from MATIC to POL played out differently on the two networks, and that is the detail worth understanding before you move anything.

• On Polygon PoS the native coin was switched to POL at the protocol level. Nothing had to be done: the balance that used to display as MATIC is the same balance now shown as POL, and it still pays gas.
• On Ethereum, POL is a separate ERC-20 contract from the old MATIC contract. MATIC tokens did not turn into POL by themselves; they are converted 1:1 through Polygon's migration contract, and until that is done they remain MATIC. Staking on Ethereum now works with POL, not MATIC.

So the same ticker can refer to a native coin on one network and an ERC-20 on another, and on Ethereum an older MATIC balance can still exist next to it. Bridged POL on Polygon PoS is also not a third thing: bridging from Ethereum simply lands as the native coin.

Because a POL balance can legitimately sit on either chain, the Tangem app keeps them as separate entries and shows which network a transfer will leave on before the card signs it, so you can compare that with what the recipient expects. For a token whose identity depends on which side of the bridge it is on, that clarity at signing time is the reason it belongs on a card.

Supported networks in Tangem (2): Polygon POS, Ethereum.