Polygon has launched its latest protocol upgrade, termed the Madhugiri hard fork, which seeks to enhance network throughput by 33% and reduce block consensus time to one second.
According to Polygon core developer Krishang Shah stated on X, the update incorporates support for three Fusaka Ethereum Improvement Proposals: EIP-7823, EIP-7825, and EIP-7883. These EIPs optimize heavy mathematical operations by limiting their gas consumption, making them more efficient and secure.
Additionally, they help prevent individual transactions from monopolizing computing power, facilitating smoother and more predictable network performance.
The upgrade introduces a new transaction category for Ethereum to Polygon bridge traffic and includes a built-in flexibility feature for future enhancements. Polygon previously mentioned that the upgrade makes it simple to boost throughput with just “the flip of a few switches.”
“We are also cutting the consensus time down to 1 second, meaning blocks can now be announced in 1 second if they are ready, rather than waiting the full 2 seconds,” Shah shared.
New update strengthens Polygon for stablecoins and RWAs
With the launch of Madhugiri, Polygon aims to strengthen its framework while significantly enhancing its performance. This is crucial for high-frequency and highly trusted applications, such as real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and stablecoins.
Aishwary Gupta, the global head of payments and RWAs at Polygon Labs, previously predicted a “stablecoin supercycle.”
Gupta indicated that there would be an influx of “at least 100,000 stablecoins” over the next five years, emphasizing that this wouldn’t just involve minting tokens, but also ensuring a corresponding utility yield.
He also advocated for enhanced transparency and accountability within the RWA sector. Gupta previously stated that RWA numbers hold little value unless the assets can be audited, settled, or traded.
“When transparency and accountability are firmly established, RWAs will reach new heights, unlocking trillions in institutional capital,” he asserted.
Related: Polygon co-founder considers resurrecting MATIC a year after POL rebranding
Hard fork follows significant Heimdall upgrade
The upgrade follows a series of rapid improvements. On July 10, Polygon deployed Heimdall 2.0, which Polygon Foundation CEO Sandeep Nailwal referred to as the network’s “most technically complex” hard fork to date.
The update reduced transaction finality times from one to two minutes down to around five seconds.
However, on September 10, the network faced a major disruption when a bug led to finality delays of 10 to 15 minutes, impacting validator synchronization, remote procedure call services, and third-party tools. Nevertheless, the team reassured the community that blocks continued to be processed.
On September 11, the Polygon Foundation declared that the consensus and finality functions had been restored via a hard fork. This update ensured that nodes were no longer stuck, and checkpoints and milestones were finalized as expected.
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