Polygon’s ‘most complex’ hard fork goes live Thursday

Polygon is set to deploy its most complex hard fork to date on Thursday, upgrading its proof-of-stake blockchain with a new consensus layer dubbed Heimdall 2.0.

In an X post, Polygon Foundation CEO Sandeep Nailwal said the upgrade enhances the backbone of Polygon’s proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain. It will replace legacy components dating back to 2018 and 2019 with newer infrastructure. 

“This is the most technically complex hard fork Polygon PoS has seen since its launch in 2020,” Nailwal wrote, adding that it will improve finality, user experience and the network’s upgradeability. 

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. 

Cointelegraph has reached out to Polygon for further comment.

Polygon Foundation CEO urges node operators to prepare for the upgrade

Nailwal also said the migration marks a step toward shipping faster checkpoints and building headroom for future upgrades. While most validators upgraded before the deadline, the Polygon Foundation CEO urged node operators running older versions to prepare immediately. 

“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,” Nailwal wrote. The upgrade will take 30 minutes on the mainnet, with scripts and runbooks already available. 

Nailwal also asked the community to prepare for temporary instability and to be cautious while the system upgrades its core consensus engine. 

He said that Heimdall’s finality will temporarily lag by about three hours. This means that during the upgrade process on Thursday, the PoS chain’s ability to finalize blocks will either pause or slow down for up to three hours. 

Sandeep Nailwal takes over Polygon Foundation

The upgrade follows a change in Polygon Foundation’s leadership structure from decentralized governance to having Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal assume complete executive control. 

On June 11, Nailwal took full control of the foundation as its first CEO. The foundation, which oversees Polygon Labs, now operates under Nailwal’s leadership, refocusing its efforts as competition becomes fiercer in the layer-2 space. 

Nailwal previously said it was time for Polygon to move faster and more aggressively with full conviction and focus.