- Polygon has launched an upgrade, described as the most complex hard fork
- The upgrade introduces a new consensus layer and other features meant to enhance the network
- Known as Heimdall 2.0, the upgrade also seeks to improve the stability of the Ethereum scaling layer
Ethereum scaling layer Polygon has launched the Heimdall 2.0 upgrade, which it described as “the most technically complex hard fork.” The upgrade introduces a new consensus layer, reduces transaction finality times to around five seconds, and seeks to boost Polygon’s stability. Polygon Foundation CEO Sandeep Nailwal noted that the upgrade will also help create space for future upgrades, signalling the network’s mission to control a sizeable market share of Ethereum scaling layers.
Testnet and Mainnet Passed
The upgrade was tested on the Amony testnet on June 24 and launched on the mainnet on July 10. According to Nailwal, the upgrade allows Polygon to shift from “Tendermint + Cosmos-SDK v0.37 [to] CometBFT + Cosmos-SDK v0.50.”
Shipping Announcement! 🚢
We’ve been on a shipping spree—and next up is Polygon PoS’s consensus layer, Heimdall v2, landing 10 July 2025.
‼️ This is the most technically complex hard-fork Polygon PoS has seen since it’s launch in 2020 ‼️
What’s changing?
1. Heimdall sheds all…— Sandeep | CEO, Polygon Foundation (※,※) (@sandeepnailwal) July 8, 2025
He disclosed that the shift provides a smoother user experience, faster checkpoints, and safer bridging. The upgrade is also expected to reduce Polygon’s block time to two seconds from the current 5-6 seconds, and prevent block reorganization of more than two blocks.
Giving Polygon a “Clear Direction”
The Polygon Heimdall upgrade comes a month after Nailwal became the first Polygon Foundation CEO to give the layer 2 a “clear direction and focused execution.” At the time, he announced that Polygon was ditching its zero-knowledge projects in favor of Polygon PoS and Agglayer. Polygon PoS focuses on real-world assets (RWAs) while Agglayer seeks to create an interconnected web of blockchains.
It also comes three weeks after Polygon co-founder Jordi Baylina left the project and spun off zero-knowledge project ZisK. Baylina said Zisk will work to increase the adoption of truly decentralized values.
With Polygon launching the Heimdall 2.0 upgrade targeting to improve finality and block times, it’s evident that the layer two is anticipating increased usage in the near future.
