The Polygon network has launched a major upgrade called Rio, which radically changes the mechanism for producing and verifying blocks. The hard fork is aimed at increasing the speed, resilience, and efficiency of the network—a step that should prepare Polygon’s infrastructure for mass payments and real-world asset tokenization.
New block architecture and the VEBloP model
The core of the upgrade is a new block generation system called Validator-Elected Block Producer (VEBloP). Now, validators select a small pool of producers, and one of them forms blocks for a certain period, while backup participants remain on standby.
Polygon claims that this model eliminates the problem of chain reorganizations and allows for reduced block times.
Additionally, fees—including MEV revenues—are redistributed so that all validators, even those not directly producing blocks, remain incentivized to participate.
Polygon simplified node operation, making the network faster and cheaper
Alongside the Rio upgrade, proposal PIP-72 was activated, introducing so-called stateless validation—block verification without the need to store the full network state.
This solution lowers hardware requirements, speeds up node synchronization, and reduces infrastructure costs, making the network more accessible for operators and validators.
The Polygon team notes that Rio will be an important milestone on the path to realizing their GigaGas roadmap, which aims to achieve throughput of up to 5,000 transactions per second with further scaling potential.
Context: stability issues and market reaction
The upgrade comes amid recent issues with transaction finalization on the Polygon PoS network. In September, an emergency hard fork was conducted due to delays, and in July there was an hour-long outage caused by an error from one of the validators. Rio is expected to eliminate such vulnerabilities, ensuring blockchain stability even under peak loads.
During activation, Binance and several other exchanges temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals of the POL token to support the transition to the new version. After the successful completion of the upgrade, operations were resumed.
Polygon strengthens its position as a network for real-world assets
Polygon, closely connected to the Ethereum ecosystem, is developing layer-two solutions, including AggLayer and zk-based projects. The network is already among the largest by total value locked (TVL), ranking 13th with about $1.2 billion, according to The Block.
The Rio upgrade is expected not only to increase transaction speed and reliability but also to prepare the infrastructure for integration with real businesses—from micropayments to the tokenization of bonds and assets.
What’s next?
In the coming weeks, the Polygon team will continue testing the effectiveness of the new model and monitoring block production metrics. If the upgrade delivers the expected results, Rio will become the foundation for the next stage—the implementation of zk-components and scaling to the level of global payments.
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