Polygon Rolls Out Madhugiri Upgrade to Boost Network Speed
Polygon’s latest hard fork boosts performance, upgrades core infrastructure, and prepares the network for large-scale stablecoin and RWA adoption.
Polygon has activated its newest network upgrade, the Madhugiri hard fork, marking another major step in the protocol’s push toward higher throughput, faster finality, and a stronger foundation for real-world asset (RWA) and stablecoin ecosystems. The update, deployed across the network this week, is designed to deliver a 33% increase in throughput while cutting consensus times to just one second—a notable improvement for applications that depend on speed, reliability, and predictable gas consumption.
The activation of Madhugiri also aligns Polygon more closely with Ethereum’s recently launched Fusaka upgrade, positioning the network to capitalize on enhanced data availability, improved rollup infrastructure, and cheaper L2 execution. Combined, these developments signal a broader scalability shift across the Ethereum ecosystem.
A Technical Upgrade Built for High-Speed Use Cases
Polygon core developer Krishang Shah said the Madhugiri hard fork introduces support for three Fusaka-aligned Ethereum Improvement Proposals: EIP-7823, EIP-7825, and EIP-7883. These changes make computationally intensive operations more efficient and secure by capping the amount of gas they can consume.
The hard fork also prevents any single transaction from overwhelming the system—an increasingly important safeguard as networks expand their support for advanced smart contract interactions and RWA transactions. Shah emphasized the update’s impact on consensus timing:
“We are also decreasing the consensus time to 1 second, so blocks can now be announced in 1 second if ready, instead of waiting the full 2 seconds,” Shah wrote on X.
Beyond raw speed, Madhugiri introduces a new transaction type tailored for Ethereum-to-Polygon bridge traffic, along with a built-in flexibility module that allows Polygon developers to activate future throughput enhancements without major protocol restructuring. The team previously described these forthcoming optimizations as being as simple as “flipping a few switches.”
Reinforcing Polygon for Stablecoins and RWAs
With Madhugiri now live, Polygon aims to strengthen its position as a preferred settlement and execution layer for stablecoin issuers, fintech applications, and RWA platforms. These verticals require high throughput, low latency, and trust-minimized verification, especially as the tokenization and stablecoin markets continue to expand.
Aishwary Gupta, global head of payments and RWAs at Polygon Labs, has repeatedly highlighted the sector’s growth trajectory, projecting what he called a “stablecoin supercycle.” He previously estimated that the market could see at least 100,000 stablecoins emerge over the next five years, driven by new use cases that blend payments, yield, and programmable financial logic.
Gupta has also stressed that expanding the RWA sector requires deeper transparency. He argued that tokenized asset figures mean little if the underlying assets cannot be audited, settled, or properly traded. As he wrote:
“When transparency and accountability are established, RWAs will reach even greater heights, unlocking trillions in institutional capital.”
Polygon’s latest technical improvements are meant to address these needs directly. Faster consensus, predictable fee markets, and more efficient execution provide the groundwork for large-scale tokenization frameworks and institutional-grade financial operations.
The Hard Fork Arrives After a Year of Heavy Upgrades
Madhugiri follows a year of rapid upgrades across the Polygon ecosystem. Earlier in July, the network executed Heimdall 2.0, an overhaul that Polygon Foundation CEO Sandeep Nailwal described as the chain’s “most technically complex” hard fork since launch. That update reduced finality times from one to two minutes down to roughly five seconds, dramatically improving user experience and validator performance.
However, not all transitions were seamless. On Sept. 10, Polygon faced a significant network disruption when a bug triggered finality delays of 10–15 minutes, affecting validator synchronization, RPC endpoints, and third-party tooling. Despite the slowdown, block production continued. The following day, the Polygon Foundation confirmed that consensus and finality had fully recovered after a targeted hard fork restored normal operations.
The latest Madhugiri upgrade builds on those prior improvements, aiming to deliver not just stability but the ability to scale into high-volume markets where milliseconds matter.
Polygon’s Role in Ethereum’s Multi-Chain Future
Polygon—originally launched as Matic Network—has grown into a leading Ethereum-aligned multi-chain ecosystem supporting DeFi platforms, NFT marketplaces, gaming networks, and DAO infrastructures. The chain operates as a proof-of-stake network with its native POL token, leveraging Ethereum’s security while offering faster execution and lower costs.
Polygon’s architecture is especially suited for rollups, modular data availability solutions, and high-frequency applications—segments that are expanding rapidly thanks to improvements at the Ethereum layer.
Ethereum’s Fusaka Upgrade Sets the Stage
The Madhugiri fork closely follows Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade, which went live on Dec. 3 at Epoch 411392. Fusaka introduces Peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS), a feature designed to significantly raise data throughput and reduce transaction fees across Ethereum and its L2s. Combined with other improvements, Fusaka nudges Ethereum closer to an “instant-feel” experience, where interactions finalize quickly and cheaply.
The ongoing scaling progress has not gone unnoticed by institutional players. BitMine Immersion Technologies recently expanded its Ether holdings with a $150 million purchase, bringing its total to more than 3.8 million ETH. The company has consistently pointed to Ethereum’s scaling roadmap—including rollups and improved data availability—as a key driver behind its accumulation strategy.
A Foundation for What Comes Next
As Polygon’s Madhugiri hard fork takes effect, the network enters a new stage of performance and reliability—one that aligns with Ethereum’s broader modular roadmap and the accelerating shift toward real-world financial integration. With faster consensus, improved throughput, and tighter compatibility with Fusaka, Polygon is positioning itself for the next wave of tokenized assets, stablecoin expansion, and high-volume on-chain activity.
The combination of Madhugiri and Ethereum’s recent upgrades reinforces a shared vision: a scalable, seamless, and institution-ready blockchain infrastructure capable of supporting trillions in on-chain value.
