Polygon PoS Activates Giugliano Hard Fork for Faster Finality

Steady attention without excessive speculation.

The upgrade targets three core areas. These include faster block finality, fee parameters in block headers, and new RPC support for fee-related data. Node operators must upgrade to Bor v2.7.0 or Erigon v3.5.0 before activation to stay in consensus.

The Polygon Foundation announced the timeline on X. A live countdown is also available at polygon.technology/giugliano-upgrade.

What the Polygon Giugliano Hard Fork Changes

The Giugliano hard fork modifies consensus and block production logic in two key ways.

First, block producers can now announce blocks earlier in the production cycle. As a result, the network reaches finality faster without weakening security. Wallets and applications that rely on rapid settlement will then need fewer confirmations.

Second, the upgrade adds fee-related parameters directly into block headers. In addition, it introduces new RPC endpoints that expose this data to developers. Wallets and dApps can therefore query fee information more efficiently.

Polygon implements both changes at the client level. End users and smart contract developers do not need to take any action. The upgrade maintains full backward compatibility.

Why Faster Finality Matters for Polygon PoS

Currently, users and dApps wait for multiple block confirmations before considering a transaction final. That wait creates friction for payments, gaming, and high-frequency trading.

The Giugliano hard fork reduces that confirmation window. Lucca Martins, Software Engineer on the Polygon PoS team, highlighted this benefit on social media.

“The time between pushing the transaction and getting it finalized is going to be short. That’s a clear UX improvement for a payment chain,” Martins said.

Consequently, faster finality makes Polygon PoS more competitive with centralized payment rails. It also positions the chain better against other high-performance networks.

Loading chart...

Fee Transparency Gives Developers Better Tools

Embedding fee parameters in block headers brings greater predictability to gas pricing. Previously, developers estimated fees using external tools or indirect methods. Now, the data lives natively in block headers.

As a result, this change benefits wallet developers, DEX aggregators, and any application that needs accurate gas estimates. Payment-focused builders and trading platforms stand to gain the most.

The new endpoints also support dynamic fee strategies. Developers can adjust gas parameters in real time. This should improve the user experience across the Polygon PoS ecosystem.

What Node Operators Need to Do

Node operators running Bor must upgrade to version 2.7.0. Those using Erigon need version 3.5.0. Operators must complete both updates before block 85,268,500.

The Polygon team has published upgrade guides alongside the countdown page. The fork activates automatically once a majority of validators upgrade their nodes.

Regular users and dApp developers do not need to act. Existing smart contracts, wallets, and applications will continue to function normally.

Polygon’s Broader Roadmap and the PoS Chain’s Role

Polygon PoS has served as one of Ethereum’s most widely used scaling solutions since its 2020 launch. The chain has processed billions of transactions with sub-second block times.

The Giugliano hard fork continues a series of upgrades to keep the PoS chain competitive. For instance, the Napoli hard fork in early 2024 introduced parallel transaction execution and reduced gas costs.

Meanwhile, the broader Polygon ecosystem continues building toward its Polygon 2.0 vision. That includes AggLayer for cross-chain aggregation and zkEVM for zero-knowledge rollups. The PoS chain remains central to this ecosystem.

What Comes Next After the Giugliano Hard Fork

Once the fork activates, the Polygon team will monitor network stability and finality times. Developers building payment applications should integrate the new RPC endpoints and test improved finality.

Over the following weeks, the ecosystem will assess whether the upgrade delivers the expected UX gains. If further tweaks prove necessary, they could come through governance proposals.

For now, the Giugliano hard fork stands as a focused, low-disruption upgrade. It addresses the pain points that payment builders and traders have raised. And it achieves this without requiring changes from existing users on the network.