Polymath Token

Polymath (POLY) is a utility token of the Polymesh blockchain — the network providing the infrastructure for the issuance of security tokens. Polymesh was founded in 2017 with the plans to launch the mainnet in 2021.

Security tokens represent digitized financial securities — like an ownership stake in an asset — “living” on the blockchain. Security tokens, while utilizing blockchain technology, also have to comply with the rules and regulations typical for the traditional financial industry. This means that it’s not always convenient to issue such tokens on networks like Ethereum which are usually used for this purpose. For example, owner’s identity information is important in portfolio management, even if it’s tokenized, while most blockchain networks are designed to avoid using identities. This, and other similar reasons, is why the Polymesh network was created: it combines the best of both worlds.

The Polymesh network is secured using Nominated Proof-of-Stake (NPoS) protocol. It is permissioned, meaning that both Validator and Nominator nodes are known entities. Polymath token (POLY) is used to power the network: transaction fees, module fees (payments at the launch of a new security token), and smart extension fees (for the third-party smart extensions) are paid in POLY. Polymath token is also used for governance purposes.

Note that POLY is an ERC-20 token. Within the year after the mainnet launch, most of the POLY tokens are expected to be swapped 1:1 to POLYX — the native token on Polymesh.