Polygon governance considers hard fork to recover 70.5 million stolen POL
A proposal submitted to Polygon governance seeks a mainnet hard fork to recover roughly 70.49 million POL stolen in hacks targeting Binance and Polymarket.
A Polygon Improvement Proposal published by a member of the Polygon Labs Validator Support Team outlines a plan to execute a hard fork on the Polygon PoS mainnet to recover approximately 70.49 million POL. The tokens were stolen during separate security incidents involving Binance and Polymarket on October 29 and 30, 2026, and carry an estimated value between $6.5 million and $6.8 million.[1][2][4][5]
The stolen funds sit across five attacker-controlled addresses, with approximately 23.86 million POL spread across four addresses linked to the Polymarket incident and 46.63 million POL in a single address tied to the Binance hack. Polygon PoS block producers previously halted the movement of the assets by adding the addresses to the Bor transaction block list following requests from the affected platforms.[1][4][5]
Under the proposal, a coordinated hard fork at a designated block would set the attacker wallets' native POL balances to zero while crediting the identical amounts to recovery addresses verified by Polymarket and Binance, leaving total token supply unchanged. The proposal is scheduled for review during the Polygon Protocol Governance Call on November 5, with client development and testnet rehearsals expected to take roughly two weeks if approved.[1][5]
Key facts
- A Polygon Improvement Proposal recommends a Polygon PoS hard fork to recover about 70.49 million stolen POL.
- The stolen assets stem from October 2026 security breaches targeting Polymarket (around 23.86 million POL across four wallets) and Binance (around 46.63 million POL in one wallet).
- The tokens were valued at roughly $6.5 million at October 29 prices, while Cointelegraph reported the total value at about $6.8 million.
- Polygon PoS block producers have already frozen the funds by placing the attacker addresses on the Bor transaction block list.
- The hard fork would set the attacker wallet balances to zero and credit verified recovery addresses without altering total POL supply.
- The proposal was slated for review on the November 5 governance call, with implementation preparations estimated to take about two weeks if greenlit.
Sources · 5 sources
- WB
Wu Blockchain@WuBlockchainPost on X ·
Polygon Labs Member Proposes Hard Fork to Recover Approximately 70.49 Million POL Stolen from Polymarket and Binance A member of the Polygon Labs Validator Support Team has published a Polygon Improvement Proposal (PIP) suggesting a hard fork on the Polygon PoS mainnet to recover approximately 70.49 million POL stolen in two recent hacks involving Polymarket and Binance, valued at about $6.5 million based on October 29 prices. Of the total, Polymarket accounts for approximately 23.86 million POL, while Binance accounts for approximately 46.63 million POL. The related funds are currently restricted from transfer by block-producing nodes. The proposal aims to move the POL balances from the attackers’ addresses to recovery addresses designated and verified by the two institutions through a hard fork, without changing the total token supply. The proposal will be submitted for discussion at the Polygon Protocol Governance Call on November 5. If approved, client development and testnet rehearsals are expected to be completed in approximately two weeks.
Open source - CO
Cointelegraph@CointelegraphPost on X ·
🚨 LATEST: Polygon weighs a hard fork, proposed by Binance and Polymarket, to recover about $6.8M in POL stolen in their recent hacks. https://t.co/eMg3GizOor https://t.co/eMg3GizOor
Open source - TW
The Wolf Of All Streets@scottmelkerPost on X ·
A POLYGON ethereum:0x455e53cbb86018ac2b8092fdcd39d8444affc3f6 PROPOSAL SEEKS A HARD FORK TO RECOVER ~70.49M ethereum:0x455e53cbb86018ac2b8092fdcd39d8444affc3f6 STOLEN IN THE POLYMARKET AND BINANCE HACKS https://t.co/7KLW4pwusK
Open source - CT
Coin TelegraphArticle ·
Binance, Polymarket seek Polygon hard fork to recover $6.8M in stolen crypto Polygon block producers have already frozen the stolen tokens, but a proposed hard fork would allow the funds to be recovered and returned to their owners.
Open source - BS
BSCN@BSCNewsPost on X ·
Polygon Could Reverse Two Major Crypto Thefts Through a Hard Fork A Polygon (@0xPolygon) Labs team member has proposed recovering approximately 70.49 million ethereum:0x455e53cbb86018ac2b8092fdcd39d8444affc3f6 through a mainnet hard fork. The assets are related to two individual hacks targeting Polymarket (@Polymarket) and Binance (@binance). Polymarket accounts for 23.86 million POL, while Binance accounts for 46.63 million POL. These total an estimated $6.5 million worth of assets. The plan requires recovery addresses to be designated and verified by both institutions. Block-producing nodes currently restrict transfers from the associated addresses. Once the proposal is greenlit, the preparation phase will take about two weeks. This would move the balances from the attackers' wallets to recovery addresses. The proposal will be reviewed on Polygon's November 5 governance call.
Open source