Polygon hard fork proposal aims to recover about 70.49 million POL. That is worth $6.5 million. The funds were stolen in separate incidents involving Polymarket and Binance.
A member of the Polygon Labs Validator Support Team submitted the proposal.
Why the Polygon hard fork proposal matters
Specifically, the affected funds include 23.86 million POL linked to Polymarket. Another 46.63 million POL links to Binance. Block-producing nodes currently restrict those funds from transfer.
However, the proposal seeks to move them from attacker addresses. The funds would go to recovery wallets. Both institutions would designate and verify those wallets.
The intervention requires a network hard fork. Nevertheless, it would not change POL’s total supply. The proposal is scheduled for discussion on November 5. That happens during the Polygon Protocol Governance Call.
If approved, developers expect completion within about two weeks. Client development and testnet rehearsals would take that time.
How the attacks left 70.49 million POL frozen
Polymarket and Binance suffered separate incidents on October 29 and 30, 2026. Both resulted in stolen funds sent to Polygon PoS addresses.
Both platforms contacted Polygon. After that, validator-elected block producers added the attacker addresses to Bor’s blocklist. Consequently, the funds stopped moving.
The Polymarket incident involved a compromised third-party vendor script. It hijacked about 28 million POL from active trading sessions. Two transfers moved 3,282,275.71 POL on October 29.
Subsequently, validators blocked four addresses. Those addresses held roughly 24 million POL linked to the incident.
Binance faced a separate incident the next day. A compromised engineer’s laptop caused it. A hot wallet sent 46,626,589.6 POL and 6,185,900.1 USDT to the attacker. That happened in block 96,406,484.
Tether has since frozen the USDT. The POL remains on the blocklist.
The blocklist prevents movement. However, it does not provide a way to return assets to owners.
Therefore, Polygon’s proposed hard fork addresses that limitation. It would transfer balances at a predetermined block. Conditions and safeguards in the proposal would govern the process.
Attackers keep trying to reach the funds
There are also signs of continued attempts. On October 30, the attacker tried to push a pending transaction. They offered about 219,450 POL in fees. That equals 10.45 POL per gas.
The attacker also reportedly contacted validators. They offered cash payments to remove restrictions.
Meanwhile, Polymarket opened an on-chain recovery channel. It used the SEAL Safe Harbor Recovery Safe. The attacker has not responded.
Does Polygon have the power to move stolen funds?
The proposal raises an important question. How far should a decentralized network go to recover stolen assets?
Under normal circumstances, validators cannot move POL without private keys. However, a hard fork allows a coordinated state change.
If approved, the proposal would show validators can override normal balance records. That would apply under exceptional circumstances.
The intervention covers only five affected addresses. Nevertheless, its approval could influence similar future cases.
Other theft victims may cite this event. They could request the same treatment. Validators would then decide whether those cases meet the standard.
There are technical consequences too. All validators, RPC providers, exchanges, and node operators must upgrade. They need to upgrade their Bor clients before the activation block. Those who fail would follow a different chain.
The proposal says other core components remain unchanged. These include Heimdall, StakeManager, and bridge contracts.
However, explorers and indexers must recognize adjusted balances. Accounting tools also need updates. The changes would not appear through ordinary transaction history alone.
Ultimately, the decision goes beyond recovering funds. It will test whether Polygon can intervene in extreme theft cases. At the same time, it must keep users confident their assets are safe.
Key takeaway
The Polygon hard fork proposal seeks to recover $6.5 million in stolen POL. A governance call on November 5 will discuss it. If approved, validators would override balances for five addresses. Therefore, the outcome could set a precedent for future recovery requests.
