Polygon reduces L2 block time to 1.75s

Polygon reduced its Layer-2 block time by 250 milliseconds to 1.75 seconds, its first block-time cut since launch. The network explorer shows recent blocks produced at 1.75 seconds.

Polygon software engineer Lucca Martins wrote that the shorter interval raises the network’s maximum theoretical throughput to about 3,260 transactions per second, an increase of roughly 14% from the prior cadence.

Faster block production can allow transaction backlogs to clear sooner and shorten congestion events that cause fee spikes. These timing changes affect payments, stablecoin transfers and decentralized finance trading.

The change is part of Polygon Improvement Proposal PIP-86, a two-step plan to reduce block time further to 1.5 seconds and to scale down checkpoint rewards so POL token emissions remain near the network’s 1% target after the time reduction. Adjusting checkpoint rewards is intended to keep token issuance aligned with the network’s inflation goal as block cadence increases.

Polygon introduced a wallet feature that routes stablecoin transactions through a shielded pool verified by zero-knowledge proofs. Smokey, Polygon community lead, described the feature as offering “more privacy for businesses transacting with stablecoins” while enabling Know Your Transaction screening and auditable records.

Market reaction was muted. The POL token traded around $0.09 over the past 24 hours and was down about 54% over the last year.

Visa expanded a stablecoin pilot earlier this year to include support for Polygon Base as part of a program testing whether stablecoins can be used for settlement instead of traditional banking rails.

Polygon’s developers are monitoring network metrics as they implement the next steps of PIP-86 and related adjustments. The shorter block time does not change how Polygon checkpoints to Ethereum or how Layer-2 security is maintained, but it alters timing and throughput that matter to wallets, relayers and merchants requiring predictable settlement speed.