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From MATIC to magic, Polygon’s POL powers next decade of blockchain
MUMBAI: What’s in a name? For Polygon, everything. India’s homegrown blockchain giant has officially retired MATIC and ushered in POL, its biggest upgrade yet, one designed not just for a single chain, but to fuel an entire Web3 universe.
POL isn’t a cosmetic makeover, it’s the gas, the security and the governance token of Polygon’s rapidly expanding ecosystem. It powers every transaction, secures the network through staking rewards, and drives Agglayer, Polygon’s cross-chain settlement layer that makes liquidity move seamlessly between blockchains. For millions of users from tokenised asset traders to stablecoin enthusiasts POL becomes the invisible fuel behind the future of decentralised finance.
The ambition is staggering. Polygon’s Gigagas roadmap aims for 100,000 transactions per second, eclipsing even today’s fastest financial networks. Early upgrades such as Heimdall v2 have already cut settlement times to just five seconds, making stablecoin payments feel almost instant. “MATIC put India on the global blockchain map. POL is the next step built to power not just one chain, but an entire ecosystem for the next decade of growth,” said Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal.
For India’s young investors, POL isn’t just a token, it’s a ticket into a financial future being shaped in their backyard but adopted worldwide. Fortune 500s, global payment players and Web3 startups already run on Polygon, but with POL, the network promises even more scalability, security and cost efficiency. For brands and enterprises eyeing Web3 adoption, the message is clear: the future rails of global finance may well be running on Indian code.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
