Binance and Polymarket have asked the Polygon network to approve a one-time hard fork aimed at recovering tokens linked to hacks that struck both platforms on October 29. The proposal targets 70.49 million POL, valued at about $6.5 million using the price referenced in the filing.
Under the plan, balances in five addresses described as attacker-controlled would be reduced to zero, while the same amounts would be reassigned to recovery wallets controlled by the two companies. The proposal says the change would not alter Polygon’s overall token supply.
How the proposal is structured
The companies submitted a Polygon Improvement Proposal that would modify network state through a one-off hard fork. According to the filing, four of the affected addresses hold about 23.86 million POL tied to the Polymarket incident, while a fifth address holds about 46.63 million POL associated with the Binance hack later the same day.
Together, those wallets contain roughly 70.49 million POL. The proposal values the tokens at around $6.5 million based on the October 29 market price used in the document.
Why Binance and Polymarket say a fork is needed
Polygon block producers have already blocklisted the five addresses, preventing the funds from moving under the current setup. Binance and Polymarket describe that measure as temporary, arguing that it freezes the assets without creating a way to return them.
The proposal also says the attacker has continued trying to extract the tokens, including by allegedly offering validators cash to help unblock a transaction. In the companies’ view, that risk is one reason a governance-approved intervention is necessary.
Conditions before any network change
The proposal does not take effect automatically. It would need to pass through Polygon’s governance process before any hard fork could be scheduled.
The filing says additional steps would include a test run on the Amoy testnet and proof that Binance and Polymarket control the recovery wallets that would receive the reassigned tokens. The companies characterize the measure as an extreme action that should not become routine.
What happens next
The plan is scheduled to be presented during the Polygon Protocol Governance Call on November 5 at 14:30 UTC. If approved, the expected rollout timeline is about two weeks after that decision.
Binance has separately said it already replaced most of the roughly $6.3 billion stolen from its hot wallets in the October 29 attack. For the Polygon proposal, the next confirmed step is governance review, which will determine whether the network is willing to authorize the recovery mechanism.
Source: dailyhodl.com