Polymarket Debuts Protocol V2 In Canary Markets, Targeting Full Migration In November
In Brief
Polymarket launches Protocol V2, a rebuilt smart contract system replacing its 2019 Gnosis CTF foundation. Canary markets run Oct 5–30 ahead of a planned November 2 mainnet switchover.
Polymarket, one of the largest prediction market platforms in the crypto industry, has launched Protocol V2, a next-generation smart contract system designed to replace the legacy infrastructure the platform has relied on since its inception. The protocol lead at Polymarket, Rajath Alex, announced the release, noting that the new system will be tested through “Canary Markets” in a production environment from October 5 through October 30, ahead of a tentative switchover of all new markets on November 2.
The core motivation behind Protocol V2 is the architectural limitations of Polymarket’s existing foundation. Since its launch, the platform has operated on the Conditional Tokens Framework (CTF), a general-purpose system originally developed by Gnosis in 2019. While functional, this framework required an additional adapter contract for every new market type introduced — a separate adapter for pUSD collateral, a wrapped token for negative-risk markets, an additional exchange for each market type, and individual oracle adapters for each integration.
Protocol V2 replaces this layered structure with a unified design built around a single ERC-1155 position token contract, a single collateral asset (pUSD), one exchange serving all market types, and a single router. The position ID itself encodes the market type, market, and outcome, allowing the protocol to read position metadata directly from the identifier rather than through intermediary contracts.
The new system is modular and natively supports binary markets, atomic negative-risk markets, incremental negative-risk markets, and combinatorial markets at launch. Each module also supports additional primitive operations that expand what can be built on top of positions while improving capital efficiency.
Market resolution is handled by a new OracleAggregator with pluggable modules that connect to UMA, Chainlink, and future oracle providers, offering greater flexibility in how outcomes are settled. Cross-chain bridging of positions, collateral, and resolutions is embedded as a first-class function, to be activated when Polymarket expands to multiple chains. The entire protocol is upgradeable through a secure governance process, enabling faster feature delivery without disrupting existing integrations.
Security, Audits, and Migration Timeline
Security has been a central focus of the rollout. The codebase has been audited by six firms — Cantina, Certora, Quantstamp, SigmaPrime, Zellic, and Pashov — and formally verified by Certora. Polymarket has also introduced a bug bounty program offering rewards of up to $5 million for critical vulnerabilities.
The migration will proceed gradually. Canary markets running on Protocol V2 operate in production through October 30 to give developers and market makers time to integrate, with weekly office hours available during the four-week period. A tentative switchover of net new markets is scheduled for November 2; existing Conditional Tokens Framework holdings will not be converted.
Alongside the protocol release, Polymarket introduced Data API V2, a new Rust-based service powered by an in-house on-chain indexer. The API supports the V2 protocol, standardizes response formats, and implements cursor-based pagination to keep trade and activity feeds consistent as new records arrive. Integrations still using Data API v1 are advised to migrate alongside the protocol transition.
Looking ahead, the protocol establishes a foundation for features currently in research and development, including scalar resolution and directional collateral return.
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About The Author
Alisa, a dedicated journalist at the MPost, specializes in crypto, AI, investments, and the expansive realm of Web3. With a keen eye for emerging trends and technologies, she delivers comprehensive coverage to inform and engage readers in the ever-evolving landscape of digital finance.
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Alisa, a dedicated journalist at the MPost, specializes in crypto, AI, investments, and the expansive realm of Web3. With a keen eye for emerging trends and technologies, she delivers comprehensive coverage to inform and engage readers in the ever-evolving landscape of digital finance.
