Polymarket Flips the Stack: One Contract to Rule Them All 🧱

Polymarket has begun rolling out Protocol V2, a ground-up rebuild of the smart contracts powering its prediction markets, with a tentative Nov. 2 target for moving new markets onto the system. Rajath Alex, the platform's Head of Protocol, announced the upgrade on October 5 via X, framing it as a replacement for the 2019-era Gnosis Conditional Tokens Framework that has required separate adapter contracts for every new market type.

The new architecture centers on a single ERC-1155 PositionManager contract and an OracleAggregator designed to plug into Chainlink and UMA for market resolution. Collateral is consolidated into Polymarket USD (pUSD), a token backed 1:1 by Circle's USDC stablecoin that was introduced as part of an exchange upgrade in April 2026 and is issued on Polygon, where Polymarket currently operates.

Alex said the stacked-adapter model meant one more approval, one more integration cost, and one more contract that could not be changed once deployed. Protocol V2 instead uses upgradeable smart contracts that Polymarket said can be modified through a "secure governance process," reducing the need to deploy additional contracts for new features. The system is designed to support transferring positions, collateral, and market outcome data between blockchains, though Polymarket has not disclosed timing or target networks for cross-chain expansion.

The new protocol is being tested on a limited number of live markets through Oct. 30. Existing positions will not be converted to V2, and Polymarket said app and website users will not need to take technical steps to migrate, though they may be asked to approve new contracts when trading.

Security work on the upgrade included audits by Cantina, Quantstamp and Zellic, formal verification by Certora, and a bug bounty of up to $5 million for critical vulnerabilities. The overhaul lands as Kalshi has outpaced Polymarket on volume, posting roughly $17.6 million in 24-hour activity compared with Polymarket's $12.3 million, according to figures cited in industry coverage of the rollout.