> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.matrix.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.matrix.io/mainnet-upgrade-2026/matrix-mainnet-upgrade.md). # MATRIX MAINNET UPGRADE **To all MAN holders,** I am writing not only as CEO of Matrix AI Network, but as a holder who has stood shoulder to shoulder with you since 2017. I have lived through every cycle, felt the weight of every market shift, and never wavered in what we are building. Nothing about today is a sudden turn. NeuraMATRIX, Morpheus, MANTA, MANAS, MANIA and the Intelligent Contracts framework have been in development for nine years, built for exactly this moment. On 8 August that work becomes a live network: the new Matrix mainnet, built specifically as the chain BioData real-world assets run on. The infrastructure goes live first. The applications are built on top of it. That step needs a new mainnet and a new economic model. This announcement covers both, and exactly what happens to the MAN you hold today. Step-by-step instructions are in the three guides published alongside it: the Asset Migration & Mainnet Transition Guide, the Miner & Validator Migration Guide, and the OG Holder Airdrop FAQ. ### Before Anything Else * **No existing holder loses a single token**. Nothing is taken away, converted at a discount, or written down. * **Migration is 1:1.** What you hold on the old chain is what you hold on the new one. * **You do not need a new wallet**. Your existing private key, mnemonic or keystore still controls your assets on the new chain, at a new EVM-format address. * **The new supply is fully allocated today**. Every category is named, capped and published below. * **It does not arrive all at once**. Almost all of it is released over 24 to 36 months, or only as milestones are met. ### In 60 Seconds * New mainnet live 8 August 2026. The old chain closes at the end of September. * Maximum supply moves from 1 billion to 2 billion MAN, and stops there permanently. * 27% of the new supply goes straight to existing holders and node operators. * Existing holders qualify for a loyalty airdrop weighted by how long they have held. Exchange holdings count. * Every biodata upload burns MAN permanently. * The new supply is released over 24 to 36 months, or only as milestones are met. ### The Upgrade Happens in Two Stages This is a staged process, not a single switch. **Stage 1: the current mainnet is upgraded**. The chain you hold on today is upgraded so that its data format matches the new mainnet. At the same time its supply is aligned from 1 billion to 2 billion. The supply change happens here, on the chain you already hold, in public, before anything is switched over. **Stage 2: switchover and migration**. The new mainnet goes live. During the dual-chain period, holdings move across at 1:1. The old chain closes once most of the migration is done. Doing it in this order means you can see the supply change before any of your tokens move, and the migration itself is a simple equal swap with nothing to reconcile. ### What the New Mainnet Actually Does **Higher capacity, lower cost**. The new L2 design uses a Sequencer, Validators and Staking. It handles far more transactions and costs much less to run. That is what biodata applications need to work at real scale. POW mining retires, and the network is secured by staked tokens instead. **Standard EVM compatibility**. Exchanges, wallets and bridges can connect in days rather than months, and any Ethereum developer can build on Matrix straight away. You can use MetaMask or any standard EVM wallet by adding the Matrix network parameters. There is no proprietary wallet to install, and the network parameters are published when the new mainnet goes live on 8 August. **Permanent burn on biodata usage, built into the protocol**. Every biodata upload destroys MAN for good. It is written into the code, so it is not a policy, not a buyback, and not anyone’s decision to reverse. This is separate from ordinary network fees, which are shared with the validators and stakers who secure the chain. **Built for biological data**. Consent, ownership, access control and pricing for biodata are part of the protocol itself, not features added on top. ### Why Now Every buyer of biological data needs the same four things: proof it came from a real person, permission to use it, control over who can see it, and a compliant way to pay for it. Whether the buyer is an AI lab, a drug company, a research institute or a wearables maker, the problem is the same. That is the infrastructure Matrix now provides. The difference between 2018 and today is not our ambition. It is the market. AI now needs verified biological data, DeSci has emerged, RWA infrastructure has matured, and consumer devices that capture biosignals have arrived. Nine years ago the technology came before the market. Today the market has caught up. ### Why the Supply Changes **Alignment**. The new mainnet is built around a fixed maximum of 2,000,000,000 MAN. The current chain has to reach that same number for Stage 2 to be a simple 1:1 move rather than a reconciliation between two different totals. **Capability**. Our technology is further ahead than our reach in the market. This upgrade provides what we need to deploy what has already been built, and 2 billion is where it stops. This is the only structural supply change in the project’s history. ### Allocation of the New 1 Billion MAN
AllocationShareAmountCore purpose
Data on-chain mining30%300MEarned progressively by users contributing biological data (auto-distributed on DCS scoring).
Loyalty airdrop (holders only)17%170MTenure-weighted airdrop for holders since 2017. Self-custody holdings released in 5 rounds; exchange-held positions are covered by the same pool, on arrangements agreed with each exchange.
BioData blockchain core development15%150ML2 network / Sequencer / Validator client development, BioData RWA protocol and core code (5/9 multisig, milestone-unlocked).
DAO + DEX15%150MDAO governance pool and DEX liquidity pool.
POW to POS node migration bonus10%100MAdditional dividend for miners and validators who migrate and keep staking, sized by stake, lock-up, uptime and past contribution (calculated separately from the airdrop; released over 3 years, front-loaded 40% / 35% / 25%).
Market & ecosystem expansion10%100MCommercial partnerships, market growth, exchange liquidity (3/5 foundation multisig, quarterly public reporting).
Strategic reserve3%30MExtreme black-swan events only (5/7 multisig plus CEO veto, dual confirmation).
None of this enters circulation on 8 August. Data mining is released over three years, the loyalty airdrop to self-custody holders in five rounds over 24 months, and the node migration bonus over three years, front-loaded at 40% in year one, 35% in year two and 25% in year three, so the earlier you migrate the sooner you reach the largest tranche. Core development is unlocked only as milestones are delivered, under 5-of-9 multisig control. Market and ecosystem spending runs through a 3-of-5 multisig with quarterly public reports, and the reserve is for extreme emergencies only. Most of the new supply reaches people only as they earn it: by contributing data, by holding through each airdrop round, or by completing node migration. ### What This Means For You **Am I being diluted?** Partly, and I will not talk around it: before airdrops, what you already hold is one half of the new total. Pushing back the other way, the 17% loyalty airdrop and the 10% node migration bonus send 27% of the new supply straight back to existing holders and node operators, instead of out to fund operations. The longer you have held, the more of your share you get back; people who bought recently get less. That is intentional. Add the 15% DAO and DEX pool, and 42% is either held by the community or works directly for it. But look at what the alternative actually costs. Doing nothing keeps your share of the supply perfectly intact and changes nothing else. No funded deployment. No users. No fee burn. No reason for anyone new to want MAN. Your percentage would be safe, and it would be a percentage of a network that never switched on — which is exactly the position we have been holding for nine years, watching the price find a new floor and then find a lower one. So the real question is not how much of the supply you hold. It is whether the thing you hold a share of is going anywhere. This issuance is what funds the answer: the biodata chain shipped, MAN put in front of the buyers who actually need it, liquidity and market presence that match what we built. For the first time this project has fuel. Fuel guarantees nothing on its own, but nothing moves without it — and we have spent nine years without any. **Am I losing tokens?** No. Not one. No existing balance is burned, rescaled or force-converted. **What happens to my MAN?** It moves to the new chain at 1:1, and your existing keys still control it. Of the 2 billion on the new chain, 1 billion is what holders already own, carried across untouched. The other 1 billion is the allocation set out above. **Do I need to do anything?** If you hold on an exchange: nothing. If you hold in your own wallet: one mapping transaction, once self-custody mapping opens. If your MAN is staked, or you run a miner or validator node: your stake and delegation move across automatically, but your node role does need a decision from you — the Miner & Validator Migration Guide sets out the options. If you are a developer running contracts on the old chain: see Migration below. ### Loyalty Airdrop The airdrop rewards earlier, longer-term holders. Earlier purchases receive higher weight:
When you first boughtWeight multiplier
2017–2018 (Genesis era)3.5×
2019–20202.0×
2021–20231.2×
2024–20250.8×
20260.5x
Updated 3 August 2026 **Self-custody:** five rounds over 24 months. Keep your balance at or above its snapshot baseline. Lower balances reduce or forfeit later rounds. **Self-custody:** five rounds over 24 months. Keep your balance at or above its snapshot baseline. Lower balances reduce or forfeit later rounds. **Exchange holdings:** included in the same 17% pool and tenure weighting. Each exchange’s distribution plan will be published when confirmed. See the OG Holder Airdrop FAQ for rules, formulas, and examples. **If you hold in your own wallet:** five rounds over 24 months. Each round requires your balance to stay at or above your snapshot baseline; if it drops below, later rounds are reduced or lost. ### Migration Full instructions are in the Asset Migration & Mainnet Transition Guide and the Miner & Validator Migration Guide, both published today. In short: if you hold in your own wallet, you make one mapping transaction; if you hold on an exchange, you do nothing; if you are a staker, miner or validator, your stake, node rights and delegations move automatically, and what you do need to choose is the role you take on the new chain; and if you miss the window, you can still recover your assets using a Migration Voucher. **Migration runs in stages**. Exchange partners migrate first. Self-custody mapping opens once that work is settled, which keeps the two tracks from colliding and means the mapping contract goes live against a stable exchange picture rather than a moving one. We are not fixing a date for it today, because it depends on exchange readiness and we would rather give you a date we can keep. The opening of self-custody mapping will be announced in advance through official channels, and there is no advantage to mapping early: the migration is 1:1 whenever you do it, and anyone who misses the window entirely can still recover their assets with a Migration Voucher. **Exchange timing**. Each exchange opens new-chain deposits, withdrawals and trading on its own upgrade schedule, and may suspend MAN deposits and withdrawals while that work is carried out. Follow your exchange’s own announcements for exact timing. **Developers**. The new chain is EVM, so existing dApps are redeployed on the new mainnet rather than carried across; in most cases this means updating the RPC endpoint and Chain ID and deploying again. If a contract on the old chain holds MAN on behalf of users, please contact the team before 8 August: balances held inside contracts cannot complete the standard mapping on their own and are handled directly with us. ### Critical Timeline
DateMilestone
1 AugustThis announcement and three guides published. Question collection opens.
1–4 AugustCommunity question collection.
5 AugustAMA #1: open Q&A.
8 AugustNew mainnet live. Total supply 2,000,000,000 MAN.
15 AugustAMA #2: open Q&A.
31 AugustAMA #3: open Q&A.
August–SeptemberMigration runs in stages: exchange partners first, then self-custody mapping. Each stage is announced in advance.
30 SeptemberOld mainnet closes. Final snapshot and Migration Vouchers issued beforehand. Exact snapshot time, halt block height and final migration window published in advance.
These dates reflect current planning. A mainnet upgrade always carries some uncertainty, and the schedule, especially the mapping and old-chain closure dates, depends on how the upgrade progresses and on exchange partners’ own timetables. Any change will be announced in advance through official channels. ### How This Decision Was Made Three alternatives, argued over months: * **No expansion:** no dilution at all, and no change to where we stand today. Nothing gets funded, and nine years of capability keeps sitting idle. * **A smaller expansion:** less dilution now, but only partial funding, and we would probably have to ask again. * **Outside investors:** no new supply, but tokens go to funds instead of holders, and outsiders gain influence over direction. The path we chose involves the most dilution on paper and also returns the most directly to holders. None of the others protected long-term holders better. ### Closing I have been part of this project since 2017 and I have never sold a position. This is not fundraising dressed up as tokenomics. It is the supply the new mainnet is built on, published in full before it happens, and it happens once. For nine years most of this work happened where nobody could see it. That was never dormancy. It was foundation. And the people who stayed through it are the reason there is anything to launch at all. I will not make a price prediction, and no one honest can. What I can give you is my own judgement: with the network funded and live, I believe the next 24 months give MAN more room to move upward than it has had at any point in the last nine years. That is a judgement, not a promise. The execution still has to be delivered, and I am staying fully invested alongside you while we deliver it. What I commit to is execution: the dates above, three AMAs, and bi-weekly transparency reports. Judge us on whether the network is live on 8 August, whether your migration works, and whether the applications arrive. **Nine years of infrastructure is ready. On 8 August, it goes to work.** **Owen Tao** CEO, Matrix AI Network {% file src="/files/GMOKm9PxVWv7zXcuq25p" %}