Why did the price of POL fall?
Polygon (POL) dropped 0.6% over the last 24 hours, continuing a downward trend of 16.8% over the past month. The main reasons include weak interest in altcoins, technical resistance levels, and mixed activity on the blockchain network.
- Bearish Market Sentiment – Altcoins are underperforming as Bitcoin’s market share increased to 58.1%.
- Technical Resistance – POL is struggling to break above $0.2899; the RSI indicator at 37.99 shows it’s oversold but lacks strong buying momentum.
- Network Outflows – $608,000 worth of POL left exchanges, which lowers liquidity and could lead to more price swings.
Deep Dive
1. Altcoin Weakness (Negative Impact)
Overview: Bitcoin’s dominance in the market rose to 58.1% (+0.34% in 24h), meaning investors are moving money away from altcoins like Polygon. The Altcoin Season Index dropped 4.55% in the last day, showing less appetite for riskier assets.
What this means: Polygon’s price tends to move closely with Bitcoin (correlation of 0.89 over 30 days). Since Bitcoin is holding steady near $115,000, it limits Polygon’s potential to rise. Traders are favoring more stable cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum over mid-sized altcoins such as Polygon, especially with the market sentiment neutral (Fear & Greed Index at 43).
2. Technical Breakdown (Mixed Impact)
Overview: Polygon is trading near a key support level at $0.22, which matches its upward trendline. Technical indicators like the MACD histogram (-0.003) and RSI (37.99) suggest bearish momentum but no strong sell-off yet.
What this means: If Polygon falls below $0.22, it could drop further toward $0.211, a low point from September 2025. On the other hand, if it bounces back above the 30-day moving average at $0.257, it might signal a recovery. Traders are also watching Fibonacci retracement levels, with $0.229 acting as a near-term resistance point.
What to watch: A daily close above $0.23 or below $0.22 will help confirm the next price direction.
3. On-Chain Activity (Neutral Impact)
Overview: About $608,000 worth of Polygon left exchanges in the past 24 hours, indicating long-term holders may be accumulating. However, open interest in derivatives dropped 8.1% to $142 million, showing less speculative trading.
What this means: While selling pressure is easing, lower liquidity could increase price volatility. Polygon holds a 29% share of the U.S. Treasury Bill tokenization market (Coinspeaker), but this hasn’t fully offset broader market selling driven by economic factors.
Conclusion
Polygon’s recent price drop reflects wider weakness in altcoins, mixed technical signals, and cautious trading in derivatives. Despite strong fundamentals like growth in real-world asset tokenization and institutional partnerships, short-term price movement depends heavily on Bitcoin’s performance and whether Polygon can hold the $0.22 support level.
Key question: Will Polygon stabilize above $0.22, or will Bitcoin’s rising dominance push it toward its yearly lows?
What could affect the price of POL?
Polygon's price is balancing between growing interest from big institutions and ongoing improvements to its network.
- Real-World Assets (RWA) Lead – Polygon dominates tokenized bonds with $1.13 billion in total value locked (TVL), showing strong real-world use.
- Gigagas Roadmap – The upcoming Rio upgrade aims to boost transaction speed to 5,000 per second by October, targeting payment systems.
- Middle East Expansion – Partnerships in the Middle East could increase demand for POL but come with execution risks.
Deep Dive
1. Real-World Asset Leadership (Positive Outlook)
Overview: Polygon controls 62% of the global tokenized bond market, holding $1.13 billion across 269 assets (Coinspeaker). Recent collaborations with Qatar National Bank’s tokenized treasury fund and BlackRock’s pilot projects position Polygon as a key platform for institutional assets.
What this means: This leadership ties Polygon’s usefulness directly to large traditional finance markets worth trillions. As more institutions use POL as collateral (like Bybit’s $1 billion QCDT fund), demand could grow steadily. However, institutional adoption tends to be slow, which could delay benefits.
2. Scalability Upgrades (Mixed Outlook)
Overview: The Rio upgrade, currently on testnet and expected on mainnet by October, introduces new features like stateless verification and block producer elections to increase speed to 5,000 transactions per second (TPS). The longer-term Gigagas plan aims for 100,000 TPS by 2026 to support global payments (Coinspeaker).
What this means: Faster transaction finality (under 5 seconds) and very low fees (about $0.001 per transaction) could attract high-volume users. But Polygon faces strong competition from networks like Solana, which already handles 65,000 TPS. Polygon will need to prove real-world use after upgrades to boost staking demand.
3. Geopolitical Strategy (Potential Upside and Risks)
Overview: Polygon’s partnership with Dubai-based Cypher Capital aims to make POL the go-to crypto for institutions in the Middle East, offering yield products and regulatory sandbox access (Cryptoslate).
What this means: Success here could bring in capital from oil-rich investors. However, changing crypto regulations in the UAE and competition from local blockchains like Haqq Network create uncertainty.
Conclusion
Polygon’s price depends on turning its real-world asset dominance into steady revenue and delivering on its Gigagas technical goals. While many investors are holding POL long-term (608,000 POL withdrawn from exchanges), technical indicators like RSI (35.4) and MACD are bearish, showing doubts about short-term growth. Can Polygon’s institutional inflows in Q4 make up for its 65% yearly underperformance compared to Ethereum?
What are people saying about POL?
The Polygon community is buzzing about the $0.31 price level, leadership changes, and the final phase of moving from MATIC to POL tokens. Here’s what’s trending:
- 97.8% of the migration completed, sparking talk of prices doubling
- Traders watch closely for a $0.31 breakout, though technical signals are mixed
- New CEO focuses on a 5,000 transactions per second (TPS) upgrade expected by October
- DeFi strategies highlight POL’s potential for strong yields
Deep Dive
1. Migration Nears Completion 🚀
@Tokocrypto reports:
“Migrasi MATIC→POL 97,8% rampung! TVL $1.23B, 45K+ dApps – siap breakout?”
– @Tokocrypto (1.2M followers · 234K impressions · 2025-09-01 13:23 UTC)
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What this means: Nearly finishing the switch from MATIC to POL is a positive sign. It reduces the old token’s leftover supply, while the growing total value locked (TVL) of $1.23 billion and over 45,000 decentralized apps (dApps) show the ecosystem is strong and ready for growth.
2. POL as a DeFi Yield Engine 🧮
@SuzzyDefi explains:
“POL in single-sided Uniswap LPs + Yearn vaults = capital-efficient yield stacking on Polygon’s upgraded infra”
– @SuzzyDefi (89K followers · 18K impressions · 2025-09-01 14:53 UTC)
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What this means: This is cautiously optimistic. Using POL in decentralized finance (DeFi) strategies like liquidity pools and vaults can generate attractive returns. However, success depends on continued demand for POL compared to other Layer 2 blockchains.
3. Leadership Changes: Good or Bad? 🔄
CoinMarketCap notes:
Sandeep Nailwal’s appointment as CEO aims to increase POL’s value by delivering a 5,000 TPS upgrade. However, this comes alongside plans to shut down the zkEVM product and a 68% price drop over six months.
– Source: CMC Community Post (2025-06-11)
What this means: Mixed feelings here. While technical improvements could strengthen Polygon’s fundamentals, retiring some products might upset developers and users, especially with strong competition from other Layer 2 solutions.
4. Technical Analysis: Mixed Signals 📉📈
Crypto news outlets report differing views on POL’s price action:
- Bullish case: If POL breaks above $0.255, it could reach $0.31
- Bearish case: If support at $0.185 fails, price might retest $0.16
What this means: The market is uncertain. POL has gained 26% over the past 90 days but lost 15% in the last 30 days, reflecting broader crypto volatility.
Conclusion
Overall, sentiment around POL is cautiously optimistic. The nearly complete migration from MATIC to POL and improved staking yields are positives. However, leadership changes and competition from Ethereum 2.0 create risks. Keep an eye on the MATIC→POL migration progress (currently 97.83%)—fully finishing this could remove a major hurdle, while delays might cause selling pressure. With the new CEO’s 5,000 TPS upgrade expected to hit testnets in September and mainnet in October, that launch could be a key moment for Polygon’s future.
What is the latest news about POL?
Polygon is making strides by expanding its real-world asset presence and upgrading its technology, all while defending important price levels. Here’s the latest update:
- Gate Layer Integration (September 25, 2025) – POL becomes the exclusive gas token for a fast Layer 2 network, improving its utility and token economics.
- TVL Matches Ethereum (September 22, 2025) – Polygon’s total value locked (TVL) in U.S. Treasury Bill tokenization hits the same level as Ethereum’s at 29%, but POL’s price struggles around $0.22.
- Middle East Expansion (September 12, 2025) – Polygon partners with Dubai’s Cypher Capital to promote institutional adoption of POL for real yield investment strategies.
Deep Dive
1. Gate Layer Integration (September 25, 2025)
What happened:
Gate exchange launched Gate Layer, a Layer 2 network built on Optimism technology, using POL as its only gas token (the fee paid for transactions). This network can handle over 5,700 transactions per second and supports features like perpetual futures trading, Web3 project development, and meme coin trading. Since early 2025, over 180.5 million GT tokens (60% of the total supply) have been burned, reducing supply.
Why it matters:
This development is positive for POL because it increases the token’s use beyond Polygon’s own blockchain, which could lead to more tokens being burned and higher demand for transactions. However, other Layer 2 networks like Base and opBNB are also competing in this space, which might limit how much this helps POL in the long run. (Coinspeaker)
2. TVL Matches Ethereum (September 22, 2025)
What happened:
Polygon’s total value locked (TVL) in tokenized U.S. Treasury Bills now equals Ethereum’s share at 29%. Despite this milestone, POL’s price is hovering near $0.225, down 15% over the past month, testing a key support level at $0.22. There were $608,000 worth of tokens moved out of exchanges, indicating some accumulation by investors, but open interest in derivatives dropped 8% to $142 million, showing traders are cautious.
Why it matters:
Matching Ethereum’s TVL in this area shows growing institutional trust in Polygon’s platform. However, POL’s price remains sensitive to overall market conditions. Holding above $0.22 could lead to a price rebound toward resistance at $0.29. (AMBCrypto)
3. Middle East Expansion (September 12, 2025)
What happened:
Polygon Labs teamed up with Dubai-based Cypher Capital to promote POL as a professional-grade asset for institutions in the Middle East. This partnership includes programs to increase liquidity and offer yield strategies aimed at corporate treasuries and investment funds.
Why it matters:
This move is cautiously optimistic for POL, aligning with the Middle East’s favorable crypto regulations and growing interest in real-world assets. The success of this initiative depends on turning institutional interest into active staking and stronger network security. (CryptoSlate)
Conclusion
Polygon’s leadership in real-world asset tokenization and strategic partnerships highlight its growing importance to institutions. However, POL’s price still faces risks from broader economic factors and competition among Layer 2 networks. With the upcoming “Rio” testnet upgrade aiming to reach 5,000 transactions per second by October, the key question is whether Polygon can turn these technical improvements into lasting demand for POL.
What is expected in the development of POL?
Polygon’s roadmap is focused on improving scalability, enabling better communication between blockchains, and increasing adoption by institutions. Key upcoming milestones include:
- AggLayer v0.3 Launch (Q3 2025) – An upgrade to improve cross-chain interoperability.
- 5,000 TPS Target (September/October 2025) – Boosting Polygon PoS’s transaction speed.
- Gigagas Roadmap (2026) – A plan to reach 100,000 transactions per second through multiple upgrades.
Deep Dive
1. AggLayer v0.3 Launch (Q3 2025)
Overview:
AggLayer v0.3 is designed to connect liquidity and data across different blockchains, creating a trustless “Internet of Blockchains.” Most features will be ready by Q3 2025, but the faster interoperability feature will be delayed until late Q3. The AggLayer Breakout Program will also launch specialized projects focused on zero-knowledge proofs, such as Polygon ZisK (led by Jordi Baylina) and Miden.
What this means:
This upgrade is positive for POL because it strengthens Polygon’s position as a central hub for cross-chain activity, which could increase demand for POL tokens used to secure these networks. Although the delay in fast interoperability might cause some short-term disappointment, it doesn’t change the long-term outlook.
2. 5,000 TPS Target (September/October 2025)
Overview:
Polygon PoS aims to handle 5,000 transactions per second (TPS) by late 2025, up from about 1,000 TPS after the Heimdall v2 upgrade in July 2025 (CoinMarketCap News). Transaction finality times are expected to drop below 1 second, which is important for real-world asset (RWA) settlements and payment systems.
What this means:
This is good news for POL’s utility because faster transaction speeds make Polygon more attractive for payments and regulated industries. However, there are technical risks, such as node synchronization problems, which caused a 4% price drop during a bug in September 2025.
3. Gigagas Roadmap (2026)
Overview:
Announced in June 2025, the Gigagas roadmap targets 100,000 TPS by 2026 through several upgrade phases. The first phase, called Bhilai, will lower transaction fees to under $0.001 (paid in POL) and integrate with traditional finance partners like Stripe (Coincu).
What this means:
This is a neutral-to-positive development for the long term. While the increased scalability could help Polygon reach mass adoption, competition from other Layer 2 solutions like Arbitrum and Ethereum’s own upgrades present challenges. Success depends on hitting technical milestones without delays.
Conclusion
Polygon’s roadmap focuses on improving scalability (from 5,000 to 100,000 TPS), enhancing cross-chain interoperability (AggLayer), and building real-world payment infrastructure. The success of these goals depends on smooth execution and community support, especially regarding POL’s role in securing the network.
Will the delay in AggLayer’s fast interoperability affect Polygon’s ability to maintain its multi-chain leadership against competitors like Cosmos?
What updates are there in the POL code base?
Polygon’s latest updates focus on making the network faster and more secure.
- Heimdall v2 Upgrade (July 12, 2025) – Redesigned core system for quicker transaction confirmation and less outdated code.
- 1,000+ Transactions Per Second (TPS) Achieved (July 16, 2025) – Polygon PoS now processes over 1,000 transactions every second.
- MATIC to POL Token Migration Completed (August 20, 2025) – Nearly 98% of MATIC tokens upgraded to POL, expanding its use across the network.
In-Depth Look
1. Heimdall v2 Upgrade (July 12, 2025)
What happened: Polygon replaced older software components with newer, more efficient ones. This change cut down the time it takes for a transaction to be fully confirmed from about 90 seconds to just 5 seconds. It also improved how data is handled and made it safer for validators (the network’s transaction verifiers) to manage their security keys.
Why it matters: Faster transaction confirmation means users experience quicker payments and smoother decentralized finance (DeFi) activities. Cleaner code reduces the chance of bugs and makes future updates easier. This is a positive step for POL’s growth. (Source)
2. 1,000+ TPS Milestone (July 16, 2025)
What happened: Polygon’s Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network now processes over 1,000 transactions per second, with test environments showing potential for up to 5,000 TPS. The system uses a new method called AggLayer to group transactions together, saving on processing costs.
Why it matters: While this speed increase is expected, it doesn’t automatically mean more users or apps will join. However, it positions Polygon as a strong option for applications needing fast, frequent transactions, like small payments. (Source)
3. MATIC to POL Migration Completion (August 20, 2025)
What happened: Almost 98% of MATIC tokens have been upgraded to POL, making POL the main token for paying fees and staking on the network. The new token system splits new POL rewards evenly between validators and a community fund. Future plans include allowing staking across different blockchains.
Why it matters: Having one unified token simplifies the ecosystem and aligns incentives for everyone involved. Reducing the number of MATIC tokens could also lower selling pressure, which is good for POL’s value. (Source)
Conclusion
Polygon’s recent upgrades show a clear focus on building a fast, scalable, and secure platform for real-world use. With transaction finality now under 5 seconds and over 1,000 TPS live, the big question is how quickly developers will build payment and finance solutions that take advantage of these improvements.