Why did the price of POL go up?
Polygon (POL) increased by 1.93% over the past 24 hours, reaching $0.198. This is a positive shift compared to its recent declines over the past week (-4.17%) and month (-20.66%). The main reasons behind this rise are:
- Coinbase finishes MATIC to POL token swap – This reduces uncertainty as the final steps of the exchange’s token transition are complete.
- Growing institutional interest in staking – AMINA Bank, a regulated Swiss bank, started offering POL staking with rewards up to 15%, boosting confidence.
- Technical recovery signs – Indicators like RSI and MACD suggest the price may be stabilizing around $0.19.
Deep Dive
1. Migration Completion Lowers Uncertainty (Mixed Impact)
What happened: Coinbase completed its swap from MATIC to POL tokens on October 14, marking the end of a year-long migration process (Coinbase). Over 99% of MATIC tokens have now been converted to POL, removing the pressure from holders who might have sold during the transition.
Why it matters: The migration process had weighed on POL’s price, which dropped about 40.5% since September 2024. Now that it’s finished, this removes a major source of uncertainty and potential selling pressure. Traders might see this as a “sell the rumor, buy the news” moment, reducing risks related to token supply.
What to watch: Keep an eye on POL’s exchange reserves. If these reserves decrease, it could mean less immediate selling pressure on the market.
2. Institutional Staking Demand Grows (Positive Impact)
What happened: On October 9, AMINA Bank, a Swiss-regulated institution, launched POL staking services for institutional investors, offering rewards up to 15% (AMINA). This comes after Polygon’s recent Rio upgrade, which improved transaction speed and cross-chain capabilities, and BlackRock’s deployment of over $1 billion in real-world assets on the Polygon network.
Why it matters: This gives institutions a compliant way to earn yield on POL, supporting Polygon’s focus on real-world asset integration. Since only about 4–5% of POL is currently staked, there’s significant potential for growth in staking demand, which reduces the circulating supply and can support the price.
3. Technical Recovery Signs (Neutral)
What happened: POL’s price bounced off the $0.189 Fibonacci retracement level, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) moving out of oversold territory (42.5). The MACD indicator also shows less bearish momentum, suggesting the downward trend may be slowing.
Why it matters: Short-term traders might be buying back POL after it underperformed Bitcoin by 18% over the past 30 days. However, the 200-day exponential moving average (EMA) at $0.225 remains a strong resistance level to watch.
Conclusion
Polygon’s recent price increase reflects the completion of its token migration, growing institutional staking interest, and some technical recovery. However, broader challenges remain, such as Bitcoin’s dominance at 59% and reduced liquidity in altcoins. The key question now is whether POL can stay above $0.195 after this rebound or if overall weakness in the crypto market will push it lower.
What could affect the price of POL?
Polygon's price is balancing between upcoming technical improvements and challenges in the market.
- Tokenomics Overhaul Proposal – A push to end the 2% annual inflation could reduce selling pressure.
- Growing Institutional Interest – Regulated staking options and expansion into the Middle East aim to attract serious investors.
- Ethereum’s Scaling Competition – The success of Polygon’s Agglayer versus Ethereum 2.0 upgrades will shape its long-term usefulness.
Deep Dive
1. Token Redesign with Mixed Effects
Overview: Polygon’s community is considering a proposal to stop the 2% yearly increase in POL tokens (which adds about 200 million POL each year) and instead use protocol revenue to buy back tokens. This comes after POL’s price dropped 46% over the past year, despite Polygon handling $141 billion in transfers in May alone.
What this means: Ending inflation could make POL tokens scarcer, potentially supporting the price. However, if validators earn less, some might leave the network. Binance Coin (BNB) saw price stability after introducing token burns, so a similar approach might help POL reach above $0.25—especially if paired with clear revenue plans (Cointelegraph).
2. More Institutional Access (Positive Sign)
Overview: AMINA Bank, regulated by FINMA, now offers institutions a 15% annual yield on POL staking. Meanwhile, Cypher Capital is bringing Middle Eastern investments into Polygon’s real-world asset ecosystem. These moves follow big names like BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund and JPMorgan’s tokenized collateral projects on Polygon.
What this means: Demand from corporate treasuries could soak up a significant portion of POL tokens. For example, AMINA’s program requires locking about 28 million POL to generate those 15% returns. Still, the 40.5% price drop since these initiatives started shows that technical adoption doesn’t always lead to immediate price increases (Yahoo Finance).
3. Competition from Ethereum (Potential Risk)
Overview: Ethereum’s recent Dencun upgrade cut Layer 1 transaction fees by 90%, and competing Layer 2 chains like Arbitrum and OP Stack now handle five times more daily transactions than Polygon. Polygon’s response, Agglayer v0.3, which supports cross-chain settlements, is delayed until Q3 2026 for faster interoperability features.
What this means: POL could become just another Layer 2 token if Ethereum’s fees stay below $0.01. With Bitcoin dominating 58.9% of the market, investors might move away from mid-sized altcoins like POL during tough market conditions (CoinDesk).
Conclusion
Polygon’s future depends on successfully implementing its inflation changes and proving Agglayer is better than competing interoperability solutions. While growing institutional interest offers solid support, POL remains sensitive to Bitcoin-driven market shifts. The big question: Can Polygon Labs turn its 45,000-strong dApp ecosystem into steady revenue before Ethereum 2.0 changes the scaling game?
What are people saying about POL?
Polygon’s POL token is currently facing a mix of positive technical signals and broader market concerns. Here’s what’s happening:
- 97.8% of MATIC tokens migrated to POL – a strong sign of ecosystem progress
- Key resistance level at $0.21 – traders are watching for a potential price breakout
- Leadership change with Sandeep Nailwal as CEO – opinions are mixed on this move
- Staking rewards and airdrops available – incentives to hold and lock up POL
- Technical warning signs – risk of price drop if support at $0.165 fails
In-Depth Look
1. Migration Nears Completion – Positive Momentum
According to @Tokocrypto, 97.8% of the old MATIC tokens have been successfully moved to the new POL tokens. The total value locked (TVL) in the Polygon ecosystem has reached $1.23 billion, supporting over 45,000 decentralized applications (dApps).
Why this matters: Completing this migration removes old tokens from circulation, helping POL’s fresh start. The high TVL and large number of dApps show strong real-world use, which is important for Polygon’s future growth.
2. Watching the $0.21 Price Level – Mixed Signals
A trader on CoinMarketCap Community points out resistance near $0.2087. If POL can push above $0.1856 and hold, it might move toward breaking $0.21.
Why this matters: POL’s recent 3.4% gain in 24 hours supports this idea, but a 19.69% drop over the past month shows there are still challenges. Breaking $0.21 could trigger a buying frenzy (FOMO), but failure might lead to further declines.
3. Leadership Changes – Neutral Impact
News from CoinMarketCap Community reports that Sandeep Nailwal has been appointed CEO of the Polygon Foundation. He plans to shut down the zkEVM project and focus on scaling Polygon’s Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network to handle 5,000 transactions per second (TPS).
Why this matters: Nailwal’s focus on scaling is promising, but ending zkEVM raises questions about how Polygon will compete with other solutions like Arbitrum that use rollups for scaling.
4. Staking and Airdrops – Positive Incentives
Polygon’s official account @0xPolygon highlights that staking POL tokens not only earns validator rewards but also grants access to ecosystem airdrops, such as those from Katana.
Why this matters: With staking yields around 5%, these rewards encourage users to lock up their tokens, reducing the circulating supply. However, the large maximum supply of 10.5 billion tokens could limit price gains.
5. Technical Warning Signs – Bearish Risks
An analysis by Marcus Lane on CCN notes that the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 82.48, indicating POL might be overbought. There’s resistance at $0.22, which could lead to price rejection.
Why this matters: Despite recent price gains, POL has dropped 48.12% over the past year. The high RSI and lack of strong inflows from Ethereum ETFs suggest traders remain cautious about a sustained recovery.
Conclusion
The outlook for POL is mixed. On the positive side, the near-complete token migration and Nailwal’s plan to scale the network (with $1.23 billion TVL and a 5,000 TPS target) show potential for long-term growth. On the downside, POL’s recent monthly price drop and large token supply highlight ongoing challenges, especially amid broader crypto market uncertainty (CoinMarketCap Fear & Greed Index at 30). Keep an eye on the $0.21 resistance level—breaking above it could confirm bullish momentum, while failure might lead to testing support around $0.165.
What is the latest news about POL?
Polygon is making progress with its migration and gaining interest from big institutions, even as the overall market faces challenges. Here are the key updates:
- Coinbase Completes MATIC→POL Swap (October 14, 2025) – Coinbase finished moving all MATIC tokens to POL, fully switching to the new Polygon ecosystem.
- AMINA Bank Launches Regulated POL Staking (October 9, 2025) – A Swiss bank now offers institutions the chance to earn up to 15% returns by staking POL.
- Rio Upgrade Improves Network Speed (October 11, 2025) – Polygon rolled out upgrades to increase transaction capacity and cross-chain compatibility.
Deep Dive
1. Coinbase Completes MATIC→POL Swap (October 14, 2025)
What happened:
Coinbase wrapped up a year-long process of swapping MATIC tokens to POL at a 1:1 rate. They paused sending and receiving of these tokens for a few days to make sure everything went smoothly. This follows Polygon Labs’ announcement that nearly all MATIC tokens had already been migrated.
Why it matters:
This swap marks the end of Polygon’s rebranding under its 2.0 plan, fully retiring the old MATIC token. While this should strengthen the Polygon ecosystem, POL’s price has dropped over 40% since the migration started in 2024. This decline reflects broader weakness in alternative cryptocurrencies and selling pressure after the migration.
2. AMINA Bank Launches Regulated POL Staking (October 9, 2025)
What happened:
AMINA Bank, regulated by Swiss financial authorities (FINMA), became the first bank to offer POL staking services. They target institutional clients like family offices and asset managers, offering yields up to 15%—a combination of a 4–5% base rate plus incentives from the Polygon Foundation.
Why it matters:
This shows growing institutional interest in Polygon, which is handling $3 billion in stablecoin transactions and working with BlackRock’s BUIDL fund. However, POL’s price stayed mostly flat after the announcement, indicating some skepticism about whether these yields will outweigh broader economic risks.
3. Rio Upgrade Improves Network Speed (October 11, 2025)
What happened:
Polygon’s “Rio” upgrade introduced better validator staking, tools for cross-chain transactions, and aims to handle 5,000 transactions per second (TPS). This is part of a bigger plan, called the Gigagas roadmap, targeting 100,000 TPS by 2026.
Why it matters:
Technically, this upgrade is good news for decentralized finance (DeFi) and enterprise users who need faster and more reliable transactions. However, POL’s price dropped about 3.7% after the upgrade, and technical indicators show weak buying interest. This suggests a gap between network improvements and how traders feel about the token.
Conclusion
Polygon is hitting important milestones with institutional staking and technical upgrades, but POL’s price has fallen over 40% this year. The big question is whether real-world adoption—like partnerships with BlackRock and JPMorgan—can help POL’s price recover. Keep an eye on Q4 to see if growth in real-world assets (RWA) finally brings POL’s price in line with its underlying value.
What is expected in the development of POL?
Polygon is moving forward with key developments:
- Agglayer Integration (2025) – Linking Polygon PoS with Agglayer to enable seamless cross-chain transactions.
- Staking Hub Launch (2025) – Allowing POL holders to stake tokens on Ethereum to help secure multiple blockchains.
- Gigagas Roadmap (2026) – Scaling Polygon PoS to handle 100,000 transactions per second (TPS) for global payments and real-world assets (RWAs).
In-Depth Look
1. Agglayer Integration (2025)
What it is: Agglayer is Polygon’s protocol designed to connect different blockchains, allowing them to share liquidity and data smoothly. The plan is to link Polygon PoS with Agglayer, so POL tokens can be used across a wider network. This supports Polygon’s goal of becoming an “Internet of Blockchains” (Polygon Blog).
Why it matters: This is good news for POL holders because it could increase the token’s use and demand. However, the integration depends on community approval and overcoming technical challenges, which could cause delays.
2. Staking Hub Launch (2025)
What it is: The staking hub will let POL holders lock up their tokens on the Ethereum network to help secure several blockchains within the Polygon ecosystem. This follows the recent update where POL replaced MATIC as the main token for transaction fees on Polygon PoS.
Why it matters: This could encourage more people to hold POL long-term, as staking rewards and access to special ecosystem benefits (like airdrops from projects in the Agglayer Breakout Program) become available.
3. Gigagas Roadmap (2026)
What it is: The Gigagas project aims to boost Polygon PoS’s capacity to 100,000 TPS by 2026, focusing on fast, low-cost payments and supporting real-world assets. The Bhilai upgrade, tested in 2025, already achieved over 1,000 TPS with transaction fees under $0.001 (Coincu).
Why it matters: This could attract larger institutions and expand Polygon’s use cases. Still, success depends on how well the technology performs and market demand.
Conclusion
Polygon’s future plans focus on making blockchains work better together (Agglayer), increasing staking opportunities, and dramatically improving transaction speed (Gigagas). These steps could help POL grow in use and value, but much depends on community support and smooth technical execution. The key question is how Polygon will balance innovation with keeping the network stable during these big changes.
What updates are there in the POL code base?
Polygon has made important updates to its technology to improve speed, security, and usefulness.
- MATIC → POL Migration Completed (September 4, 2024) – Polygon PoS users upgraded automatically; Ethereum holders migrated manually.
- Heimdall v2 Mainnet Upgrade (July 10, 2025) – Faster transaction finality and updated consensus system.
- Gigagas Roadmap Launch (June 13, 2025) – Aims for 100,000 transactions per second (TPS) to support global payments and real-world assets (RWAs).
In-Depth Look
1. MATIC → POL Migration Completed (September 4, 2024)
What happened: Polygon completed the switch from the MATIC token to POL as its main token for paying fees and staking on the Polygon PoS network. Users on Polygon PoS were upgraded automatically, while those holding MATIC on Ethereum had to migrate their tokens manually through the Polygon Portal.
Technical details: The upgrade was designed to work smoothly with existing decentralized apps (dApps) and wallets. The token’s economics changed so that half of the new POL tokens go to validators (who help secure the network) and half to community projects.
Why it matters: This change strengthens POL’s role in Polygon’s multi-chain ecosystem and prepares it for future features like AggLayer and staking hubs. (Source)
2. Heimdall v2 Mainnet Upgrade (July 10, 2025)
What happened: Polygon upgraded its consensus layer—the system that confirms transactions—from an older version (Tendermint/Cosmos-SDK v0.37) to a newer one (CometBFT/Cosmos-SDK v0.50).
Technical details: This upgrade reduced the time it takes to finalize transactions to about 5 seconds, lowered the chance of transaction reversals (reorgs), and improved security for cross-chain bridges. Node operators and validators had to update their software settings to support these changes.
Why it matters: Faster transaction finality makes Polygon more attractive for applications that need quick and reliable processing, like payments and decentralized finance (DeFi). (Source)
3. Gigagas Roadmap Launch (June 13, 2025)
What happened: Polygon started a plan to dramatically increase its transaction capacity, aiming for 100,000 TPS through a series of upgrades. The first steps include Bhilai (1,000 TPS) and Rio (5,000 TPS).
Technical details: New features like Validator-Elected Block Producers (PIP-64) and Witness-Based Stateless Verification (PIP-72) help lower hardware costs and improve decentralization by spreading out network responsibilities.
Why it matters: These improvements position Polygon as a leader for high-volume use cases, such as institutional financial settlements and large-scale payments. (Source)
Conclusion
Polygon’s recent upgrades show a clear focus on making the network faster and more useful for real-world applications. With POL now at the center of its ecosystem and ambitious plans to boost transaction speed, Polygon is well-positioned to expand cross-chain adoption, especially with upcoming AggLayer integration.