What is expected in the development of POL?

Polygon’s roadmap is focused on making the network faster, more useful, and growing its community. Here are the key milestones:

1. AggLayer Integration (2025) – Connect different blockchains to share liquidity and data smoothly.
2. Gigagas Roadmap (2026) – Aim for 100,000 transactions per second (TPS) to lead in global payments.
3. Staking Hub Launch (2025) – Let POL holders help secure multiple blockchains and earn rewards.
4. Polygon zkEVM Sunset (2026) – Stop supporting zkEVM to focus on Proof of Stake (PoS) and AggLayer.

Deep Dive

1. AggLayer Integration (2025)

Overview: AggLayer is Polygon’s technology to connect different blockchains, allowing them to work together like an “Internet of Blockchains.” In 2025, the community will vote on linking Polygon PoS to AggLayer, enabling POL tokens to be used across multiple blockchains (Polygon Blog).
What this means: This is positive for POL because it could increase demand for cross-chain transactions and staking. However, delays or technical issues could slow progress.

2. Gigagas Roadmap (2026)

Overview: Announced in June 2025, this plan aims to reach 100,000 TPS by 2026, focusing on real-world asset settlements and small payments. The Bhilai upgrade (already live on testnet) increased speed to 1,000 TPS with very low fees (under $0.001) (CoinMarketCap News).
What this means: This is somewhat positive. Faster transactions could attract big companies like Stripe and BlackRock, but success depends on keeping fees low and the network stable.

3. Staking Hub Launch (2025)

Overview: Soon, POL holders will be able to stake their tokens to help secure multiple blockchains, earn rewards from services like zero-knowledge proof generation, and take part in governance decisions. This supports Polygon’s goal of making POL a highly useful token (Polygon Blog).
What this means: This is positive because it could increase demand for staking POL. However, changes in token economics might cause some price fluctuations.

4. Polygon zkEVM Sunset (2026)

Overview: Polygon plans to stop supporting zkEVM in 2026 to focus on PoS and AggLayer development. This decision comes after a drop in activity and a strategic shift toward payments and real-world assets (Coinspeaker).
What this means: This is neutral. It could make Polygon more efficient but might disappoint developers who rely on zkEVM.

Conclusion

Polygon is focusing on making its network faster (100,000 TPS), connecting blockchains (AggLayer), and supporting real-world uses like payments and asset management. These upgrades and partnerships with companies like Stripe and Mastercard are promising, but challenges in execution and market reactions remain important factors.

The big question: Will POL’s growing usefulness help it compete with Ethereum Layer 2 solutions like Arbitrum?

What updates are there in the POL code base?

In 2025, Polygon’s technology received major upgrades aimed at improving scalability, security, and aligning the ecosystem with its native token, POL.

1. Madhugiri Hardfork (December 9, 2025) – Increased network capacity by 33% and made future upgrades easier.
2. Heimdall v2 Mainnet Upgrade (July 10, 2025) – Cut transaction confirmation times to about 5 seconds.
3. MATIC to POL Token Migration Completed (September 4, 2024) – POL became the main token for transaction fees and staking.

Deep Dive

1. Madhugiri Hardfork (December 9, 2025)

What happened: This upgrade boosted Polygon’s Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network throughput by 33% and introduced flexible block timing to speed up processing.

Key improvements:

• PIP-75: Allows blocks to be produced as quickly as every second, speeding up transactions.
• PIP-74: Improves how nodes sync data, making the network more reliable.
• Security upgrades compatible with Ethereum help reduce transaction costs.

Why it matters: This upgrade makes Polygon’s network more capable of handling high-demand uses like payments and real-world asset tokenization, while still working smoothly with existing applications. (Source)

2. Heimdall v2 Mainnet Upgrade (July 10, 2025)

What happened: Polygon replaced its consensus engine with a faster one called CometBFT, improving how quickly transactions are finalized.

Technical benefits:

• Transaction finality dropped from about 90 seconds to 4–6 seconds, meaning transactions are confirmed much faster.
• Removed outdated code, making the system easier to maintain.
• Prepared the network to handle over 1,000 transactions per second before integrating the AggLayer scaling solution.

Why it matters: This upgrade helps Polygon scale for enterprise-level use, addressing previous speed bottlenecks. While the upgrade caused some short-term price swings during the transition, it’s generally positive for POL’s future. (Source)

3. MATIC to POL Token Migration Completed (September 4, 2024)

What happened: POL officially replaced MATIC as the native token for Polygon’s PoS network, becoming the token used for paying fees and staking.

Key points:

• POL is now the primary token for network operations.
• Users holding MATIC on Ethereum or zkEVM networks had to manually migrate their tokens via the Polygon Portal.
• The migration was designed to avoid disruptions, maintaining compatibility with existing services.

Why it matters: This unification under POL strengthens Polygon’s token economy and supports multi-chain security. By August 2025, over 97% of tokens had migrated successfully. (Source)

Conclusion

Polygon’s 2025 upgrades show a clear focus on making the network faster and more scalable (Madhugiri Hardfork, Heimdall v2) while simplifying its token system (POL migration). As the AggLayer scaling solution rolls out, the question remains: can POL’s expanded capabilities help recover from its 55% price drop this year?

What could affect the price of POL?

Polygon’s future price depends on network improvements, how many people use it, and overall market conditions.

1. AggLayer Adoption – Connecting multiple blockchains could increase Polygon’s usefulness (positive if it works well).
2. Stablecoin Usage – Lots of transactions use stablecoins, which might not increase demand for POL tokens (potential downside).
3. MATIC to POL Transition – Ongoing token changes may cause selling pressure in the short term (negative impact).

Deep Dive

1. AggLayer Expansion (Mixed Impact)

Overview: Polygon is working on AggLayer, a system to link liquidity across different blockchains. Version 0.3 is expected by the third quarter of 2026. This upgrade could attract developers who want easy interaction between blockchains, but it’s still uncertain how widely it will be adopted. There were some technical issues in December 2025, but they were quickly fixed.
What this means: If successful, POL could become a key player in multi-chain operations, increasing demand for staking and transaction fees. However, delays or competition from other projects like Arbitrum Orbit could slow progress.

2. Stablecoin Settlement vs. POL Utility (Potential Downside)

Overview: Polygon handles over 6 million transactions daily, mostly involving stablecoins like USDC. This shows real-world use, but only about 8% of transaction fees are paid in POL tokens (Yahoo Finance).
What this means: Since most fees aren’t paid in POL, the system that reduces POL supply through fee burning has less effect. Unless more transactions require POL for fees, growing transaction numbers might not increase POL’s value.

3. MATIC-to-POL Transition (Short-Term Challenges)

Overview: Nearly 98% of MATIC tokens have been converted to POL, but some conversions, especially on Ethereum, are still happening. Additionally, POL has a 2% yearly inflation rate to reward stakers, which can lead to selling pressure if demand is weak (CoinDesk).
What this means: Once the migration is complete, supply should stabilize, but expect some price swings as remaining MATIC holders sell off their tokens.

Conclusion

Polygon’s price will depend on whether AggLayer gains traction faster than selling pressure and the impact of stablecoin transactions. Technical upgrades aiming for 5,000 transactions per second by 2026 improve the network’s strength, but the gap between network activity and POL token demand remains a challenge. Keep an eye on how much POL is used for fees and how many validators participate—these factors will show if staking rewards can attract enough investment to balance out inflation.

What is the latest news about POL?

Polygon is managing network challenges and increased usage, but its token, POL, is still struggling to break free from downward price pressure. Here are the key updates:

1. PoS Node Issue & Quick Fix (Dec 18, 2025) – Polygon quickly fixed a validator bug, restoring full network function with minimal downtime.
2. Upbit Pauses Polygon Transfers (Dec 17, 2025) – South Korea’s major exchange paused deposits and withdrawals during urgent network upgrades.
3. Transaction Volume Hits 2021 Levels (Dec 17, 2025) – Daily transactions topped 6 million, even though POL’s price stayed flat.

In-Depth Look

1. PoS Node Issue & Quick Fix (Dec 18, 2025)

What happened:
Polygon’s Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain faced a problem caused by a validator node failure, which temporarily stopped new blocks from being added. Co-founder Sandeep Nailwal confirmed that the team deployed fixes within hours, bringing the network back to full operation. During this time, POL’s price dropped about 4% to $0.11 but the network still processed transactions.

Why it matters:
This quick response shows Polygon has improved its ability to handle technical problems compared to past incidents, like the 48-hour outage in March 2023. The price quickly recovered, indicating investors saw this as a minor issue. (CoinMarketCap)

2. Upbit Pauses Polygon Transfers (Dec 17, 2025)

What happened:
Upbit, one of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, temporarily stopped POL and other Polygon-based asset transfers to carry out emergency network upgrades. This pause was meant to protect users but limited access to funds for many traders.

Why it matters:
This event highlights how POL’s liquidity depends heavily on centralized exchanges. After the announcement, 24-hour trading volume dropped 45% to $42 million. Still, Polygon’s large stablecoin liquidity pool of $2.8 billion helped soften the impact on the overall ecosystem. (CoinMarketCap)

3. Transaction Volume Hits 2021 Levels (Dec 17, 2025)

What happened:
Polygon saw over 6 million transactions in a single day, matching activity levels from the 2021 crypto boom. This growth is driven by real-world uses like Polymarket’s prediction markets and business stablecoin payments, rather than speculative trading.

Why it matters:
Even with rising network use, POL’s price remains near cycle lows at $0.107, down 77% year-over-year. Since most fees are paid in USDC stablecoins, demand for POL tokens doesn’t increase much, creating a disconnect between network utility and token value. (Yahoo Finance)

Conclusion

Polygon’s network shows strong resilience and growing real-world use, but POL’s price struggles reflect deeper challenges in turning network activity into token demand. Upcoming upgrades and partnerships with companies like Stripe and Revolut offer hope for future growth. However, POL’s ability to break free from the overall altcoin market weakness may depend on whether Bitcoin dominance stays above 59%.

Why did the price of POL fall?

Polygon (POL) dropped 3% in the last 24 hours, adding to a 10% loss over the past week. The main reasons are:

1. Network issues – Upbit paused POL deposits and withdrawals after a node problem on December 17-18, increasing selling pressure.
2. Price hit resistance – POL couldn’t break above the important $0.12 level, confirming a downward trend.
3. Market shift to Bitcoin – Altcoins like POL struggled as Bitcoin’s market share rose to 59.07%.

Deep Dive

1. Network Issues and Their Impact

Polygon’s Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain had a node failure on December 18, which temporarily stopped new blocks from being added. As a safety measure, the exchange Upbit paused POL deposits and withdrawals for over 48 hours (Upbit).

Why this matters:

• When exchanges stop transfers, traders often panic and sell, worried they won’t be able to access their funds.
• This incident raised questions about Polygon’s reliability compared to competitors like Arbitrum, even though the problem was fixed quickly.

What to watch:
Keep an eye on when Upbit and other exchanges resume POL deposits and withdrawals.

2. Price Struggles at Key Resistance Level

POL’s price couldn’t stay above $0.12, a key resistance point based on technical analysis (61.8% Fibonacci retracement), and fell back into a downward trend.

What this means:

• The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 35.48, showing the coin is oversold but without signs of a rebound yet.
• The 30-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $0.124 now acts as resistance, with the next support level around $0.10, which was the low in 2025.

3. Altcoins Losing Ground to Bitcoin

Bitcoin’s dominance in the market rose slightly to 59.07%, signaling that investors are moving money away from altcoins like POL.

What this means:

• POL’s trading volume dropped 45% to $42.5 million, reflecting a broader 51% drop in crypto spot trading volume.
• The Fear & Greed Index is at 28, indicating fear among traders who prefer Bitcoin over riskier assets like POL.

Conclusion

POL’s recent price drop is due to a mix of technical setbacks, concerns following the network incident, and a cautious overall market. Even though Polygon’s network activity remains strong, with 8.1 million daily transactions as of December 10, the token’s price is struggling because of weak staking rewards and low interest in related derivative markets.

What to watch next:
Will POL hold the important $0.10 support level, or will further sell-offs push it lower? Watch exchange wallet activity and how Polygon’s AggLayer adoption progresses for signs of recovery or further decline.

What are people saying about POL?

Polygon’s POL token is navigating between promising upgrades and some challenges. Here’s the latest:

1. AggLayer advancements support Polygon’s multi-chain goals
2. Growing enterprise use faces token price ups and downs
3. MATIC to POL token migration is almost done (97.8% complete)

In-Depth Look

1. Polygon 2.0’s Critical Moment — Mixed Outlook

@Nicat_eth explains:
“POL is becoming the main economic driver for Polygon. How well AggLayer adoption and validator rewards are executed will decide if the token sees growth or stays flat.”
– @Nicat_eth (7.5K followers · 24.8K impressions · Dec 2, 2025)
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What this means: There’s a mix of optimism and caution. AggLayer is improving cross-chain user experience and holds $1.25 billion in total value locked (TVL), but selling pressure from the MATIC to POL token switch and competition from other Layer 2 solutions are challenges.

2. Polygon Gains Ground in Payments — Positive Signs

@StarPlatinumSOL shares:
“Polygon handled $1.82 billion in payment volume in Q3, teamed up with Stripe and BlackRock, and supports 62% of all tokenized bonds worldwide.”
– @StarPlatinumSOL (85K followers · 82.2K impressions · Nov 14, 2025)
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What this means: This is a strong sign that Polygon is gaining real-world use, especially in payments and finance. However, the POL token price has dropped 53% over the past 90 days, so the market hasn’t fully rewarded this progress yet.

3. Technical Analysis Points to Possible Price Rebound — Bullish Signal

@CoinsProbe notes:
“POL shows signs of a potential bullish reversal. Key resistance is at $0.2087, with support at $0.1651.”
– @CoinsProbe (1.7K followers · 1.2K impressions · Dec 18, 2025)
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What this means: Traders watching charts see a chance for POL to bounce back if it stays above $0.10 (currently $0.107). The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 44, indicating neutral momentum—not strongly bullish or bearish.

Conclusion

Overall, opinions on POL are mixed. Polygon is making solid infrastructure improvements and landing enterprise partnerships, which are good for long-term value. But short-term price drops (down 45% in 60 days) reflect ongoing token migration and market liquidity issues. Keep an eye on the MATIC to POL migration progress, which is 97.8% complete as of December 19, 2025, to understand how token supply might affect prices.