Polygon, one of the legacy L2 chains of Ethereum, is accelerating in 2025. The chain used to be a key venue for gaming and NFTs during the 2021 boom, and it has been trying to regain usage and liquidity since then.
Polygon has grown gradually in 2025, driven by a mix of Polymarket activity and DeFi. Recently, Polygon reached its highest value locked level for the year to date, at over $1.25B, a level rarely achieved since 2023.
For the year to date, Polygon added 43% in additional value, with $2.77B in native or bridged stablecoins. The network also saw peak inflows in the short term, leading all other chains based on recent transfers.
In the past 24 hours, Polygon drew in an additional $12M in bridged deposits, mostly driven by DeFi and increased trust in the network.
In 2025, Polygon also emerged as a network for P2P micropayments, as well as DeFi transfers for tokens and stablecoins, due to the low cost of transfers. Polygon was also one of the earliest L2s to scale Ethereum during the 2021 Web3 boom, and is currently enjoying an inflow of value during the 2025 bull market.
Polygon’s daily active users diminished in the past three months, though specific niche apps saw increased activity. The Polygon WiFi Map is currently the leading app, while older apps like Moonveil, QuickSwap, Polygon and the Sunflower Land game also brought thousands of daily users.
The Polygon network saw a revival, as all L2 chains got a boost from Ethereum’s rally and increased usage.
POL open interest accelerates to three-month peak
POL, the new native Polygon token, also expanded, trading near its highest levels for the past three months at $0.25.
POL open interest also expanded to the higher range for the past year, at over $74.7M. Traders shifted toward long positions, expecting a breakout. POL is still not represented on the highly active Hyperliquid DEX, still relying on older listings, especially on Bybit and Binance.
The POL token replaced MATIC, one of the key utility tokens during the 2021 Web3 boom. The network lost its position to Solana and Base as the main venues of token and NFT activity, while also suffering from an outflow of Web3 gamers. Now, the chain hopes for a DeFi recovery, driven by QuickSwap and Morpho, as well as its native version of Aave.
Polygon reflects the success of Polymarket
Polymarket has a smaller but more active user base. New cohorts have joined the prediction platform, as traders with no exposure to the US elections are now making predictions on new types of markets.
Polymarket saw 6,174 prediction tokens created on the week ending August 11, with activity remaining relatively high for the past two months. The prediction platform carries 26.5K daily active users, with a dominance of wallets that did not participate in the election market in November 2024.
Polymarket carries over $133M in total value locked, with 27% growth in the past month. Some of the leading current event markets post volumes between $10M and $27M, as the app relies on a larger number of smaller markets. In 2025, the platform had a peak number of new questions initialized, with a weekly record this August.
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