Polygon's network activity has rebounded to levels not seen since the 2021 bull market, with daily transactions surpassing 8.1 million on December 10. This marks a recovery of roughly 50% of the activity lost earlier in 2025, driven primarily by sustained usage from the prediction market platform Polymarket and consistent stablecoin transfers, rather than speculative surges in gaming or DeFi.
The resurgence is closely tied to Polymarket's expansion, as the settlement of large prediction markets with elevated open interest has generated significant onchain volume. A key component of this activity is the use of Polygon-based USDC for transactions. Weekly transaction counts have stabilized above 43 million, indicating consistent demand rather than short-lived spikes.
Network performance has also been bolstered by a recent protocol upgrade, which increased Polygon's transaction capacity by approximately 30%, raising throughput to around 1,400 transactions per second. This upgrade has supported higher volumes without congestion. Stablecoins dominate the network's onchain economy, with Polygon holding roughly $2.8 billion in stablecoin liquidity, the majority of which is USDC. Common transaction types include POL token transfers, cross-chain settlements, and a growing volume of peer-to-peer stablecoin payments.
Despite the network's operational success, the native POL token continues to trade near historical lows, hovering around $0.11. Derivatives data shows subdued speculative interest, with open interest near $35 million. The token's weak performance is attributed to its primary utility function and the fact that some network fees can be paid directly in USDC, decoupling token demand from network usage growth.
