Polygon Transactions Rocket to 2021 Highs as Polymarket Fuels Epic Comeback

Polygon's network is roaring back to life, hitting transaction volumes not seen since the last bull market's peak. The driving force? A surge in activity from prediction platform Polymarket.

Network Activity Ignites

Daily transactions on the Ethereum scaling solution have exploded, matching the frenetic pace set during the crypto frenzy of 2021. This isn't just a blip—it's a sustained resurgence that has developers and users taking notice.

The Polymarket Catalyst

Polymarket, the decentralized prediction market, is pouring gasoline on Polygon's fire. Users are flocking to bet on everything from election outcomes to pop culture events, processing their wagers—and fees—through Polygon's low-cost infrastructure. It's a classic case of a killer app finding its perfect technical home.

Beyond the Hype Cycle

This comeback story cuts deeper than mere speculation. It showcases Layer 2 networks maturing from tech experiments into vital infrastructure for real, high-volume applications. While other chains chase developer grants, Polygon is quietly processing actual economic activity—a novel concept in some corners of crypto finance.

The network's revival proves a simple point: when you build a fast, cheap highway, eventually someone will start driving trucks full of valuable cargo on it. Even the most cynical trader has to admit—real usage is the only metric that bypasses the hype cycle and matters in the long run.

Now, Polygon seems to be making a lasting comeback, achieving over 8.1M transactions as of December 10. Polygon has now recovered about 50% of the transactions from the last quarter of 2025, when Polymarket settled some of its largest prediction markets, with peak open interest. 

Polygon has lost most of the previous activity from play-to-earn gaming from the 2021 bull market. Currently, Polymarket is the main source of activity, based on the usage of Polygon-based USDC tokens. 

Polygon is one of the few L2 chains to retain long-term growth and recover from the 2022-2023 bear market. The current apps are using the Polygon proof-of-stake chain, with almost no activity on the Polygon ZK-EVM network.

Polygon increases speed

One of the sources for growing transaction counts is the recently increased speed of Polygon. The chain introduced an update to increase transaction capacity by 30%, up to 1,400 transactions per second. 

Polygon’s most active transactions are POL token transfers, as well as cross-chain settlements. The network holds $2.8B in stablecoin liquidity, mostly relying on USDC. Stablecoins make up the bulk of Polygon-based tokens, as other assets launched on the chain retain only minimal value. 

The recent asset profile further proves that Polygon is mostly used to settle prediction markets. The chain also carries increasing traffic in P2P stablecoin settlements. 

POL token trades near all-time low

Despite the chain’s success, the native POL (MATIC) token kept sliding to new all-time lows. POL is at $0.11, with a constant slide in the past year. The Polygon community has also called for returning to the old ticker for its former popularity. 

Polygon is used as a utility chain, and some of the fees can be paid directly in USDC. POL remains a utility token and is not connected to DeFi usage, liquid staking, or other activities. As a result, Polygon has become a settlement layer, without turning into a speculative hub. 

The Polygon team focuses more on payments and RWA tokenization, without much focus on the native token. 

POL is still expected to make a comeback if the asset enters a HYPE phase. Currently, the token mostly sits in whale wallets and connected clusters, suggesting accumulation near the lower range. POL open interest is near an all-time low, at around $35M.

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