It was years, but still everyone’s nursing a hangover from the 2021 NFT and gaming boom, trying to find their footing again. Polygon too.
This once-hot Ethereum Layer 2 playground, known for flashy NFT projects and gaming hype, took a nosedive as the buzz died down.
But guess what? 2025 just flipped the script, and Polygon’s making moves like it’s got something to prove.
King of inflows
Polygon’s been struggling to regain its mojo since the NFT craze faded. Its daily active users dwindled, and it lost ground to the new kids on the block like Solana and Base.
It’s like watching your favorite but flaky coworker bounce between desks instead of nailing down a solid groove. But this year? Polygon’s back, rising like a phoenix.
And it’s rising. Polygon hit its highest value locked metric for the year, over $1.25 billion. That’s crypto speak for a lot of money parked in DeFi projects on the network.
In 2025 alone, Polygon pulled in 43% more value, with $2.77 billion in stablecoins moving through either natively or bridged from other chains.
The last week’s action added another $12 million in bridged deposits, making it the king of inflows.
Polymarket is the killer app?
Speaking of Polymarket, this prediction platform has been quietly thriving.
Forget the election hype, new users are flocking to bet on real-world events, with over 6,000 new prediction tokens created in just one week in August.
Polymarket now boasts 26,500 daily active users and over $133 million locked value. It’s like the office’s new hot topic watercooler chat, where everyone’s tossing in their two cents.
Usage
And don’t overlook Polygon’s native token, POL. Trading near a three-month high around $0.25, POL’s open interest zoomed to $74.7 million, signaling traders are betting on a breakout.
Even though it’s missing from some buzzy decentralized exchanges like Hyperliquid, POL’s holding firm on heavy hitters like Bybit and Binance.
Polygon might’ve lost its crown during the Web3 boom’s chaotic shuffle, but experts say this rebound shows it’s still a contender.
With strong DeFi projects like QuickSwap, Morpho, and Aave powering usage, Polygon’s carving out a new niche as a low-cost, reliable platform for micropayments and decentralized finance.
Disclosure:This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Kriptoworld.com accepts no liability for any errors in the articles or for any financial loss resulting from incorrect information.
Cryptocurrency and Web3 expert, founder of Kriptoworld
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With years of experience covering the blockchain space, András delivers insightful reporting on DeFi, tokenization, altcoins, and crypto regulations shaping the digital economy.
📅 Published: August 20, 2025 • 🕓 Last updated: August 20, 2025
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