Polygon (POL) news

In 2025 institutional investors dominate crypto inflows, accounting for about 95%, while retail shares drop to 5–6%. Polygon’s Aishwary Gupta explains that improved infrastructure—scalable, low‑cost, Ethereum‑compatible networks—has enabled banks and asset managers to deploy tokenized treasuries, staking and on‑chain ETFs. Gupta notes that retail pullback was driven by meme‑coin losses and unrealistic expectations, but structured, regulated products could win back confidence. He stresses that institutional adoption need not erode decentralization if public chains remain open, and anticipates growing tokenization, regulatory integration and cross‑rollup interoperability as the market matures.

Polygon rolled out its Madhugiri hard fork, boosting throughput by 33% and cutting block consensus time to 1 second. The update incorporates three Fusaka EIPs (EIP-7823, EIP-7825, EIP-7883) that limit gas consumption for heavy math, add a new bridge-transaction type, and enable future flexibility. The upgrade aims to strengthen Polygon’s infrastructure for high-frequency use cases such as stablecoins and real-world-asset tokenization. Polygon Labs forecasts a 'stablecoin supercycle' with at least 100,000 tokens in five years, stressing the need for transparency, accountability, and auditability in the RWA sector.

Revolut is embedding Polygon in its app to enable "zero-fee" remittances, POL staking, and in-app crypto card payments.

Revolut has activated USDC and USDT remittances on Polygon for its UK and EEA customers, enabling near‑instant transfers with low fees. Since its December launch, the fintech has processed over $690 million in Polygon‑based transactions. The move adds to a growing list of institutions—such as Stripe and Flutterwave—leveraging Polygon for global money movement, with Polygon Labs CEO noting the integration's speed, cost and user‑invisibility.

Revolut has teamed with Polygon, the Ethereum scaling network, to enable stablecoin payments and crypto remittances within its app. The partnership, launched in December, has already processed roughly $690 million in trading volume. With over 65 million users in 160 regions, Revolut offers USDC, USDT and POL transfers, and its sidechain access via Revolut Ramp. Polygon says the integration demonstrates compliant, high‑speed blockchain payments while the bank pursues a MiCA license that could lead to a native stablecoin.

Mastercard is expanding its Crypto Credential program to self‑custody wallets, allowing users to send and receive cryptocurrencies with verified, username‑style aliases instead of long addresses. Polygon will be the first blockchain to support the rollout, while Mercuryo will handle identity verification and issue the aliases. Once verified, users can link a human‑readable alias to their wallet or request a soulbound token on Polygon proving ownership. The move aims to reduce copy‑paste errors, streamline transfers and build trust in digital token movements.

Mastercard has selected Polygon to enable sending crypto to verified usernames via its new Mastercard Crypto Credential standard. Mercuryo will perform identity verification and issue aliases that users link to their self‑custody wallets. The system mirrors app‑based username transfers, giving each user a unique name and an optional token on Polygon to prove support for verified transfers. By simplifying addresses, Mastercard aims to increase trust and accessibility for digital asset payments.

R25, an Ant Financial‑backed stablecoin protocol, launched its on‑chain platform on Polygon, introducing rcUSD+, a yield‑bearing token that maintains a 1:1 dollar peg while paying yield from a portfolio of money‑market funds and structured notes. The stablecoin is designed for composability across Polygon DeFi protocols, positioning it as part of a growing wave of asset‑backed stablecoins. The launch comes amid rising interest in tokenized real‑world assets, which Standard Chartered estimates could reach $2 trillion by 2028, and aims to narrow the yield gap between crypto and traditional finance.

R25 has launched a yield‑bearing RWA stablecoin protocol on Polygon, introducing rcUSD+, a dollar‑pegged token that earns yield from money‑market funds and structured notes. The stablecoin will be available across Polygon’s DeFi ecosystem and is designed with multiple credit‑enhancement layers to protect users. The move comes as tokenised real‑world assets gain traction, with Standard Chartered predicting a $2 trillion market by 2028. Polygon, alongside Ethereum, is positioning to host a share of this activity, and analysts say yield‑bearing stablecoins are narrowing the traditional‑finance yield gap.

Calastone, the world’s largest global funds network, has integrated Polygon into its tokenised distribution platform, allowing asset managers to issue tokenised fund share classes directly on‑chain. Tokenised share classes are digital representations of 1:1 backed mutual‑fund or ETF units, enabling faster settlement and lower operational costs while preserving existing administrative processes. With the integration, Calastone’s network of 4,500 institutions and £250 bn of monthly flows can now tap on‑chain capital pools, such as tokenised treasuries, without altering fund structures.