Polygon price double bottoms as payment activity on Tazapay, Revolut, Paxos, and Moonpay accelerates
Polygon’s native token POL has given back all of its early‑year gains, even as the network quietly cements itself as one of the leading payment rails in crypto. The apparent disconnect between the falling price and improving fundamentals is setting up an interesting backdrop for a potential bullish reversal.
At the time of writing, POL trades near $0.095, a steep decline from its year‑to‑date peak around $0.1853 and still miles below its all‑time high. The sell‑off has tracked the broader downturn across digital assets, with Bitcoin and major altcoins all facing heavy pressure. Yet under the surface, Polygon’s role in the payments ecosystem is expanding, and its on‑chain metrics are strengthening.
The latest leg down in POL coincided not only with market‑wide weakness but also with renewed debate over the long‑term relevance of Ethereum layer‑2 solutions. Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin has argued that many L2s have been slower than expected in reaching full maturity (often referred to as “stage 2”) and improving interoperability. At the same time, the Ethereum base layer itself has become significantly more efficient and cheaper to use, raising questions about which scaling solutions will ultimately survive.
Buterin’s view is that only those layer‑2 networks that tackle specific problems and serve clear use cases will endure. General‑purpose scaling might not be enough. In this environment, chains that double down on distinct niches—such as payments, gaming, or DeFi specialization—stand a better chance of maintaining relevance. Polygon has increasingly positioned itself in the payments lane, seeking to be a low‑cost, high‑throughput settlement layer for consumer and business transactions.
Evidence of this strategy is visible in stablecoin data. Polygon now boasts the second‑largest number of monthly USDC‑using addresses, trailing only Solana. That metric highlights how frequently users and applications rely on Polygon for dollar‑denominated transfers. Its peer‑to‑peer stablecoin transfer volume has surged to roughly $39 billion, indicating that the chain is not just hosting idle liquidity but actually being used for day‑to‑day value transfer.
A key driver of that activity is the adoption of Polygon by payment and fintech platforms. Tazapay, one of the more prominent names using Polygon’s infrastructure, processed over $687 million worth of transactions on the network in January alone. Digital banking and payments giant Revolut also uses Polygon, with more than $50 million in processed volume over the same period. Meanwhile, players such as Stripe, Paxos, Moonpay, and Avenia Pay are handling additional transaction flows amounting to millions of dollars each.
This growing roster of payment partners is not just a vanity metric—it translates directly into more on‑chain usage and fees. Polygon’s increasing prominence in the payments stack means it is being embedded into user experiences where people may not even realize they are transacting on a blockchain. Each of those transactions, however, contributes to the network’s revenue and long‑term economic sustainability.
On‑chain analytics underscore this trend. Data from blockchain research platforms shows Polygon’s network fees have risen by double‑digit percentages in recent months, reflecting higher transactional throughput. At the same time, the protocol’s burn mechanism is removing more POL from circulation. As fees increase and part of those fees are burned, the token’s net issuance declines, potentially introducing a deflationary element over time if demand remains stable or grows.
Technically, however, the market has not yet rewarded these developments. On the daily price chart, POL has been in a pronounced downtrend, sliding from about $0.1853 in January to a low near $0.0841 in the last week. This drop almost perfectly mirrors the broader crypto correction, suggesting macro sentiment and liquidity conditions rather than Polygon‑specific news have been the primary driver.
Despite the sell‑off, the chart is beginning to show a classic bullish reversal structure: a double‑bottom pattern. The two local lows around $0.084–0.085 represent the “bottoms,” while the neckline of the pattern aligns with the recent high around $0.1853. Double bottoms are widely watched in technical analysis as potential turning points, often signaling that selling pressure is being exhausted and buyers are stepping in to defend a key support zone.
For this pattern to confirm, POL would typically need to break decisively above the neckline area, ideally on expanding volume. Nonetheless, the mere presence of the double bottom suggests that downside momentum is weakening. Based on this structure, a reasonable first upside objective for POL lies around $0.1500, implying roughly 57% potential appreciation from current levels if bullish follow‑through materializes.
The bullish thesis, however, is contingent on the integrity of support. A sustained break below approximately $0.0845 would negate the double‑bottom scenario and point to a renewed downward leg. Such a move could indicate that macro pressures, regulatory headlines, or a shift in market risk appetite are overwhelming the improving fundamentals.
From a risk‑reward perspective, Polygon sits at an interesting crossroads. On one hand, the network is gradually evolving into a key settlement layer for global payments and remittances, as shown by the strong uptake from Tazapay, Revolut, Moonpay, Paxos, and other payment providers. On the other hand, competition among L2s and alternative high‑throughput chains remains fierce, and the macro environment for risk assets is still fragile.
For traders, this backdrop presents multiple scenarios. Short‑term swing traders may watch the $0.084–$0.085 support closely, using it as a line in the sand for invalidating the bullish setup. A move toward the $0.1500 region could then be seen as a logical target aligned with the pattern’s measured move. More conservative participants might wait for a clean breakout above the neckline and a period of consolidation before committing, seeking confirmation that the downtrend has truly reversed.
Long‑term investors inclined to focus on fundamentals could interpret current prices as a reflection of broad market fear rather than network deterioration. In that case, metrics such as stablecoin volumes, active addresses, fee trends, and the expanding ecosystem of payment partners may carry more weight than near‑term volatility. If Polygon continues to attract real‑world payment flows and enterprise integrations, the divergence between usage and price may eventually narrow.
It is also important to consider the evolving role of Ethereum itself. As the base layer continues to implement upgrades that increase throughput and reduce transaction costs, some of the original motivations for using L2s may shift. Polygon’s strategy of leaning heavily into specific use cases like payments, micropayments, and fintech integrations could prove crucial in differentiating it from other scaling solutions that do not have such a defined focus.
Another factor to watch is regulatory and institutional sentiment toward stablecoins and cross‑border payments. Polygon’s strong presence in USDC activity and peer‑to‑peer stablecoin transfers positions it at the heart of this narrative. If regulators provide clearer frameworks for dollar‑pegged assets and tokenized money, platforms already relying on Polygon may be better placed to scale their offerings globally.
Moreover, Polygon’s network economics may become more attractive as its burn rate rises alongside usage. If application developers and payment providers continue building on Polygon because of its low fees, speed, and tooling, demand for block space could keep growing, which in turn could support higher fee revenue and more aggressive token burning. Over time, this creates a feedback loop where more activity reduces effective token supply, potentially supporting price if investor demand persists.
In sum, POL’s current price weakness contrasts sharply with the network’s strengthening role in digital payments. The combination of rising on‑chain volumes from major processors like Tazapay, Revolut, Paxos, Moonpay, and others, an expanding share in the stablecoin transfer market, and a technically significant double‑bottom pattern creates a setup where a bullish breakout becomes a plausible medium‑term scenario. Still, the outlook hinges on holding key support, the behavior of the broader crypto market, and Polygon’s ability to maintain its edge as a specialized payments‑focused layer‑2 in an increasingly competitive landscape.