EchoTerminal
Network

Polygon

34 pools·$174.5M TVL·5 protocols
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About Polygon

The oldest EVM sidechain plus a family of ZK rollups, all coordinated through the AggLayer.

Polygon PoS is a Proof-of-Stake sidechain that has hosted mass-market DeFi since 2020, secured by its own validator set with checkpoints posted to Ethereum. In 2024–2025 Polygon migrated from MATIC to POL and reoriented around AggLayer, a cryptographic aggregation layer that unifies liquidity across CDK-based chains (X Layer, Katana, and others). It remains a leading venue for consumer DeFi and stablecoin payments, with sub-cent fees and near-instant confirmations.

  • Polygon PoS TVL in the $600–800M range in mid-2026 per DeFiLlama, one of the top ten chains by TVL.
  • Polygon PoS is a validator-secured sidechain with checkpoints to Ethereum, not a rollup; separate from Polygon zkEVM which is a ZK rollup.
  • POL replaced MATIC in 2024 as the native and staking token, designed to secure multiple Polygon chains and the AggLayer.
  • AggLayer coordinates liquidity across CDK chains including X Layer, Katana, and other Agglayer Breakout Program graduates.
  • Active lending on Aave V3, Compound V3, and Morpho; long-standing home to QuickSwap, Balancer, and Uniswap V3 for DEX activity.

Frequently asked questions

Is Polygon PoS a Layer 2 or a sidechain?

Polygon PoS is a sidechain, not a rollup. It has its own validator set and checkpoints state to Ethereum, but does not post full transaction data or fraud/validity proofs. Polygon zkEVM is the separate ZK rollup product; the AggLayer is the coordination layer between them and third-party CDK chains.

What is the difference between MATIC and POL?

POL replaced MATIC as Polygon's native token in a 1:1 migration in 2024. POL is designed as a hyper-productive staking asset that can secure multiple chains — Polygon PoS today, and AggLayer-connected chains as they onboard — while MATIC has been effectively deprecated for governance and staking.

What is AggLayer?

AggLayer is a cryptographic aggregation layer that lets Polygon CDK chains share unified liquidity and settle atomically to Ethereum. Katana is the first CDK chain built explicitly to concentrate DeFi liquidity for the AggLayer ecosystem; X Layer is another prominent member.