Polygon stablecoin payments hits new highs with emerging market use heating up
Polygon Weekly Overview - August 15, 2025
Welcome back to the Polygon Weekly Overview. The best place for Polygon community members to get up to speed on the chain’s latest updates, metrics, releases, insights, ecosystem developments and more. All in one place.
By The Numbers
Polygon daily active users: 623.93K (-9.39%)
Polygon daily txns: 4.06M (-8.76%)
Polygon Total Volume Locked (TVL): $1.27B (+4.09%)
NFT weekly sales volume: $11.77M (-33.36%)
Top 3 NFT collections by sales volume:
Courtyard: $10.5M (-33.22%)
ValensPay Pass: $128.27K (-19.20%)
OKX NFT Creation: $118.52K (+102.92%)
The percentages and metrics are based on a 7-day timeframe, unless noted otherwise.
Agglayer Spotlight
🟪What happened: Polygon hit record payment metrics in July as peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers reached $2.56 billion, an all-time high for the network, according to Dune Analytics data. USDC active addresses also hit 3.16 million, leading all major blockchain networks, while USDT supply on Polygon reached a new high of $1.29 billion.
🟪Why does it matter: These metrics indicate Polygon is a dominant infrastructure for stablecoin transactions and everyday digital payments. Its growth shows that the network has expanded beyond DeFi trading and into real-world utility. The 3.16 million active USDC addresses represents user adoption rather than just whale activity. This is because activity in peer-to-peer transactions depicts broader retail participation in payments, especially in cross-border payments and remittances.
The record $2.56 billion in P2P volume indicates users are taking advantage of Polygon's value proposition globally, with its high speed and sub-cent transaction fees. This is particularly evident in LATAM where emerging market payment providers are driving significant growth. Polygon applications like BlindPay, Avenia, and Bitso that focus on the LATAM region recorded over $250 million in transfer volumes during July, according to Artemis.xyz data. This highlights how the network is capturing real-world payment flows in regions with economic uncertainty and banking infrastructure gaps.
The network's ability to process these transfers at scale without congestion showcases its technical infrastructure advantage over higher-fee alternatives. Recent transaction fee reductions have made micro-payments and frequent transfers more economically viable. These are particularly important for emerging market users who rely on smaller and more frequent cross-border transactions.
Additionally, USDT's supply growth to $1.29 billion further reflects rising confidence in Polygon as a treasury and settlement layer. This represents significant capital inflow as users and institutions mint new USDT directly on Polygon rather than bridging from other networks. The supply expansion combined with growing LATAM payment provider adoption indicates Polygon is becoming a primary destination for stablecoin activity, across both developed and emerging markets.
🟪The big picture: Polygon's July payment records reflect stablecoins achieving product-market fit across emerging economies, particularly in LATAM where inflation and banking limitations drive adoption for everyday transactions.
In countries like Argentina, where annual inflation has been 39.40% this year, stablecoins provide price stability compared to local currencies. Payment solutions like BlindPay, Avenia and Bitso are scaling rapidly across LATAM markets, serving users who need alternatives to failing traditional banking systems.
The cross-border remittance market represents massive opportunity, with LATAM receiving billions annually through traditional services charging over 20% in fees, according to a study by Mastercard. Stablecoin networks offer near-instant settlement at a fraction of the cost.
The emerging market opportunity extends beyond LATAM to Africa and Southeast Asia, where currency instability and limited banking infrastructure create natural demand for blockchain payments. Unlike developed markets where crypto has been for speculative trading purposes, emerging economies use stablecoins for practical financial needs.
Into the Agglayer
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Paribus, the lending protocol on Lumia, is live with the ability to lend or borrow using LUMIA token
Listen to Agglayer’s X Space on gaming with Polygon Foundation CEO Sandeep Nailwal and team members from Wilder World and Moonveil
Read this X Article to get a preview of the upcoming Moonveil Season 2
Ecosystem Showcase
Axal, a stablecoin savings platform, partnered with Polygon to bring yields and low gas fees
Tune into Gateway FM’s X Space on stablecoins and the future of payment web3 solutions
Quack AI is live on Polygon, allowing the network to use AI governance like proposal analysis and AI Agent voting
Listen to the Steer Protocol X Space to learn how Polygon is upgrading its layer for additional liquidity, yield and incentives
Join in the fun
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This information is for entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered financial advice, nor should it be used to make investment decisions. Cryptocurrencies are high risk and you should consult a financial professional before making any financial decisions. Make sure you do your own research.