Polygon's new incubator program rewards network supporters with token airdrops
Polygon Weekly Overview - April 25, 2025
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By The Numbers
Polygon daily active users: 430.5K (+4.82%)
Polygon daily txns: 3.22M (+15.41%)
Polygon Total Volume Locked (TVL): $922.72M (+10.48%)
NFT weekly sales volume: $12.91M (-37.01%)
Top 3 NFT collections by sales volume:
Courtyard: $11.78M (-37.48%)
Infinitex: $240.38K (-32.50%)
Voxies: $73.65K (-14.04%)
The percentages and metrics are based on a 7-day timeframe, unless noted otherwise.
Agglayer Spotlight
🟪What happened: Polygon launched the Agglayer Breakout Program, an incubator where graduating projects commit to airdropping 5-15% of their token supply to POL stakers. The program selects projects building within the ecosystem, specifically those connecting to Agglayer or Polygon PoS.
🟪Why does it matter: This initiative creates an additional incentive for staking POL and supporting the core functions of the network, beyond staking yields. Traditionally, POL staking powers both Agglayer and Polygon PoS with stakers directly rewarded for helping to validate transactions and securing the network.
However, with this program, POL stakers can earn not only from powering features and securing the network, but also gain direct exposure to the success of new projects launching within the ecosystem via token airdrops.
Specifically for Agglayer, POL will serve as the utility token powering the unified ecosystem. Staking POL is fundamental for operating the network, enabling chains connected to Agglayer to access features like bundled settlement, fast interop, and atomicity that enables cross-chain execution.
Features like fast interop come at a premium, with chains paying higher fees for this speed. By contributing to the secure operation of these features through their staked tokens, POL stakers earn fees and benefit directly from this revenue.
The Breakout Program takes this existing value proposition further by adding additional exposure for stakers to new projects within the ecosystem. The first cohort will include: Privado ID (formerly Polygon ID) , set to airdrop around 5% of its supply, Miden, a ZK chain with plans to airdrop 10%, and an upcoming DeFi chain planning a to airdrop 15%.
New projects that connect to Agglayer could benefit by tapping into its aggregated user base and liquidity that POL stakers provide. This can help to solve the "cold start" problem or the initial challenge of building traction when starting from zero users and activity. With the Breakout Program, Polygon hopes to provide a relationship where stakers are rewarded for supporting the network and new projects benefit from the security and user base that the established network provides.
🟪The big picture: Agglayer's revenue model captures the spread between the cost of aggregated settlement and what individual chains would pay. In this instance, the revenue from settlement volume, regardless of the token used for payment, is set to go to POL stakers. This means POL stakers benefit from all transaction activity across the ecosystem, not just those using POL tokens.
This is also where network effects can be key as stakers earn rewards from the entire network's success. More chains can mean more assets, volume, liquidity, transactions and fees, potentially making staking POL an attractive choice for users. In addition, new chains can bring its own users and activity to generate more settlement transactions that feed back into staker rewards.
Encouraging POL staking in multiple ways can also help to create longer term stakers that get rewarded consistently for securing both Agglayer and Polygon PoS.
Into the Agglayer
Agora AUSD is available on Fluid for lending or providing liquidity in the AUSD-USDC Smart Lending Pool
Tune into this livestream where Plume Network and Lumia discuss bridging RWAs to web3
Learn from Union Build Founder Karel Kubat about Agglayer's approach to ZKP hardware acceleration in this video
Listen to Agglayer's X Space on how it looks to redefine user onboarding frameworks using account abstraction
Ecosystem Showcase
Learn about Pyse EV bike fleet, an initiative powered by Polygon PoS that offers fractional ownership of revenue-generating vehicles in Dubai
Read about Polygon Labs Co-Founder Sandeep Nailwal’s thoughts on the partnership with Reliance Jio to bring 450M users onchain
Check out the surge in stablecoin activity as smart accounts on Polygon PoS processed $90.7M in March, up 20x since September according to Dune data
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.