Polygon’s S-Curve Moment: Daily POL Burns Hit 1M as Staking Locks 3.6B Tokens

TLDR:

• Polygon burns 1 million POL daily, projecting a 3.5% annual supply reduction if the trend continues through 2026.
• The daily burn rate exceeds staking rewards by 2x, with burns at 3.5% versus a 1.5% annual emission rate.
• Polygon PoS generated $380K in one day, surpassing Aptos’s entire 2025 revenue of $270K in 24 hours.
• With 3.6 billion POL staked and accelerating burns, circulating supply tightens amid rising network usage.

Polygon PoS has entered what its CEO describes as an “S-curve moment” for fee generation. Daily token burns now consistently reach 1 million POL as network activity accelerates beyond linear growth patterns. 

With 3.6 billion POL already staked, the combination of rising burns and locked supply creates a tightening dynamic. The network processed 1.4 billion transactions in 2025, generating sufficient fees to burn 3 million POL on January 5 alone.

Accelerating Burns Create Deflationary Pressure on Token Supply

Polygon Foundation CEO Sandeep Nailwal announced that the chain has been burning 1 million POL daily over the past three to four days. 

If this burn rate continues for an entire year, approximately 3.5 percent of POL’s total supply would be eliminated. The figure represents a turning point in the token’s economic model.

Staking rewards currently distribute roughly 1.5 percent of POL supply annually to validators and stakers. The burn rate now exceeds these emissions by more than double. 

This creates net deflationary pressure as more tokens exit circulation than enter through rewards. Previously inflationary tokenomics have shifted toward supply contraction.

The peak occurred on January 5 when the network burned 3 million POL tokens. This single-day burn represented 0.03 percent of total supply. 

The acceleration pattern suggests exponential rather than incremental growth in fee generation. Nailwal characterized this phase as POL’s resurrection year, pointing to 2026 as a period of renewed momentum.

Staked Supply Locks 3.6 Billion POL as Network Utility Expands

Currently, 3.6 billion POL tokens remain staked across the Polygon network. This locked supply cannot be immediately sold or transferred, reducing available circulating tokens. Combined with accelerating burns, the staking mechanism tightens overall supply dynamics.

USDC transfers drove much of the recent activity, with $1.08 billion moved across 7.37 million wallets. These peer-to-peer micropayments generate consistent base fees that fuel the burn mechanism. 

Applications like Avenut and Revolut contributed to $780 billion in total stablecoin volume. The practical utility goes beyond speculative trading.

Crypto analyst Vadim noted that Polygon PoS earned $380,000 in one day, surpassing Aptos’s entire 2025 revenue of $270,000. 

Over the past week, Polygon has outperformed Base and Arbitrum in revenue generation. Despite these metrics, POL trades at $0.13 amid plans for scaling upgrades. Vadim suggested sustained performance could lead to token repricing as the market recognizes the supply dynamics.

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