POL (ex-MATIC) Surges on Strategic Payments Pivot and Record Token Burns
Polygon Labs cut 30% of staff and spent $250M to acquire Coinme and Sequence, shifting focus to regulated stablecoin payments, marking a dramatic strategic shift for the blockchain network. The announcement triggered significant market movement, with POL surging nearly 14 percent to trade around $0.167, marking one of its strongest short-term rallies in months.
Open Money Stack Framework
Polygon Labs announced the Open Money Stack, a new stablecoin payment framework set to launch later this year. It aims to let users instantly and reliably move money anywhere across the $162 billion DeFi ecosystem, providing an alternative to restrictive and often costly financial intermediaries like banks.
The project has announced Open Money Stack, a modular framework designed to bridge fiat and on-chain settlement. Instead of creating a closed ecosystem, the Open Money Stack is built to be interoperable, allowing businesses to adopt only the components they require while remaining connected to other networks.
Coinme and Sequence Acquisitions
Polygon Labs reduced its workforce by 30% and invested over $250 million to acquire Coinme (a licensed crypto payments provider) and Sequence (wallet and cross-chain infrastructure). This marks a strategic shift from being a general-purpose Layer 2 blockchain to building a vertically integrated, regulated stablecoin payments platform called the "Open Money Stack." The move leverages Coinme's 50,000+ retail locations and regulatory licenses and Sequence's wallet tech to enable instant, compliant cross-border payments.
Record Token Burn Rates Drive Deflationary Mechanics
About one million POL per day has been burned on fees generated, with around 3.5% of POL's total supply expected to burn in 2026. Polygon's network fees have exploded since late December, moving from $100,000 on January 2 to as much as $395,000 on January 5. This is the highest level that daily fees have hit since November 2023.
Price Performance and Market Dynamics
POL fell 15% weekly but held key support, suggesting the sell-off was temporary profit-taking, not a trend reversal. Large holders have been reducing exposure ahead of the recent price pause. Wallets holding between 100 million and 1 billion POL began trimming balances around January 3. Since then, their holdings have fallen from roughly 743.6 million POL to about 708.3 million POL.
However, smaller holders have moved in the opposite direction. Retail cohorts, often holding between 10 and 10,000 POL, have steadily increased their balances throughout the rally and into the current pause.
Network Activity and On-Chain Demand
Polygon ranked first among major blockchains in weekly network revenue, surpassing competitors that often dominate headlines. That ranking suggests users are not just experimenting with the chain, but actively transacting and paying fees.
Long-Term Outlook
This is bearish short term due to layoff disruptions and a business model shift, but potentially bullish long term if Polygon captures the growing stablecoin payments market. It risks alienating developers focused on decentralized apps but opens a massive enterprise opportunity.
Sources:
- https://coinmarketcap.com/cmc-ai/polygon-ecosystem-token/latest-updates/
- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/polygon-climbs-nearly-20-unveiling-175302645.html
- https://www.dlnews.com/articles/markets/pol-token-rises-on-new-stablecoin-framework-announcement/
- https://www.hokanews.com/2026/01/polygon-goes-on-tear-exploding-network.html
- https://beincrypto.com/polygon-price-rally-analysis-january-2026/
- https://www.fxempire.com/forecasts/article/polygon-price-news-pol-rises-for-9-days-in-a-row-0-30-next-1572056