Polygon is making Web3 news again. The popular layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum has seen a surge in NFT trading on OpenSea and a significant rise in the price of its native $MATIC token to start the year.
On February 8th, 2023, the network recorded an eye-opening daily trading volume of over $11.4 million on the secondary marketplace. For the last two months, Polygon has outperformed Ethereum — the OG blockchain for NFTs — with the number of NFTs traded on the platform. In January, it recorded 1.5 million transactions on OpenSea to top Ethereum’s 1.1 million.
Polygon has become popular by providing cheap, quick, and energy-efficient transactions to users, and by forming big partnerships with major brands. It appears that rather than a single NFT collection setting off the surge in NFT sales, several projects and collaborations are contributing.
NFT enthusiasts on Twitter attributed the surge in trading volume to the Polygon Apes, Xen’s NFT launch, and to book.io minting NFTs on Polygon. The Trump Digital Trading Card NFTs also put up big numbers for Polygon, doing nearly 11K ETH in trading volume since their December launch. Another huge contributor is The Sandbox’s LAND NFTs, which recently became compatible with Polygon.
Furthermore, Polygon’s zKEVM update expected in March, which will switch the blockchain to a zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) consensus mechanism and further integrate it with Ethereum, is making it even more attractive to investors.
Following the surge in NFT sales, Polygon’s native token $MATIC enjoyed a significant uptrend. The $MATIC token opened the year trading at .$75. At the time of writing, it’s trading at $1.25, and it’s up almost 23% in the past 30 days.
Polygon Continues to Form Important Partnerships
Polygon overtaking Ethereum on OpenSea in NFT sales is big news for believers in the layer 2 blockchain. But for folks paying attention to Polygon, it should come as no surprise. We’ve written dozens of stories about Polygon forming partnerships with global brands and Web2 companies. Here are some of the most recent headlines.
First, a few months ago, Polygon partnered with Warner Music Group to launch an NFT music platform called “LGND.” The platform has already signed its first label: the electronic dance music Spinnin’ Records, which includes artists like DJ Snake, David Guetta, and Afrojack.
Next, about a month ago, Mastercard partnered with Polygon to launch a Web3 music incubator. The music incubator program will select five people from the music industry and show them the ins-and-outs of Web3. Classes include minting NFTs, representing yourself in virtual worlds, and establishing community.
Finally, the Web3 gaming platform Fractal recently announced it was expanding to Polygon. The move brings Fractal’s entire Web3 gaming suite to Polygon, including its NFT marketplace for in-game NFTs, support for esports tournaments, and an NFT launch pad.
Polygon can also count Mercedes, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Prada, Meta, and many more among its partners. Its broad reach has made it a top blockchain for onboarding users from Web2 to Web3. At Rarity Sniper, we’re curious to see if Polygon will continue to dominate NFT sales in the months to come. But one thing is certain: What was once a blockchain to look out for now appears to be the blockchain to beat.