Polygon PoS: Overview

What is Polygon PoS?

Polygon PoS is one of the most widely used Ethereum scaling solutions, designed to reduce costs and increase throughput without compromising compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). It operates as a high-performance proof-of-stake sidechain that settles on Ethereum, allowing users to enjoy fast transactions and low fees. With broad ecosystem adoption and a major upgrade path toward Polygon 2.0, Polygon PoS plays a critical role in onboarding users and developers into the Ethereum ecosystem at scale.

About the Polygon PoS dashboard

Our Polygon PoS dashboard brings you live, actionable analytics that cover network financials, user behavior, sector trends, and token flows. Designed for investors, developers, and researchers alike, the dashboard makes complex protocol data intuitive with clean visuals, historical filtering, and segmented views by sector and application. Built using Blockworks Research’s proprietary models and enriched by leading indexers, this tool provides one of the clearest lenses into Polygon’s real economic activity.

How can I use Polygon PoS analytics?

Financials

The Financials tab offers a full breakdown of Polygon PoS protocol earnings and tokenholder economics. Key metrics include:

• Network REV – Real Economic Value from base fees, tips, and priority gas payments
• Token Holder Net Income – Aggregated net value returned to token holders after validator and operator costs
• Distribution of Network REV – Allocation split between validators and token holders
• POL Burn and Emissions – Tracks base fee burns and new token issuance
• Staking APR – Real-time annual yield for POL stakers

These insights help evaluate sustainability, token value accrual, and capital efficiency of the Polygon PoS chain.

Onchain Activity

The Onchain Activity tab maps how users interact with Polygon PoS. You’ll find metrics like:

• Transaction Counts and Success Rate – Volume and throughput across the network
• Unique Active Addresses – Split by new vs. existing users
• Transaction Sector Analysis – Token transfers, wallets, NFTs, DePIN, and more
• Application Revenue – Fee breakdowns by app (e.g. MetaMask, Aave, Uniswap, Polymarket)
• Contracts Deployed – Contract creation trends over time

These Polygon analytics provide clear signals on user stickiness, developer activity, and sector momentum.

POL Data

The POL Data tab surfaces token-specific metrics critical to understanding network security and incentive alignment:

• Total Stake and Staking Flows
• Staking Yield and Supply Growth Rate
• MATIC to POL Migration Trends
• Validator Rewards and Burn Metrics

This section is essential for tracking the Polygon 2.0 transition and staking health of the network.

How is Polygon PoS data gathered?
Polygon dashboard metrics are compiled through a hybrid approach that blends multiple data sources to ensure both accuracy and depth. Much of the raw onchain activity is ingested through direct RPC endpoints, allowing near-real-time access to transaction and protocol data. This is supplemented by industry-grade indexers such as DeFiLlama, which provide aggregated views into key financial and usage metrics. On top of these feeds, Blockworks Research applies proprietary models that normalize and standardize the data into digestible metrics. To maintain integrity across all outputs, the data is regularly cross-validated between sources, reinforcing the reliability of the insights presented on the dashboard.

What is Network REV in Polygon PoS analytics?

Network REV (Real Economic Value) represents the total monetary demand to transact on Polygon PoS. It includes:

• Base Fees – Required transaction costs
• Priority Fees – Optional tips for faster inclusion
• Out-of-Protocol Tips – Sent directly from user to validator, when applicable

This standardized metric makes it easy to compare fee-driven activity across chains. In Polygon PoS, REV is particularly useful for gauging real-time user demand and understanding who is paying to access blockspace.

What is Token Holder Net Income?

Token Holder Net Income is the remaining value returned to token holders after validator rewards and other protocol expenses are subtracted from total REV. It reflects the net economic benefit to holders of POL (and formerly MATIC), helping investors assess how protocol activity contributes to long-term value accrual.

Why is on-chain activity important in Polygon PoS analytics?

On-chain metrics reveal real-time engagement across the Polygon ecosystem. By tracking wallet behavior, sector usage, transaction fees, and retention patterns, you can identify early signs of growth, app success, or user churn. These are some of the most powerful leading indicators for protocol health, especially in the absence of centralized reporting.

What applications are most active on Polygon PoS?

The dashboard segments both revenue and transaction count by application, showing activity from platforms like:

• Uniswap and Balancer (DEX)
• MetaMask and Coinbase Wallet (Infrastructure)
• Polymarket (Prediction Markets)
• Moonveil (Gaming)

You can also explore gas consumption by address to see which apps or bots are generating the most load on the network.

How can I track DEX activity on Polygon PoS?

Polygon’s dashboard shows how DEXs are performing based on:

• Swap Volume
• Gas Consumption
• Revenue Contribution
• Active Contract Deployments

This makes it easy to follow liquidity trends, track arbitrage patterns, or identify which DEXs are dominating attention at any given time.

How does retention look on Polygon PoS?

Unique to this dashboard is user retention analysis, showing what percentage of wallets return in the weeks after their first use. With most chains seeing <20% retention by week two, this metric is essential for understanding long-term user engagement.

How is staking behavior evolving?

The dashboard includes comprehensive staking analytics, from total POL staked to daily changes in net deposits. You can also track MATIC to POL migrations, staking APR shifts, and validator reward flows—useful for measuring the rollout of Polygon 2.0 and its security posture.