Polygon [POL] to $15: How ZK-rollups will energy the subsequent wave on Ethereum

Key Takeaways 

Will ZK-rollups energy Ethereum’s subsequent wave?

On account of their scalability, price discount, and sooner transactions, ZK-rollups have been poised to steer the subsequent wave of ETH.

Can Polygon hit $15?

POL might hit $15, however the goal remained for the long run.

Zero-knowledge (ZK) rollups are reworking Ethereum’s [ETH] scalability by decreasing congestion on the mainnet, decreasing prices, and rising transaction pace. 

Polygon [POL] (beforehand MATIC) is among the chains adopting this expertise. General, Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) networks are nearing a brand new all-time excessive in Whole Worth Secured (TVS).

ZK-rollups and Ethereum’s subsequent wave

For broader context, TVS throughout Ethereum Layer 2 networks not too long ago hit $49 billion—simply shy of the earlier $50 billion peak.

Rollups dominated this determine, contributing almost all the quantity, whereas Layer 2 scaling options Validiums and Optimiums accounted for less than $163 million, highlighting rollups’ clear lead within the scalability race.

Again within the 2021 market run, TVS development was largely pushed by DeFi and speculative buying and selling. Today, the momentum stems from greater than 101 energetic L2s, the widespread use of stablecoins for funds, and their rising position in real-world transactions.

Supply: L2Beat

This implies that ZK-rollups might energy the subsequent wave on Ethereum. To be particular, POL was changing into greater than experimental tech and a manufacturing infrastructure in 2025.

Decoding exercise on Polygon’s community

At press time, Polygon’s Whole Worth Secured (TVS) stood at roughly $20 million, down from its late 2024 peak of almost $120 million. Ethereum and its derivatives accounted for the most important share of TVS, adopted by stablecoins.

In line with L2Beat, community exercise has been steadily rising over the previous yr. Nevertheless, Ethereum nonetheless leads in common operations, with 1.59 million in comparison with simply 5,740 on Polygon zkEVM.

Regardless of this, Polygon outperformed the Ethereum mainnet, working thrice sooner and at one-tenth the associated fee.

The community now helps round 45,000 decentralized functions (dApps), holds $1.15 billion in Whole Worth Locked (TVL), and not too long ago peaked at 16 million day by day transactions, in response to Token Metrics.

Weekly DEX quantity reached $1 billion, pushed largely by real-world asset exercise, as reported by CoinMarketCap.

Supply: L2Beat

This price discount has accelerated fee exercise on ZK-rollups, notably on Polygon. Peer-to-peer (P2P) quantity hit a brand new excessive of $5.05 billion in September.

In the meantime, trade reserves of Polygon’s native token POL have declined, reaching a brand new low of 18.361 million, in response to CryptoQuant. This implies merchants are shopping for and withdrawing tokens from centralized exchanges (CEXs).

POL value evaluation and prediction

On the charts, POL value was transferring inside an ascending pattern channel. A breakout above $0.30 might spear POL towards its earlier yr’s excessive at $0.75.

The $15 goal appeared unrealistic within the quick time period however legitimate in the long term. The final quarter of the yr might see a rally towards $0.75, replicating final yr’s bull run.

Supply: TradingView

Altogether, ZK-rollups might energy the subsequent wave of Ethereum, with Polygon positioned to be on the middle of this dynamic. That stated, the $15 goal remained viable if POL repeats the 2021 rally that noticed it attain $2.90.