Polygon Labs is launching its own liquid staking token, sPOL. The project aims to bring more than 3.6 billion staked POL into DeFi, most of which is still not used in the network’s economy.
This is the first native LST from the Polygon team. And it is immediately backed by liquidity.
The Liquid Staking Market on Polygon Lags Behind
The problem is clear. With billions of tokens staked, only about 4–5% of capital remains liquid. By comparison, in the Ethereum network, the share of liquid staking is approaching 30%. The gap is huge.
Third-party solutions have not fixed the situation. Existing products offer fees from 5% to 16%, and their usage remains low. This became Polygon’s entry point.
How sPOL Works
The mechanics are standard, but implementation is important. The user locks POL and receives sPOL at a 1:1 ratio. Then the token begins to accumulate staking income. At the same time, sPOL itself can be used within DeFi.
It can be sold, used as collateral, or directed into liquidity pools. This turns passive staking into an active strategy. Importantly, current stakers can switch to the new format without pauses or loss of income. This lowers the barrier for migration.
Liquidity Is Provided in Advance
Polygon did not wait for organic growth. At launch, the project provided $100 million in liquidity.
Of this, $10 million is available immediately, with the rest to be added in stages. This should support trading and reduce volatility in the early stages. In addition, pools have already launched on Uniswap V4. This speeds up the token’s integration into the existing DeFi infrastructure.
The Context Is Broader Than Just a New Token
The launch of sPOL coincides with changes in the network’s revenue model. Polygon is discussing redistributing fees in favor of validators and delegators.
According to co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, priority fees have already increased by 1000% after the latest updates. The next step is to increase the share going to stakers.
In this context, liquid staking becomes a logical continuation. It links the network’s yield to the active use of capital.
Dependence on Polymarket Remains a Risk
Despite growth, the DeFi structure in the network remains skewed. Polygon’s total TVL exceeds $1.2 billion, but a significant portion is concentrated on Polymarket.
The platform holds about $438 million. That is almost a quarter of the entire ecosystem. If this volume leaves, the liquidity structure will change. That is why Polygon is actively developing alternative directions.
Betting on Payments and Infrastructure
The company is already expanding its presence beyond classic DeFi. The focus is on payment solutions and business infrastructure.
Polygon has acquired Coinme and Sequence, and is also discussing raising up to $100 million to develop its payment segment. This is an attempt to diversify the ecosystem and reduce dependence on a single large application.
The Market Has Not Responded Yet
Despite the launch of sPOL, the POL token has not shown growth. The price remains around $0.083 and even declined over the day.
This is expected. Such changes rarely have an immediate effect. The market needs to see whether capital will actually start flowing into DeFi through the new instrument.
What’s Next?
sPOL solves a specific problem—it turns passive staking into active capital. If the instrument takes hold, it could change the liquidity structure in the network.
But much will depend on user adoption. Without large-scale migration, the effect will remain limited. Polygon is betting on the long game and trying to catch up in a segment where Ethereum has already pulled far ahead.
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