I bought
$POL because of the goal to transform it into “the value layer of the internet.”
POL is at a 5-year low. Usage is at all-time highs. The value isn’t reaching the token yet.
I’m in favor of every performing validator receiving a base reward that covers infrastructure costs. But the value layer should come from holding POL — not from operating it.
Until PIP-85, 40M POL was allocated to 105 validators — the same entities that also serve as block producers. 89.8% of it flows to just 20 of them. 47 earned less than estimated infrastructure costs last payout. 30,656 delegators providing 99.66% of stake received 0%.
Coinbase: 1,709,782 POL ($167K). Performance: 99.86%.
Pier Two: 280 POL ($27). Performance: 99.86%.
Similar work and uptime. 6,106x difference in pay.
The team says “validators need money to keep the lights on.” That’s true — under economics where small validators deliver similar performance but get paid 6,000x less. That’s not a cost problem. That’s a distribution problem.
Millions of POL sit unclaimed by validators and block producers who can ask commission on top of the 63% distributed. They don’t even use what they already have.
The team is working on a lot of things. We know that. But answers come in scattered articles, DMs, and community calls. Then they fade.
Then you study the chain for six months. Next to the team. Watch POL lose 50% of its value.
First, chain revenue grows. Real money. But 89.8% flows to 20 validators. Delegators get nothing.
Then PIP-85 comes. Finally, delegators share in fees. 37%. Progress.
But at the same time, the next upgrade makes gas cheaper. The chain earns less revenue. The pie everyone now shares is shrinking. Meanwhile, infrastructure costs go up.
Less revenue. Higher costs. Shrinking pie.
You cannot build a value layer narrative on these facts. No investor reads this and thinks: let me hold Polygon.
The roadmap that makes the chain better is making the token worse.
If PIP-85 doesn’t break the cycle, it’s not enough.
I still believe in the tech. The chain works. But as a
$POL holder — more than using Polygon and the Open Money Stack, I’m no longer going to advocate holding POL under these economics.
What’s next?
@0xMarcB @sandeepnailwal @0xPolygon @Smokey_ @davidesilverman
1/ ICYMI - a proposal for POL, a technical upgrade to the MATIC token
the goal is to transform Polygon into the Value Layer of the Internet.
how does POL make this possible?
thread & spaces to answer 🧵👇
twitter.com/0xPolygonLabs/st…