Polygon: The role of zkEVM in Q2’s network growth

• Daily active addresses rallied on Polygon in Q2 following the launch of Polygon zkEVM.
• However, during the same period, the network’s transactions count trailed downwards.

Layer 2 blockchain network Polygon [MATIC] announced the mainnet beta of its Polygon zkEVM on 27 March, the launch of which spurred the chain into recording significant ecosystem growth in Q2, Messari found in a new report.

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According to the on-chain analytics platform, the period between 1 April and 30 June was marked by an uptick in Polygon’s growth metrics, such as network activity, total value locked, and NFT sales volume.

All thanks to its zkEVM

During the period under review, the count of daily active addresses on Polygon surged from 243,000 to 866,000. This represented a 256% growth quarter-over-quarter (QoQ). 

As for new addresses created on the blockchain, the report stated that it almost touched 80 million during the 90-day period. Messari added,

“This surge in new addresses coincided with the launch of the zkEVM, indicating heightened enthusiasm within the community.” 

Source: Messari

In the first month of its mainnet beta launch, the count of unique active wallet addresses on Polygon zkEVM had climbed by 300%. It went from 12,658 addresses on 1 April to 49,673 addresses by 27 April. 

Interestingly, soon after Polygon zkEVM launched, transactions across Polygon began declining. Messari found:

“Conversely, the number of transactions on the Polygon network experienced an 18% decline QoQ, decreasing from 2.9 million daily transactions to 2.4 million daily transactions. This decline in transaction volume directly corresponds to the launch of the zkEVM.”

Source: Messari

This occurred in contrast to the daily transactions count on the Polygon zkEVM in its first month. According to Polygon, the total number of transactions during that period rallied by over 300% in just about 30 days. 

Source: Polygon

As a result of the shortfall in daily transactions across the Polygon network, revenue obtained from fees also declined in Q2. Per the report, the total fees recorded between April and June fell by 4%.

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Regarding its decentralized finance (DeFi) vertical, after a tumultuous trading period in the bear market of 2022: 

“In Q1 2023, the TVL stabilized, and this stability carried over into Q2 2023. Polygon concluded the quarter with a TVL of $1.09 billion, securing its position as the fifth-ranked chain in terms of TVL”

Source: Messari

Lastly, Messari noted that the average weekly NFT sales volume on Polygon increased by 42% during the quarter under review to touch $8.6 million.