Amidst the market volatility of October 2025, the Polygon DeFi ecosystem demonstrated remarkable stability, which surprised me as a long-term observer. TVL remained at $1.248 billion with virtually no fluctuations, and capital flows across major protocols were balanced, with no significant panic withdrawals. This performance not only reflects the maturity and user engagement of the Polygon DeFi ecosystem, but also underscores that its unique value proposition in payments and RWAs is gaining long-term market recognition. This stability is truly rare, as evidenced by the data. Aave Protocol remained stable at $266M, with 24-hour fees of $2.79M, demonstrating sustained lending demand. QuickSwap's TVL rose slightly from $484M to $486M, with 24-hour trading volume remaining around $70M, demonstrating continued robust DEX trading activity. Even Uniswap V3, despite its relatively weak performance on Polygon, remained stable at $84M. I was particularly interested in user activity data. On October 22nd, Polygon saw 497,098 DEX transactions totaling $143 million, a respectable figure compared to other Layer 2 platforms. The 94,125 unique traders also demonstrate the stability of its user base. While the data for October 23rd appears to have declined due to limited coverage, this is normal intraday fluctuation. Stablecoin flows are also interesting. Analyzing the flows of USDC and USDT, I found a small net outflow of $3.41 million on October 22nd, which quickly shifted to a net inflow of $0.67 million on October 23rd. This rapid shift in flows suggests relatively stable market sentiment, with no sustained capital flight. Cross-chain bridging activity remained at normal levels, with approximately $17 million in daily trading volume typical of Polygon. Large transfer data reveals significant whale activity on October 22nd, with 100 large transfers totaling $278 million. However, this was more of normal DeFi operations and fund allocations than panic selling. The six large transfers of $63 million on October 23rd were also within normal limits. I believe this stability stems from several factors. First, Polygon's specialized focus in payments and RWAs provides a relatively independent buffer from the volatility of mainstream DeFi. Users primarily engage in essential use cases like stablecoin transfers and small payments, making them relatively less sensitive to price fluctuations. Second, the technical improvements brought about by the Rio upgrade have indeed enhanced the user experience. Five-second finality and near-zero transaction costs have made users more willing to conduct frequent transactions on Polygon. Technological innovations such as AggLayer have also provided additional retention incentives for long-term capital. Of course, we cannot ignore the challenges. While TVL is stable, the scale gap compared to Base's $5.03 billion and Arbitrum's $3.85 billion remains significant. Polygon needs to maintain stability while pursuing breakthrough growth. Competitive pressure from emerging L2 protocols may become more pronounced in the coming quarters. From an investment perspective, this stability demonstrates Polygon's resilience and makes it suitable as a stable investment in L2 portfolios. I recommend focusing on stable income opportunities from mature protocols such as Aave, as well as innovative income from emerging RWA protocols. Taking advantage of the current relatively undervalued valuation window to gradually build a long-term investment position in the Polygon ecosystem may be a good strategy. Overall, Polygon's resilience during this round of market volatility is truly impressive, laying a solid foundation for its long-term development. @0xPolygon #Polygo $POL
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