Polygon burns 100 million POL, about 1% of total supply
Polygon has burned 100 million POL, roughly 1% of supply, using collected base fees. Yet POL fell over 6% on the day. We look at how the burn works and why.
Polygon has taken roughly 1% of its token supply out of existence, but the market barely noticed. The network completed its first burn under a new community-triggered system, sending 100 million POL to be destroyed permanently. Polygon Foundation CEO Sandeep Nailwal marked the moment on September 23, 2026, writing: “BURN COMPLETE: 100 MILLION POL (~1% of POL total supply) IS OFFICIALLY BURNED PERMANENTLY.”
On the same day, POL slipped 6.46%.
Fees, not treasury tokens
A token burn is only as meaningful as its source. In this case the POL was not taken from the treasury; every token came from fees that users had paid over time.
Since January 2022, each Polygon transaction fee has been divided in two. The priority fee goes to validators as a reward, while the base fee is routed to a burn collector. By the time of this burn, that collector had accumulated about 121 million POL, and the 100 million POL destroyed accounted for most of it.
Handing the trigger to the community
Earlier, the core team had to perform burns by hand. The new design allows community members to carry one out, provided the required approvals have been given. Polygon expects burns to happen roughly every quarter from now on, with each one sized according to the base fees collected in the meantime. The busier the network, the more POL disappears.
Price and supply in context
POL was changing hands at $0.1014, for a market capitalisation of about $1.07 billion. The 24-hour loss of 6.46% came even though the token was still up around 10% over seven days. Activity picked up sharply, with daily volume climbing more than 77% to $228.83 million.
A 1% cut is significant, but it is not the whole story. POL also has annual emissions built into its tokenomics, meaning new tokens are created every year. For POL to shrink in net terms, fee income would have to grow enough to burn more than those emissions add. Nailwal has been arguing exactly this point in recent weeks while drawing attention to the network’s revenue.
Why the burn is worth watching
- It links usage to holders. Fee-funded burns are one of the few mechanisms that pass network activity directly on to token holders, the same logic Ethereum adopted with EIP-1559.
- It makes supply more rules-based. Shifting burns from the team to a community process makes future supply changes more predictable.
- It shows the limits of good news. A wider risk-off move across altcoins was enough to outweigh the supply cut. You can gauge that sentiment on our altcoin season index.
What it means for Indian investors
Few crypto projects are as closely tied to India as Polygon. It was founded here, and Nailwal remains among the best-known Indian founders in the industry. POL is widely listed on Indian exchanges, so local holders are likely to follow each new burn closely. Check the live POL price before placing any trade.
The burn does not alter how POL is taxed in India. Profits face a flat 30% tax, 1% TDS is deducted on transfers, and losses cannot be offset against other income. Our crypto tax calculator shows what a trade would really return once tax is taken out.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Do your own research before investing.
This article is AI-assisted, educational and general in nature. It is not financial advice and never a guarantee of profit. Every trade is at your own risk on your own exchange. See our risk disclosure and editorial policy.
