Cointime

Cointime

Download App
iOS & Android

Polygon gas fees spike 1000% amid Ordinals-inspired token craze

Gas fees on Ethereum layer-2 Polygon 

In a Nov. 16 X (formerly Twitter) post Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal shared his surprise at the elevated transaction activity on the network saying the spike could’ve been due to the launch of a new Polygon-based nonfungible token (NFT) collection.

The reason for the uptick in network activity and sudden spike in gas fees seems to be coming mainly from a frenzy of enthusiasm for minting the new POLS token.

Dune Analytics data showed the rush of minting activity for POLS coincided with more than 102 million MATIC tokens — worth $86 million at current prices— being used as gas.

POLS caused more than $86 million of MATIC to be used as gas.

The POLS token is built on a protocol dubbed PRC-20, which operates similarly to the Bitcoin Ordinals-derived BRC-20 token standard.

According to data from Ethereum Virtual Machine data provider EVM, only 8.7% of the total POLS supply has been minted, with just over 18,100 owners claiming the token.

At the time of publication, Polygon gas fees have since returned to typical levels, settling at around 882 gwei. Gas fees quantify the amount of computing effort needed to conduct a transaction on a given blockchain, with 1 gwei equal to approximately 0.000000001 MATIC.

Polygon gas fees have since returned to slightly above-average levels. Source: Livdir

The Bitcoin network witnessed a similar, albeit more prolonged, spike in activity in May this year following the release of the Ordinals protocol, which allowed users to mint NFTs directly onto the Bitcoin blockchain.

The ensuing frenzy for Ordinals NFTs and BRC-20 tokens saw Bitcoin fees reach levels not since April 2021, a development that saw more traditionally-minded Bitcoiners such as Samson Mow and Adam Back cast down the NFT protocol and token standard as wasteful.

Polygon
Comments

All Comments

Recommended for you

  • Restate Completes $20 Million Series A Round, Driven by Demand for Persistent Infrastructure from AI Agents

    On September 30, TechCrunch reported that Berlin-based persistent workflow infrastructure company Restate has completed a $20 million Series A funding round, led by Singular, with participation from Redpoint and Capital One Ventures. Its execution engine enables multi-step workflows to withstand crashes and network interruptions, with demand surging due to AI agents operating longer and following more unpredictable paths. Recently, the company has signed multiple six- and seven-figure customer contracts, including with the vibe coding platform Replit. The new funding will be used to build a marketing team, expand engineering, and grow its office in the San Francisco Bay Area, while challenging industry heavyweight Temporal, which was recently valued at $12.55 billion.

  • U.S. Diesel Futures Continue to Rise, Up 4.5% Intraday

    U.S. diesel futures continue to rise, with an intraday increase of 4.5%.

  • U.S. 30-Year Treasury Yield Rises to 5.62%

    The yield on U.S. 30-year Treasury bonds has risen to 5.62%, reaching a new high since 2002.

  • Apple and Google Both Rise Over 3%

    On September 30, Apple and Google, the second and third largest companies by market capitalization in the U.S. stock market, both rose over 3%. Apple's stock price increased by 3.02%, reaching $339.350 per share, with a total market capitalization of $4.95 trillion. Google's Class A stock price rose by 3.3%, reaching $352.185 per share, with a total market capitalization of $4.31 trillion.

  • Synopsys Shares Rise Over 3% After Signing Over $1 Billion Agreement with Amazon

    On September 30, Synopsys (SNPS.US) shares rose over 3%, reaching a high of $429.48. In news, Synopsys has signed a multi-year strategic agreement worth over $1 billion with Amazon, aiming to expand their collaboration in the custom chip sector. Under the agreement, Amazon will further adopt Synopsys' chip IP, EDA, and AI engineering technologies for the development of AWS's self-developed chips and infrastructure; meanwhile, Synopsys will utilize Amazon Web Services and AI tools like Bedrock to accelerate its own product development.

  • Nasdaq Up 1%

    On September 30, the Nasdaq's gains expanded to 1%, while the S&P 500 index is currently up 0.58%.

  • Bridgewater CEO Warns: AI May Trigger Risks of 'Social Disorder'

    On September 30, Bridgewater Associates, one of the world's largest hedge funds, projected that if AI lacks regulation and society fails to prepare for technological changes, artificial intelligence could impact nearly one-fifth of the U.S. labor market. Bridgewater CEO Nir Bar Dea stated in an interview, "We are very optimistic about the positive impacts of AI, but we also recognize that anything capable of profoundly changing the world can also bring serious negative consequences." He added, "Our estimates suggest that AI could affect 18% of the U.S. workforce. Just imagine the scale of social disorder this could trigger."

  • Trump Announces South Korea to Invest $200 Billion in the U.S.

    White House officials: U.S. President Trump announced today that South Korea will invest $200 billion in the United States, and Trump will announce the construction of eight nuclear power plants funded by South Korea.

  • Hyperliquid Co-Founder: On-Chain Financial Differentiation Lies in Self-Custody and Transparency, Not 24/7 Trading

    On September 30, according to The Block, Hyperliquid co-founder Jeff Yan stated during the Korea Blockchain Week that 24/7 trading is not the key differentiator of on-chain venues compared to traditional exchanges. He believes the lasting advantages of on-chain systems lie in self-custody and transparency: users retain control over their own funds, which is particularly crucial when issues arise with counterparties, intermediaries, or custodians. Transparency allows users to theoretically understand everything about the system, a level of trust and neutrality that centralized institutions struggle to provide. He also mentioned that continuous trading still holds value for assets (such as commodities, stocks, and pre-IPO targets) that lack public pricing during traditional exchange closures; he believes the private equity market presents the next significant opportunity for 24/7 trading.

  • ETH Falls Below $2700

    Market data shows that ETH has fallen below $2700, currently priced at $2699.41, with a 24-hour decline of 0.98%. The market is experiencing significant volatility, so please ensure proper risk management.

Daily Must-Read

Popular Activities

RaveDAO at Terra Solis by Tomorrowland: A Female-Led Techno Night Where Web3 Culture Converges

RaveDAO at Terra Solis by Tomorrowland: A Female-Led Techno Night Where Web3 Culture Converges

April 30 - April 30
Dubai

Popular Tags

Cointime
News
Contents
RSS
Company