Polygon

Polygon is positioning itself as a specialized payments blockchain, securing backing from major players Meta and Visa. **Key Developments:** - Stablecoin cards processed **$381M** in combined Mastercard and Visa volume on Polygon between June-August - Multi-year collaboration with Flutterwave (processing $40B annually) to address high fees and slow settlement in emerging markets - Payment infrastructure aims to make crypto transactions as simple as credit card taps The partnerships signal a strategic shift toward real-world payment applications rather than general-purpose blockchain use cases. [Read the full Forbes piece](https://www.forbes.com/sites/boazsobrado/2026/06/21/polygon-is-just-a-payments-focused-chain-meta-and-visa-bet-on-it/)

Polygon is positioning itself as a universal solution for moving money, regardless of geographic location. According to Marc Boiron speaking to Forbes, the platform is specifically built for this singular purpose. **Key Points:** - Polygon aims to provide money movement options accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world - The platform focuses on lowering barriers to financial connectivity - Polygon's infrastructure is designed to make transferring cash from point A to point B more accessible The initiative addresses practical challenges many face when accessing and moving money across borders, with the goal of providing financial connectivity as a fundamental right rather than a privilege.

**Major Infrastructure Milestone** Polygon Chain achieved 5,000 payments per second with 1.5-second block times, marking a significant performance upgrade. **Banking and Institutional Adoption** - Cubewire published a banks-onchain whitepaper featuring Polygon - PodsFinance selected Polygon as Selection Partner for the Global Neobank Alliance - ZiskVM launched its ZK VM after incubation at Polygon Labs **Stablecoin Expansion** - AllUnityStable launched 3 MiCAR-compliant stablecoins (euro/franc/krona) on Polygon - Transfero Group launched BRZ at QR checkout via Bitget Wallet - DPTPay expanded stablecoin payments to Africa These developments build on recent momentum, including Mastercard's Agent Pay for Machines partnership and the network crossing $79.25B in stablecoin volume in May. The combination of faster block times and growing institutional adoption positions Polygon as a key infrastructure layer for global payments.

AllUnity has launched three MiCAR-compliant stablecoins on Polygon, enabling European businesses to transact in regulated digital currencies. **Key Details:** - EURAU (Euro), CHFAU (Swiss Franc), and SEKAU (Swedish Krona) now settle on Polygon - Each stablecoin is backed 1:1 by its respective fiat currency - All three comply with Europe's MiCAR regulatory framework **Background:** AllUnity is a regulated e-money institution backed by DWS Group, Flow Traders, and Galaxy. The company previously partnered with [Chainlink](https://allunity.com/news/allunity-enters-strategic-partnership-with-chainlink-to-power-cross-chain-stablecoin-payments-across-europe/) to enable cross-chain transfers across multiple networks including Arbitrum, Base, Ethereum, Optimism, Solana, and the Canton Network. This expansion brings regulated European currency options to Polygon users and businesses.

**ZisK VM has officially launched**, marking a significant milestone for Polygon Labs' zero-knowledge proving technology. The project, led by @jbaylina and the ZisK team, began as an experimental initiative within Polygon Labs with a clear mission: **make ZK proving faster, cheaper, and more practical for developers**. **Key objectives of ZisK:** - Reduce computational costs of zero-knowledge proofs - Improve proving speed and efficiency - Create a more accessible platform for builders The launch represents Polygon's continued investment in ZK technology infrastructure, following their track record with Polygon CDK and other scaling solutions. The team's focus on practical improvements to ZK proving could lower barriers for developers looking to build privacy-preserving or scalable applications. [Announcement](https://x.com/ziskvm/status/2067968182829109502)

Polygon has published a technical guide explaining how to integrate stablecoins into payment products. The guide addresses the inefficiency of traditional cross-border payments, which can take hours to days and involve multiple intermediaries with high fees. **Key points:** - Traditional $500 cross-border wire transfers incur significant fees and delays - Stablecoin payments on Polygon Chain cost fractions of a cent and settle in seconds - The guide covers four layers of onchain payment infrastructure - Provides step-by-step integration instructions The resource is aimed at developers and businesses looking to implement faster, cheaper payment rails using blockchain technology. [Read the full guide](http://polygon.technology/blog/how-to-integrate-stablecoins-into-your-payment-product)

Uquid has integrated Polygon's Open Money Stack to enable 1-click cryptocurrency payments across 178 million products. The integration uses Polygon's cross-chain orchestration layer to allow shoppers to pay with any token from any blockchain without manual swaps or complex approvals. **Key features include:** - Universal payments accepting any token regardless of chain - Simplified checkout flows eliminating manual token swaps - Unified liquidity access across multiple networks - Improved conversion rates and user retention The integration aims to make cryptocurrency practical for everyday purchases by removing technical barriers. Users can now shop at [uquid.com](http://uquid.com), [shop.uquid.com](http://shop.uquid.com), and [tickets.uquid.com](http://tickets.uquid.com) using their preferred crypto assets. Polygon's Open Money Stack, currently in technical preview, provides infrastructure for accepting deposits, moving stablecoins, and off-ramping to fiat through a single integration. The platform handles fiat-to-stablecoin conversion, wallet management, and local currency settlement. [Full announcement](https://polygon.technology/blog/uquid-integrates-polygons-open-money-stack-for-1-click-crypto-checkout-across-178m-products)

Brazil's largest foreign exchange bank has launched real-world payment functionality for BBRL, their Brazilian real stablecoin, reaching 60 million users. **Key Features:** - Pay at QR code checkouts with BBRL - Top up Bitget Wallet cards directly - Near-instant transfers with low fees - Powered by Polygon network The expansion connects Brazil's currency to global markets, enabling: - International payments - Cross-border investments - Global commerce access This marks a significant step in bringing traditional currency into decentralized finance infrastructure, making stablecoin payments accessible to everyday Brazilian consumers.

Stripe has successfully processed more than $100 million in peer-to-peer USDC transfers on the Polygon network, demonstrating the viability of stablecoin payments at scale. **Key Points:** - Real-world payment infrastructure operating on open blockchain rails - Builds on Stripe's earlier integration of USDC checkout across 3M+ merchants - Polygon selected as settlement layer for its ability to handle enterprise-scale transaction volumes This milestone represents a significant step in mainstream adoption of blockchain-based payment systems.

**Major Payment Infrastructure Developments** - **Visa** integrated Polygon into its global stablecoin settlement program - **Meta** launched USDC creator payouts on Polygon, expanding to 160+ markets - **Modern Treasury** added Polygon as a native payments rail in its API **Ecosystem Growth** Polygon's stablecoin supply reached **$4.3B in April**, marking a 13.33% month-over-month increase. The network continues attracting payment-focused applications: - Coca Wallet shipped major updates including bank accounts and instant APY - SKALE Network deployed Portal 5.1 with 1-click crosschain bridging - Prophet Market AI launched V1 with AI prediction markets **Technical Updates** Trails v1.5 introduced composable actions on crosschain orchestration for the Open Money Stack, enhancing interoperability across the ecosystem. These integrations position Polygon as infrastructure for mainstream payment applications, with traditional finance companies and social platforms choosing the network for stablecoin settlement.