Polygon executives say 2025 marks a clear split: institutions are accelerating into digital assets while retail participation is retrenching. The claim centers on regulatory clarity, infrastructure for payments and tokenized real‑world assets, and a strategic institutional shift toward regulated products — all cited by Polygon leadership as drivers of the new market dynamic.
Polygon co‑founder Sandeep Nailwal and other company leaders attribute institutional demand to faster regulation, scalable payments infrastructure, and large new markets for tokenized assets. Nailwal argued the recent “Wall Street crypto rush” reflects a structural change and noted that institutional players are rapidly acquiring the skills needed to operate in regulated markets, adding, “the finance bros are becoming crypto bros,” to frame the cultural and operational convergence.
Regulatory signals reduced perceived risk. The approval pathway for ETFs was described as accelerating from a prior 270‑day manual review to a streamlined 75‑day process, a shift that Polygon executives say unlocked billions for regulated vehicles such as spot Bitcoin ETFs. One executive highlighted BlackRock’s IBIT as a dominant product and pointed to large corporate and sovereign accumulation as evidence of strategic institutional allocation.
Payments and stablecoins sit at the core of Polygon’s institutional thesis. Nailwal told audiences that payments are the top priority and that localized stablecoins — from markets such as the Philippines, Japan, India and the UAE — will be central. Aishwary Gupta, Polygon’s Global Head of Payments and RWAs, forecasted a potential surge to more than 100.000 stablecoin issuers within five years, a projection Polygon frames as a catalyst for banks to overhaul capital management.
The keys to Polygon’s stance
Polygon also points to expanding real‑world asset (RWA) tokenization: the platform highlighted growth from about $8.5 billion in early 2024 to $33.91 billion by Q2 2025 as institutional demand for fractional ownership and liquidity intensified. Tokenization, defined here as representing physical or traditional financial assets as blockchain tokens to enable fractional ownership and liquidity, is presented as a primary institutional use case. Polygon’s involvement in projects such as Mastercard’s verified username transfers and the launch of a KRW1 stablecoin on its network was cited as practical evidence of enterprise adoption.
Polygon executives say retail faces higher barriers amid maturation. They note the market’s shift toward regulated products reduces the high‑gamma opportunities that once attracted speculative retail flows. Complexity is another factor: Layer‑2 solutions, DeFi primitives and regulated derivatives require deeper risk management than many individual investors possess, according to Polygon commentary.
Retail metrics cited included 8.7 million monthly transacting users on Coinbase in Q2 2025, illustrating that retail remains active but is behaviorally distinct from institutional buying. Polygon leadership warned that inexperienced players handling large sums without understanding regulated market mechanics face heightened risk, implying that retail will need better tooling and education to remain relevant.
Polygon’s executives portray 2025 as an inflection point where regulated infrastructure, payments rails and RWA tokenization tilt the advantage to institutional capital while retail participation becomes more selective.
