As the Ethereum (ETH) network progresses along the slow and steady path toward Eth2 and the full transition to proof of stake, layer-2 solutions have arisen as the best solution to the current challenges associated with high gas fees and network congestion.
One L2 solution that has emerged as a top choice for DeFi projects and traders is Polygon (MATIC), which over the past week, has seen its price climb toward new highs due to a surge in activity at its QuickSwap decentralized exchange.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView shows that after hitting a low of $0.34 on April 25, the price of MATIC rallied 161% over the next three days to reach a new all-time high at $0.897 on April 28.
QuickSwap rockets higher
While the rise of Polygon has been thoroughly covered by Cointelegraph, the token’s main DEX QuickSwap (QUICK) has thus far been overshadowed by the more active exchanges on the Ethereum mainnet like Uniswap and SushiSwap.
The sudden uptick in trading volume for MATIC over this past week resulted in a significant increase in demand for QUICK token. The led to a 420% increase in QUICK price from $189 on April 25 to a new all-time high at $977 on April 27 as the exchange token’s trading volume reached $18.9 million in a 24-hour period.
Activity on the exchange was relatively flat throughout the month of April until new partnerships on Polygon reflected investors increasing bullish sentiment.
Demand for Polygon-based tokens has been on the rise thanks to a growing list of big-name projects that have bridged to the L2 solution, including the March 31 announcement from DeFi lending platform AAVE. After AAVE announced that it would launch on the Polygon network, the amount of AAVE locked in the platform surpassed $1 billion.
Multiple nonfungible token (NFT) projects including OpenSea and Decentraland have also migrated to Polygon and are available on the QuickSwap DEX, further helping to boost activity on the platform.
Liquidity and volume on QuickSwap reached new record highs on April 27 as the 24-hour volume on the DEX surpassed $190 million and th total liquidity now above $287 million.
As DeFi activity begins to rise again and a growing number of analysts begin to predict that a new altcoin season is in the works, the Polygon ecosystem and its QuickSwap DEX could pull in more liquidity, especially if Ethereum users choose to use the MATIC bridge to shift into a layer-2-based, low fee environment.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
