What to Know Polygon recorded $407K in daily fees, beating Ethereum’s $211K for the first time. Heavy usage on Polymarket was the main driver of the fee surge. Token prices moved only slightly, showing usage growth has not yet fully reflected in market prices. In a surprising shift, Polygon has generated more daily transaction fees than Ethereum for the first time ever. The change shows how fast activity is growing on newer blockchain networks and how user behavior is starting to shift. According to data from Token Terminal, Polygon collected $407,100 in transaction fees in a single day, while Ethereum recorded $211,700 during the same period. Just a day later, Polygon again stayed ahead, showing that this was not only a one-time spike but part of a short-term trend. What the Data Shows Token Terminal’s numbers show that Polygon’s network activity jumped sharply over the past few days. This marks the first time Polygon has clearly beaten Ethereum in daily fee collection. Analysts say this is a strong signal that users are actively choosing faster and cheaper networks when possible. BREAKING: @0xPolygon flipped @ethereum in daily transaction fees. Daily transaction fees on Polygon surpassed $300k yesterday. A chart to follow pic.twitter.com/D3DUCwdwn4 — Token Terminal (@tokenterminal) February 16, 2026 The main reason behind the spike appears to be heavy usage of Polymarket, a prediction market platform where users place bets on real-world events. Data shows that Polymarket alone generated over $1 million in fees for the Polygon network over the past week. That is far higher than other apps in the ecosystem. Polygon’s team also highlighted the trend, saying, “Polymarket is becoming cultural infrastructure. And Polygon is the network underpinning all of this.” Stablecoin Growth Another driver of activity is the growing use of stablecoins like USDC on Polygon. The network recently recorded 28 million weekly USDC transactions, beating several other major chains on this count. POL has also seen rising small-value payments through new payment tools, with over $1.2 million in weekly micropayment volume and hundreds of thousands of related transactions. Recent network upgrades have also helped speed up processing time, making transactions quicker for users. Last week i USDC transfers also hit a weekly record of 103M, giving Polygon 46% market share and 2.6x the transactions the next largest chain did. Across all USD stablecoins, POL recorded 32.6M transactions, up 67% over the observed period and now just 0.6M behind second-placed Solana. On transfers, POL processed 120M USD stablecoin transfers, overtaking BNB for the first time to become the leading chain for USD denominated stablecoins. Polygon also joined the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. Market Reaction In terms of price action, both Ethereum and Polygon tokens have shown only small moves. Ethereum is up 0.80% over the past 24 hours, trading near the $2,000 level after bouncing from oversold conditions. Market trackers say this rise looks more like a short-term technical rebound after a long decline. Social net sentiment is a mildly bullish 4.67/10, with posts highlighting whale accumulation and reversal hopes. The immediate structure is neutral, balancing between the daily pivot point at $1,985.85 and the 7-day Simple Moving Average resistance at $2,000.79. A clear break above the SMA could target the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement near $2,749, but that requires significantly stronger buying pressure. Polygon’s POL token has also posted a modest gain, rising 0.56% over the same period. Analysts link this move mainly to mild rotation into altcoins and the spike in on-chain activity. However, there has been no major new partnership or headline upgrade pushing the price, and volumes remain moderate. This suggests the price increase is supported by usage growth but not yet backed by strong speculative demand. POL faces immediate resistance at its recent weekly high near $0.115, a level it must reclaim to signal stronger momentum. Support sits at $0.105. These modest gains for both the coins reflects fleeting altcoin rotation, not fundamental strength. Conclusion Polygon moving ahead of Ethereum in daily transaction fees for the first time is an important signal of changing user behavior across blockchain networks. If this trend continues, competition among major networks is likely to become more intense in the months ahead. Also Read: Ethereum Price Range Tightens While Buterin Reinforces Core Philosophy
