Polygon (POL) is at the forefront of the Zero-Knowledge (ZK) rollup revolution, with its Aggregation Layer (AggLayer) now live and effectively unifying liquidity across disparate chains. As of February 16, 2026, the rebranded POL token (formerly MATIC) is serving as the hyper-productive token for a vast network of L2 chains built using the Polygon CDK (Chain Development Kit). This architectural shift allows for near-instant, atomic cross-chain transactions, solving the fragmentation issue that has plagued the Ethereum scaling landscape. Institutional adoption of Polygon remains high, with major brands utilizing the network for loyalty programs and digital collectibles due to its speed and negligible gas fees. The POL tokenomics have been revamped to incentivize validators and secure the aggressive roadmap. Market performance shows POL establishing a strong base, as investors begin to price in the value of the 'network of networks' effect. While competition in the L2 space is fierce, Polygon's business development arm and technical stack keep it consistently in the top tier of investable infrastructure assets.