Polymarket Introduces New Token as Part of Full Stack Upgrade

The world’s largest prediction market has rolled out a full infrastructure upgrade, replacing bridged USDC with a native collateral layer and introducing a new settlement token - all in a move aimed at reducing risk and preparing for institutional scale.

Summary:

Polymarket introduced Polymarket USD, replacing bridged USDC and removing dependency on Polygon infrastructure.
The upgrade lowers gas costs and improves access for institutional trading desks.
The move coincides with a surge in USDC issuance, highlighting broader stablecoin expansion.

The update comes as Polymarket continues to see rapid growth, with trading volumes hitting record levels and major capital flowing into the platform.

A new settlement token to cut bridge risk

At the center of the upgrade is Polymarket USD, a new collateral token backed 1:1 by Circle’s USDC. It replaces USDC.e, the bridged version previously routed through the Polygon PoS bridge – a design that carried inherent counterparty risk tied to bridge security.

By bringing the collateral layer in-house, Polymarket removes that dependency entirely. It also gains control over the yield generated from the underlying USDC reserves – a revenue stream that previously flowed elsewhere. For most users, the transition is straightforward, requiring only a one-time approval through the interface.

The shift is less visible on the frontend, but structurally significant. Controlling settlement infrastructure gives Polymarket tighter alignment between pricing, liquidity, and collateral – something that becomes increasingly important as volumes scale.

CTF Exchange V2: lower gas, faster settlement

Polymarket USD operates within the upgraded CTF Exchange V2 system, which restructures how orders are handled on-chain. The revised order format reduces data requirements per transaction, lowering gas costs and improving execution efficiency.

The platform’s hybrid model – off-chain order matching through a central limit order book combined with on-chain settlement – remains intact. However, underlying logic has been refined to improve attribution and tracking across that split architecture.

With March volumes reaching $10 billion and quarterly activity continuing to climb, the upgrade appears as much about scaling capacity as it is about tightening risk controls.

Institutional access gets easier

Another notable addition is support for EIP-1271, which allows multisig and smart contract wallets to sign orders directly. Previously, this created friction for institutional participants operating through custody setups like Safe. That limitation is now removed.

The timing matters. Earlier this year, Intercontinental Exchange – the operator behind the New York Stock Exchange – invested $2 billion into Polymarket, pushing its valuation above $20 billion. The platform is no longer operating on the margins of crypto – it is positioning itself as infrastructure.

Lowering friction for institutional participation is a natural next step.

Regulatory and structural context

The upgrade also aligns with a broader shift in Polymarket’s regulatory positioning. Following its acquisition by QCX LLC, the platform has been moving toward a more compliant framework under U.S. oversight.

Owning the settlement layer plays directly into that strategy. It simplifies oversight, reduces reliance on external infrastructure, and makes it easier to meet stricter KYC and AML expectations tied to regulated markets.

With control over the full trade lifecycle – from order matching to settlement – Polymarket now operates with fewer external dependencies and greater internal accountability.

Stablecoin expansion runs in parallel

The timing of the upgrade is not happening in isolation.

As Polymarket restructures how it handles USDC internally, Circle is simultaneously expanding supply across major chains. According to information from Coin Bureau over the past week alone, roughly $3.25 billion in USDC was minted on Solana – the largest single-week issuance of 2026.

That expansion matters. Polymarket USD ultimately relies on USDC as its backing layer, and deeper liquidity across ecosystems reduces friction for collateral movement and settlement.

In practical terms, the two trends reinforce each other: Polymarket is tightening control over how stablecoins are used inside its system, while Circle is scaling the availability of those same assets across the broader market.

Together, they point to a maturing infrastructure stack – one where trading platforms and stablecoin issuers are evolving in parallel rather than in isolation.

The information presented in this article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or trading advice. Coinspress.com does not promote or advocate for any particular investment strategy, asset, or cryptocurrency project. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile and unpredictable – always perform your own research and seek guidance from a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.

Author

Alexander Stefanov

Reporter at CoinsPress

Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coinspress and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.