Polygon Introduces the Agglayer Breakout Program, POL Jumps

The team behind the Polygon blockchain has announced the Agglayer Breakout Program to launch high-value chains that will contribute to Agglayer’s network effects.

The aggregation layer, or AggLayer, is a cross-chain settlement layer developed by Polygon Labs and its collaborators, launched in early 2024, followed by v0.2 in early 2025.

According to the press release shared with Cryptonews, Polygon Foundation and Polygon Labs are backing the novel program. The goal is to launch “high-impact projects that drive significant activity” to Agglayer and Polygon PoS , its proof-of-stake sidechain for Ethereum .

The team explains that the Agglayer Breakout Program is a combination of an incubator and community funding for teams building on Agglayer. “Projects avoid the cold-start problem by tapping into the unified userbase and liquidity of Agglayer,” it adds.

The model follows a four-step process to graduation: incubation and development, independence and growth, value returns to POL through airdrops, and building network effects.

Projects receive strategic support from the Polygon Labs team, access to resources and funding, access to Polygon Foundation’s expertise, and connections across the ecosystem, the announcement says.

As they progress through the steps, projects mature and operate independently, but they stay connected to Agglayer when launching chains.

Therefore, Agglayer Breakout Program projects continue to contribute to the aggregated ecosystem. “Agglayer grows and increases the network effects with each unique chain and all new assets. More network effects = more revenue = more value for POL,” the team states.

5%-15% Token Airdrops

Per the announcement, all successful program graduates will airdrop 5%-15% of their respective native token supply to POL stakers and connect to Agglayer. Additionally, token airdrops will enable POL stakers to contribute to the project’s success through future staking, it claims.

Several “high-impact” projects have either already graduated or are set to graduate shortly.

Privado ID (formerly Polygon ID) has graduated and is a fully independent project. The likes of HSBC and Deutsche Bank have tested it by now. It was also selected for the EU Blockchain Sandbox . Privado ID will airdrop around 5% of its token supply to POL holders and stakers.

Additionally, the ZK-centric chain Miden is preparing to graduate. It will airdrop around 10% of the native token supply.

Also, an unnamed DeFi chain, currently in stealth mode, will airdrop around 15% of its total token supply to POL stakers, the press release noted.

“Other breakout projects include an ambitious DePIN project, a prover network, and a handful of high-impact chains that will make the Agglayer ecosystem even more attractive,” the team states.

Meanwhile, the announcement says that Polygon Foundation may receive an allocation of the projects’ tokens. It would use it to grow the ecosystem via community growth initiatives or ecosystem incentives, or distribute it through airdrops, it claims.

The POL token is the day’s best performer in the top 100 category per market cap.

At the time of writing, POL trades at $0.2616. It’s up 18% in a day, 45% in a week, and 17% in a month.

It has decreased by 65% over the past year.

Also, POL hit its all-time high of $1.29 in March 2024, falling 80% since.