Leadership Shakeup at Polygon

Sandeep Nailwal has assumed complete control of Polygon's future direction as the network dissolves its board structure. The co-founder now serves as sole CEO of the Polygon Foundation, marking a dramatic shift from collective governance to centralized decision-making. This move comes as the Ethereum scaling solution faces mounting pressure to demonstrate real-world utility beyond theoretical innovations.

The End of zkEVM Experiment

Polygon will sunset its zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) chain by 2026, acknowledging the project's failure to gain meaningful traction. Despite initial enthusiasm from Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin, the layer-2 solution saw locked assets plummet from $35 million to just $2.75 million within a year. Nailwal admitted the chain "fell short of expectations" in user experience and failed to generate sustainable revenue.

New Focus: Payments and Tokenization

The restructured company will concentrate on two core areas: stablecoin payments through its PoS chain and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. This pivot aligns with growing institutional interest, including BlackRock's decision to run its tokenized money market fund on Polygon. The network currently hosts approximately $1 billion each in USDC and USDT stablecoins.

From Servitude to Singular Vision

Nailwal describes his leadership evolution from community-focused consensus-builder to decisive executive. "I have to be that 25-year-old kid again who was ready to go all in," he stated, acknowledging this approach may alienate some stakeholders. The founder credits his working-class upbringing for instilling both empathy and resilience—qualities he believes Polygon needs to regain relevance.

Technical Roadmap: Speed as Differentiator

Polygon's "Gigagas" initiative aims to achieve 100,000 transactions per second, positioning the network against newer, faster competitors. This technical benchmark represents Nailwal's bet that transaction speed combined with real-world applications will determine blockchain's next phase of adoption. The timeline for achieving this milestone remains undisclosed, though insiders suggest demonstration within 2025.

Financial Health and Community Reaction

Despite zkEVM's underperformance, Polygon maintains 【$250 million】 in reserves from its 2022 funding round. Community response to the leadership change has divided between supporters praising Nailwal's "wartime CEO" approach and critics questioning prior strategic missteps. The network's native token POL currently holds a $1.7 billion market cap, down sharply from its $20 billion peak.

Industry Implications

——This restructuring signals a broader shift in blockchain priorities—— from speculative technologies to measurable utility. As regulatory frameworks for stablecoins and RWAs crystallize globally, Polygon's gamble reflects the sector's maturation. Whether Nailwal's singular vision can deliver remains the critical unanswered question facing investors and developers alike.