Polygon Foundation CEO Appointed Amid Strategic Shift
Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal steps into the role of CEO for the newly formed Polygon Foundation, marking a significant shift away from a decentralized governance model.
The foundational organization, overseeing Polygon Labs and ecosystem components, will now operate under centralized leadership to refocus amid intensifying competition in the layer-2 scaling space, as announced by the project.
In remarks accompanying the announcement, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal stated, “At our beginnings, Polygon was all about bold execution and big goals. During 2021–23, we made a real effort to institutionalize the project… Now, it is time to again move fast, aggressively and with full conviction and focus.”
Strategic Focus Shifted to AggLayer
Among the immediate changes under Nailwal’s leadership, the foundation is renewing its focus on Polygon’s AggLayer interoperability protocol, aiming to unify various blockchain networks. v0.3 is expected this year, with clearer alignment under the Polygon brand.
Simultaneously, the project announced plans to sunset its zkEVM chain in 2026, citing performance limitations and development hurdles that impede scaling efforts.
The Polygon Proof-of-Stake chain is undergoing a major upgrade to become a “GigaGAS” chain, targeting over 100,000 transactions per second with ambitions to support routine payments and secure vast tokenized assets.
Further payments infrastructure is expected with a July ‘Bhilai’ upgrade, promising faster finality, reduced gas fees, and AggLayer integration. The project currently collaborates with financial giants JPMorgan and Stripe.
Co-founder Exodus Continues
The announcement follows recent departures by Polygon co-founders. Mihailo Bjelic stepped down from the board on May 24, followed by early core team members Jaynti Kanani and Anurag Arjun within the past two years.
