Polygon Labs laid off some of its employees this week as the company restructured itself around a payments-focused business model rather than its previous blockchain-based identity.
CEO Marc Boisron revealed the restructuring in a post on X, tying the timing to Polygon Labs’ pending acquisition of Coinme. Boiron said Polygon Labs is currently nearing completion of its acquisition of crypto company Coinme and plans to incorporate the acquired team directly into the broader organization once the deal closes.
Boisron framed the merger and resulting job cuts as part of a related effort to reposition Polygon Labs to achieve profitability by 2027.
Boisron insists it’s not a performance issue.
CEO Marc Boisron said the layoffs reflected a change in strategy, not employee performance. In a statement, he drew a clear distinction between how blockchain infrastructure works internally and how payments-focused companies need to operate, arguing that this change requires not just a different product roadmap, but a completely different staffing and organizational structure.
Affected employees will receive job placement assistance in addition to severance pay, Boisron confirmed, adding that he will personally vouch for departing employees to other companies looking to hire them.
force of timing delay
Boisron pointed to the strength of the underlying business as a reason to act now rather than later. Boisron said both stablecoin volume and customer demand are at an all-time high, noting that Polygon’s on-chain payment product was launched faster than the team expected.
He acknowledged this irony directly in his post, pointing out that many of the employees who left were the same people responsible for building the momentum in the first place.
Backlash against wording
Not everyone clearly understood Boisron’s explanation. One commenter, a builder and alleged venture founder, questioned this framework entirely, pointing out that Polygon Labs has always operated as a for-profit organization, whereas the separate Polygon Foundation is a nonprofit organization that has historically been associated with blockchain governance. He asked Boisron to clarify what “transitioning from blockchain-based to payments company” actually means given its corporate structure.
Mr. Boisron responded directly, clarifying that his original wording was referring to the company’s practices. it worksIt is not a legal or corporate structure change. Rather than explaining the formal entity change, he emphasized the difference between operating like a blockchain-based company and operating like a blockchain-enabled payments company.
