Polygon Labs has reduced its workforce as it accelerates a strategic pivot toward payments infrastructure built around stablecoins and what it calls an “Open Money Stack.”
The staffing changes came shortly after Polygon announced plans to acquire crypto ATM and payments firm Coinme alongside wallet and developer platform Sequence in a deal valued at up to $250 million.
While the company did not disclose exact figures, social media reports suggested as much as 30% of roles may have been affected during post-acquisition integration.
Leadership Frames Layoffs As Structural Shift
Polygon CEO Marc Boiron said the recent moves reflect a narrowing of focus rather than financial distress or performance issues within the organization.
“Over the past few months, we’ve sharpened Polygon Labs’ focus around one mission: moving all money onchain,” Boiron said in a post on X.
He explained that the Coinme and Sequence acquisitions added “deep expertise across regulated payments, wallets, and interop,” strengthening Polygon’s long-term payments vision.
Integration Drives Role Consolidation
As newly acquired teams are merged into a unified structure, Polygon made what Boiron described as difficult decisions to eliminate overlapping roles.
He said the objective is to position Polygon as a leading payments-focused blockchain company with a streamlined and purpose-built organizational design.
Boiron emphasized that overall headcount would remain broadly similar after the restructuring, describing the changes as “about structure, not performance.”
Departing Staff React Publicly
Former employees confirmed their departures online, with many expressing pride in their work and optimism about Polygon’s future direction.
One former staff member wrote that their “time at Polygon came to an end today – hell of a ride,” while another said they were “wildly proud and optimistic” about what lies ahead.
Boiron described departing employees as “exceptional” and said Polygon was committed to supporting them through the transition process.
“This is one of the hardest parts of building a company and accelerating the growth of a protocol,” he said.
Industry-Wide Restructuring Continues
The latest layoffs follow earlier workforce reductions at Polygon, including a 19% cut and the spin-off of Polygon Ventures and Polygon ID in early 2024.
Executives previously said those moves were designed to simplify operations and sharpen the company’s strategic focus.
Polygon’s actions mirror broader trends across the crypto sector, where companies have sought to remain lean following volatile market cycles.
Coinbase and Binance have both executed significant job cuts in recent years, while other blockchain projects continue to consolidate amid recovering onchain activity.
