Nailwal Assumes CEO Role at Polygon, Paving Way for a Fresh Path for POL
In a significant shift, Sandeep Nailwal, the newly appointed CEO of the Polygon Foundation, is steering the blockchain network towards a more focused, scalable, and institutionally compatible ecosystem. This strategic pivot centres around the Polygon Proof-of-Stake (PoS) chain and the AggLayer interoperability layer, while phasing out the zkEVM due to complexity and market saturation.
The phasing out of zkEVM is a strategic move aimed at addressing maintenance challenges and limited differentiation in the zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup market. On the other hand, Polygon PoS is undergoing a technical overhaul, targeting milestones such as 1,000 TPS with 5-second finality by July 2025 and 5,000+ TPS by October 2025 after AggLayer integration. The long-term goals exceed 100,000 TPS with single-block finality, eliminating chain reorganizations critical for regulated financial applications.
AggLayer, a modular interoperability and liquidity coordination layer, aims to unify liquidity across various Polygon rollups and Ethereum Layer 2 chains, reducing friction and enabling seamless cross-chain transactions. Full fast interoperability for AggLayer is expected by Q3, with AggLayer v0.3 scheduled to roll out by June 30th.
For Polygon Ecosystem Token (POL) stakers, Nailwal’s strategy aims to enhance value by increasing network usage and demand through institutional-grade upgrades, boosting ecosystem security and performance, the return of major market makers after regulatory clarity, and enabling new use cases, particularly in institutional finance and real-world asset tokenization.
This shift comes amidst Ethereum's reported existential crisis, which has reportedly pulled Polygon and the entire Ethereum ecosystem back to the 1-to-10 stage or, by some measures, even 0-to-1. However, the new direction for Polygon is designed to increase the economic and technical utility of the POL token, thereby enhancing value for stakers through heightened adoption, scalability, and ecosystem robustness.
Major announcements will come directly from Nailwal's X account, with the Polygon brand now central to AggLayer. Meanwhile, Marc Boiron continues as CEO of Polygon Labs, a separate entity under the Foundation. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped its MATIC investigation, encouraging market makers to return.
This development is strengthening POL liquidity, setting the stage for a promising future for Polygon and its community.
AggLayer, a modular interoperability and liquidity coordination layer, is expected to be integrated into the Polygon PoS chain, aiming for full fast interoperability by Q3. This integration and the technical overhaul of Polygon PoS are part of a strategic move to enhance the economic and technical utility of the Polygon Ecosystem Token (POL), as announced by the newly appointed CEO, Sandeep Nailwal.
