- Sandeep Nailwal assumes full executive control as Polygon Foundation’s first CEO.
- AggLayer v0.3 to launch by year-end, enhancing cross-chain interoperability.
Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal has been appointed as the first CEO of the Polygon Foundation, marking a significant shift away from its decentralized governance model. The decision consolidates executive power under Nailwal, ending years of consensus-led operations.
Also, under his leadership, the Foundation aims to fast-track decision-making and refocus the network on its core infrastructure initiatives. Nailwal described the past structure as “institutionalised,” slowing progress and diluting focus. Now, the Foundation will operate with tighter execution and a product-driven strategy.
AggLayer, zkEVM Exit, and PoS Upgrade
One of the first major initiatives is scaling AggLayer, Polygon’s interoperability protocol designed to connect fragmented chains. AggLayer version 0.3 will roll out by year-end. It will anchor the protocol under the Polygon brand, offering trustless cross-chain liquidity using the POL token.
It enables new projects like Katana, Privado ID, and Miden to launch with POL-based incentives. Projects may allocate 5% to 15% of token supply to POL stakers, aligning ecosystem growth with token holders.
Simultaneously, the Foundation plans to sunset the zkEVM chain by 2026. Performance limitations and weak developer traction prompted the move. The Foundation will support migrating projects for 12 months, offering transition grants where needed.
Meanwhile, the Polygon proof-of-stake chain will evolve into the “GigaGAS” network, targeting over 100,000 transactions per second. The July 2025 Bhilai upgrade will enable faster finality, lower gas fees, and full AggLayer integration. Polygon seeks to become the foundational layer for global payments and real-world assets (RWAs).
Already, Polygon has processed over $514 billion in stablecoin transactions. The network also supports tokenized assets from BlackRock, Apollo, and JPMorgan. These partnerships underscore Polygon’s ambitions to dominate the Web3 financial stack.
Despite internal changes, core leadership remains intact. Marc Boiron continues as CEO of Polygon Labs. Mudit Gupta steps in as CTO, and Ryan Niedzialek serves as COO. Together, they support Nailwal’s vision for founder-led, high-throughput, and staking-centric growth.
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