Polygon Labs has undergone a major restructuring: 60 employees laid off amid a shift to a payments strategy

The company behind the Ethereum scaling network recently implemented a significant reduction in staff. The decision, affecting 60 employees across various departments, is related to the integration of recently acquired companies and a shift to a new consensus among teams regarding the prioritization of payment solutions. This wave of layoffs has already become the third major restructuring of the company in three years.

How the company explained the personnel reduction

Polygon Labs’ official representative denied the initial rumors of a 30% workforce cut, insisting that it was about balancing the number of employees in connection with the integration. After acquiring Coinme and Sequence with a total value of $250 million, the company faced the task of eliminating duplicate functions and roles that arose during the merging of teams.

“During the integration of Coinme and Sequence employees, we made adjustments to maintain the overall staff count at a stable level,” said the representative. Despite the layoffs, Polygon Labs still employs about 200 people. CEO Mark Buaron confirmed in a post on X that the restructuring was necessary to eliminate overlapping roles resulting from acquisitions.

Layoff history: the third wave in three years

The current restructuring is not the first. In February 2023, the company laid off approximately 100 employees, which was then 20% of its workforce, consolidating several business units under a single organizational structure. A year later, in February 2024, a second significant reduction occurred — 60 people, representing 19% of the total staff. The company characterized this measure as a step toward increasing operational efficiency.

Thus, the current wave of layoffs marks the third such episode, demonstrating the dynamic nature of the company’s evolution in the rapidly changing cryptocurrency and blockchain market.

From scaling to payment solutions

The layoffs occurred amid a significant change in the company’s strategic direction. Polygon is shifting focus from general Ethereum network scaling to a more specific solution related to payment systems. A source close to management emphasized that the changes affected teams across the organization, not just one particular division.

According to the CEO, Coinme and Sequence are being integrated to support Polygon’s mission — “to move all money on-chain.” This reorientation indicates the company’s ambitions expanding beyond traditional blockchain scaling toward practical payment applications.

Technological foundation: consensus and infrastructure

Polygon operates as a layer 2 solution for Ethereum, utilizing a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm to ensure fast and inexpensive transactions. Its native token MATIC is used to pay for fees and can be staked by network participants to earn rewards. This consensus mechanism makes the network energy-efficient and scalable.

Launched initially in 2017 under the name Matic Network by a team of Ethereum ecosystem developers, the network became operational in 2020 and has since achieved significant development in the cryptographic space.

Financial stability during transformation

Despite the restructuring, Polygon Labs remains a well-capitalized organization. The company’s representative confirmed that there are over $200 million in the treasury, along with more than 1.9 billion MATIC tokens. This financial position provides the company with sufficient resources to implement ambitious strategic initiatives related to the development of payment solutions.

Market reacts to the news

The MATIC token showed volatility following the restructuring announcement. Over the past 24 hours, the price decreased by 6%. Meanwhile, a broader market indicator, the CoinDesk20 index, declined approximately 1% over the same period. Such fluctuations reflect the usual market reaction to organizational changes in major ecosystem projects.

Polygon Labs emphasized its leadership’s commitment to supporting laid-off employees during the transition period, acknowledging their contribution to the platform’s development. The company views this current transformation as a critically important step toward achieving its goal of integrating blockchain solutions into financial infrastructure.