Polygon co-founder and CEO Sandeep Nailwal has criticized Ethereum’s leadership for downplaying Polygon’s role as a true Ethereum layer 2, despite the network’s significant contributions to Ethereum’s ecosystem.
Nailwal said he is now “questioning his loyalty” to Ethereum — particularly toward the Ethereum Foundation and community, which he claims have offered little to no direct support for Polygon.
“In fact, the opposite,” he wrote on X on Monday, adding that his commitment to Ethereum may have cost him billions in valuation by choosing not to position Polygon as a standalone layer 1 blockchain.
Sandeep Nailwal didn’t hold back in his criticism of Ethereum, calling the community “a shit show for quite some time” and saying it “needs to take a hard look at itself.”
His remarks drew a response from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who acknowledged Polygon’s contributions to the Ethereum ecosystem. Nailwal isn’t the first industry figure to voice strong criticism of the Ethereum Foundation (EF), which has undergone significant leadership changes over the past year. He referenced a post by former EF researcher Péter Szilágyi, who shared an 18-month-old letter expressing frustration with the Foundation, and noted that early Ethereum developer Eric Conner left in January citing concerns over Buterin’s leadership.
Nailwal also received some backing from outside the Ethereum ecosystem. Solana co-founder Raj Gokal and former Solana Foundation strategy head Austin Federa suggested that Polygon could either collaborate with Solana or consider becoming a layer 2 on the rival network.
Vitalik Buterin praises Polygon but stops short
In his response, Buterin highlighted Polygon’s achievements, including hosting the largest predictions market platform, Polymarket, and advancing zk-EVM technology. He also praised Nailwal’s personal initiatives with CryptoRelief, which supports biomedical infrastructure and research in India.
However, Buterin maintained that Polygon is not yet a true Ethereum layer 2 in terms of security guarantees. He noted that Polygon lacks a proof system required to fully meet Ethereum layer 2 standards but added that the network could adopt existing ZK technology to implement one. According to Buterin, such systems are now highly efficient, with proof costs as low as $0.0001 per transaction.
