Polygon Labs has reduced its headcount as it pivots more aggressively toward a payments-first strategy centered on stablecoin infrastructure and what it calls an “Open Money Stack”—a vertically integrated suite of services designed to move money onchain.
The layoffs follow the company’s recent announcement of deals worth up to $250 million to acquire U.S.-based crypto ATM and payments firm Coinme, as well as wallet and developer platform Sequence.
Polygon has not disclosed the number of roles affected. However, multiple posts on social media platforms such as X suggest the workforce reduction could be as high as 30%, linked to post-acquisition integration efforts. Cointelegraph contacted Polygon Labs for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Cuts tied to strategic focus, not performance
Polygon CEO Marc Boiron described the acquisitions as part of a broader effort to narrow the company’s strategic mandate.
“Over the past few months, we’ve sharpened Polygon Labs’ focus around one mission: moving all money onchain,” Boiron wrote in a post on X.
He said the Coinme and Sequence acquisitions added “deep expertise across regulated payments, wallets, and interoperability.” As those teams are merged into a single organization, Boiron said Polygon made “the difficult decision to consolidate some overlapping roles,” with the goal of positioning itself as a leading blockchain platform for payments.
Boiron emphasized that Polygon’s overall headcount would remain largely unchanged following the restructuring, describing the move as “about structure, not performance.”
He praised departing employees as “exceptional” and said the company is committed to supporting them through the transition, acknowledging that “this is one of the hardest parts of building a company and accelerating the growth of a protocol.”
Several former employees publicly confirmed their departures, many expressing optimism about Polygon’s future. One wrote that their “time at Polygon came to an end today — hell of a ride,” while another said they were proud of the team and confident about what lies ahead, adding that “there has never been a better time to be a builder.”
Polygon joins broader wave of crypto restructurings
The latest workforce changes follow a series of restructurings at Polygon over the past two years, including a 19% staff reduction and the spin-offs of Polygon Ventures and Polygon ID in early 2024. Executives at the time said the moves were intended to streamline operations and sharpen the company’s focus.
Polygon’s actions mirror a broader trend across the crypto industry. Coinbase has carried out multiple rounds of layoffs, including an 18% cut in 2022 amid a market downturn, while Binance reduced its workforce by about 1,000 employees in 2023 to “remain nimble and dynamic.”
More recently, real-world asset-focused protocol Mantra announced layoffs as part of a restructuring effort, underscoring continued cost discipline and consolidation across the sector—even as onchain activity shows signs of recovery.
