Polygon’s Co-Founder Questions His Loyalty to Ethereum, Calling Out “Toxic” Community Behavior

Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal has publicly questioned his long‑standing “moral loyalty” to Ethereum, criticizing what he describes as increasingly “toxic” or “circus‑like” behavior in parts of the Ethereum community and leadership. In an October 2025 post on X, Nailwal said that staying aligned with Ethereum and positioning Polygon as an Ethereum scaling solution, rather than as an independent layer‑1 blockchain, had likely cost Polygon “billions” in potential valuation. He argued that despite Polygon’s role in scaling Ethereum and hosting major applications, the Ethereum Foundation and wider community have provided “no direct support,” often failing to recognize Polygon as a full layer‑2 or include it in Ethereum‑focused investment narratives. Nailwal’s comments sparked a broader debate over culture, incentives, and recognition within the Ethereum ecosystem. He claimed that successes of applications running on Polygon, such as prediction market platform Polymarket, are frequently credited to Ethereum while Polygon “remains in the shadows,” and said he is considering a “final push” that could “redefine the L2 agenda.” Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin responded by publicly praising Polygon’s contributions, including its work on zero‑knowledge technology and its AggLayer roadmap, while reiterating that full L2 status will depend on Polygon implementing proof systems that match Ethereum’s security guarantees. The exchange highlights growing tension between Ethereum’s core institutions and major external builders over how support, branding, and narrative alignment are handled, with potential implications for whether prominent scaling projects like Polygon continue to position themselves as Ethereum‑centric or move toward greater independence.

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• L2
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