Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal has expressed his discontent with Ethereum’s leaders for undervaluing Polygon’s role as a genuine Ethereum layer 2, pointing out the significant contributions Polygon has made to Ethereum without receiving adequate acknowledgment.
Nailwal, who is also the CEO of the Polygon Foundation, mentioned he is now “questioning his loyalty” to Ethereum, particularly towards the Ethereum Foundation and its community, which he feels has not provided any direct support to Polygon.
“In fact, the reverse,” Nailwal stated in a post on X on Monday, mentioning that his allegiance to Ethereum may have cost him billions in Polygon’s valuation by not promoting it as a layer 1.
“The Ethereum community as a whole has been a mess for quite some time,” Nailwal remarked, suggesting that the “Ethereum community needs to take a serious look at itself.”
His post drew a response from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who acknowledged Polygon’s achievements within the broader Ethereum landscape.
Nailwal is not alone in his criticism of the Ethereum Foundation, which has seen significant changes in leadership over the past year.
Nailwal referenced a post by former EF researcher Péter Szilágyi that shared an 18-month-old letter expressing his frustrations with the organization, while Eric Conner, one of Ethereum’s early developers, departed in January due to concerns over Buterin’s leadership choices.
He garnered support from figures like Solana co-founder Raj Gokal and former Solana Foundation head of strategy Austin Federa, who both encouraged Polygon to “team up” with Solana or consider becoming a layer 2 on the rival network.
Vitalik Buterin praises Polygon, Nailwal
In reply to Nailwal’s remarks, Buterin acknowledged Polygon’s contributions, highlighting its role in hosting the largest predictions market platform through Polymarket and advancing zk-EVM technology, among other accomplishments.
Buterin also commended Nailwal’s personal efforts with CryptoRelief, which has provided funding for biomedical infrastructure and research in India.
Polygon still isn’t an Ethereum layer 2 in Vitalik’s book
However, Buterin pointed out that Polygon does not have a proof system that would provide the full security guarantees associated with Ethereum layer 2 projects, in response to Nailwal’s assertion that Polygon is not recognized as such.
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He emphasized that Polygon could easily adopt a ZK tech stack that would allow for a proof system, noting that the technology has considerably improved, with proving costs now as low as $0.0001 per transaction.
Nailwal has not yet responded to Buterin’s comments.
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