Polygon has appointed co-founder Sandeep Nailwal as CEO of the Polygon Foundation, marking a pivotal leadership transition as the project sharpens its focus on scalability and interoperability. The announcement comes at a time when the Layer 2 ecosystem faces increasing pressure to innovate and maintain its relevance within the broader Ethereum community.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Nailwal acknowledged that institutionalized and decentralized governance within the foundation had previously slowed operations. His new role is intended to streamline decision-making and energize the network’s growth trajectory, particularly around its flagship interoperability protocol, AggLayer.
“There was all sorts of slowness in how things moved. We needed faster execution,” Nailwal stated, highlighting that the shift is aimed at re-establishing Polygon as a market leader amid intensified competition in the blockchain sector.
AggLayer at the Core of Polygon’s Future
With Nailwal now at the helm, the foundation is reprioritizing its resources to double down on AggLayer, Polygon’s core interoperability layer that facilitates seamless communication and liquidity between various Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchains. The next major update, AggLayer v0.3, is expected by the end of the year and will play a critical role in further aligning Polygon’s technology with Ethereum’s scaling roadmap.
The CEO emphasized that the foundation will consolidate its efforts on AggLayer and real-world asset integration, digital payments infrastructure, and related tooling. Other initiatives not aligned with this core strategy will be either spun out or shut down.
Accelerating with the AggLayer Breakout Program
Complementing this shift, the foundation has ramped up its support for developers through the AggLayer Breakout Program, an incubator providing funding and strategic guidance for projects building atop the AggLayer and Polygon PoS ecosystems. Notably, Katana Network, a DeFi liquidity protocol, became the latest project to graduate from the program, launching its private mainnet on May 28.
Polygon aims to continue expanding this incubator model to onboard more innovative protocols, ultimately creating a vibrant multi-chain environment centered on AggLayer.
A Response to Ethereum Ecosystem Concerns
Nailwal’s elevation also comes in response to internal tensions within the Ethereum community. As Ethereum grapples with its own Layer 2 roadmap, many community members have questioned the reliance on external scaling solutions like Polygon. By reinforcing leadership and doubling down on its interoperability vision, the foundation seeks to better align with Ethereum’s broader goals while maintaining independence and agility.
Final Thoughts
As competition among Layer 2 networks intensifies and interoperability becomes increasingly essential, Polygon’s move to bring Sandeep Nailwal into the CEO role signals a bold step toward operational efficiency and strategic clarity. With AggLayer taking center stage and new developer incentives in motion, the foundation appears set to reposition Polygon as a cornerstone of Ethereum scalability in 2025 and beyond.
