Polygon cuts jobs for 2nd time in 2026 as crypto firms chase revenue

Polygon Labs cut staff for the 2nd time in 2026 on Thursday as 1inch co-founder Anton Bukov disclosed he was fired in November, with both firms reorganizing around commercial priorities while their tokens trade near record lows.

"Today's changes were not made lightly," Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, said in an internal message to staff. "We chose to act decisively because building our company the right way in a competitive environment takes time."

The cuts extend a pattern of reductions at Polygon. The firm cut roughly 100 roles in 2023, another 60 in 2024 and about 60 more in January after its $250 million-plus deal to acquire Coinme, a US payments firm licensed in 48 states, and wallet developer Sequence. Stablecoin supply on Polygon stands at $3.36 billion, the eighth-largest on any blockchain, according to DefiLlama, while the company said volume hit a record $9.12 billion in June.

Both stories point to the same dynamic. Crypto firms are trading protocol-era talent for commercial discipline, and the coming quarters will determine whether token holders ever share in the payoff. POL, the Polygon Ecosystem Token, traded at $0.0838 at press time, down nearly 64% in a year and near its all-time low of $0.068 set on July 1. The 1INCH token traded at $0.0739, down 78% over the same period.

Boiron said Polygon Labs is completing its transformation from a blockchain foundation into a blockchain-enabled payments company, targeting profitability in 2027. He stressed the cuts reflect strategy rather than performance, with severance and career support for affected staff.

"We are in the final stages of completing the Coinme acquisition, which will involve integrating that team into Polygon Labs, a move that will grow our organization as part of a broader merger exercise to position Polygon Labs to be profitable in 2027," Boiron said on X.

The business case is visible on-chain. Visa added Polygon to its stablecoin settlement program earlier this year. Polygon Foundation CEO Sandeep Nailwal separately said a third of the team built 13 AI projects in a three-day sprint, showing how leadership expects the remaining staff to work.

1inch Co-Founder Says He Was Fired

Hours earlier, Bukov disclosed that 1inch fired him in late November 2025 despite his 50% stake. The co-founder, who led the DEX aggregator's protocol architecture and security since May 2019, said he retains no operational or security oversight.

Where Polygon frames its restructuring as a strategy, Bukov described his exit as a leadership dispute. He said he pushed for changes in management and communication after user and teammate feedback, and was dismissed.

"The most important lesson that stayed with me: the long-term success of any project stands on two pillars of equal weight — technical excellence and leadership grounded in values that hold under pressure," Bukov said.

He is now building Second Tier, an infrastructure startup he said will pursue an open financial system without friction or middlemen.

Tokens Near Record Lows

The market has yet to reward either shakeup. One Polygon holder on X posed a question that captures the tension: "Polygon Labs is becoming a for-profit payments company, while POL is roughly 98% below its all-time high. Holders have no equity in Polygon Labs and no claim on its future profits. How will the success of this company create measurable value for POL?"

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.