Polygon CEO announces layoffs as Coinme deal advances

Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron announced additional layoffs Thursday as the company moves to complete a $250 million acquisition of cryptocurrency exchange Coinme and wallet platform Sequence. In a post on X, he wrote that Polygon would “say ‘goodbye to many of [its] colleagues'” as it shifts from operating as a blockchain foundation to operating as a blockchain-enabled payments company.

The acquisition combines Coinme’s exchange business, which includes a network of bitcoin ATMs, with Sequence’s wallet infrastructure. Polygon disclosed the deal in January and said it will expand on- and off-ramp payments and consumer-facing services.

Boiron framed the cuts as linked to the new strategic focus rather than employee performance, writing: “These changes are about the company we’re building, not the quality of the people leaving.” He added that “A blockchain foundation and a blockchain-enabled payments company do not operate the same way.”

Boiron has announced rounds of layoffs over the past three years that together affected more than 200 employees. Polygon has not provided detailed figures for the current wave and did not respond immediately to requests for comment on the scope or timing of the reductions.

He did not specify which teams would be affected or when the reorganized company would be fully operating under the payments structure. Company statements say it plans to integrate Coinme and Sequence technologies into Polygon’s ecosystem to support consumer payments and fiat on-ramps.

The announcement follows a broader trend of crypto firms adjusting operations to focus on payments, custody and end-user wallets.