Polygon Co-founder Questions Ethereum Loyalty, Citing Billions in Foregone Valuation

Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal has publicly expressed his disillusionment with the Ethereum ecosystem, questioning his loyalty and alleging a lack of support from the Ethereum Foundation. In a recent post on X, Nailwal stated that his commitment to Ethereum may have cost Polygon "billions of dollars in valuation," suggesting the network could be valued "two to five times higher" if it had positioned itself as a standalone Layer-1 blockchain. This statement has ignited a debate within the blockchain community regarding the relationship between Ethereum and its scaling solutions.Polygon, originally known as Matic Network, was established with the explicit goal of scaling Ethereum by providing a Layer-2 solution. The project initially branded itself as an Ethereum sidechain, successfully attracting users and developers seeking faster and cheaper transactions. Nailwal underscored Polygon's foundational role, asserting, "I/we never got any direct support from the EF or the Ethereum CT community — in fact, the reverse."Amidst these criticisms, allegations of MATIC token dumping have also surfaced. Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain recently flagged two wallets, which it initially attributed to the Polygon Foundation, for transferring over $5.5 million worth of MATIC to Binance. However, Nailwal swiftly refuted these claims, asserting that the wallets were mislabeled and did not belong to the Foundation. Nansen, the analytics firm responsible for the initial labeling, later retracted the attributions as a gesture of goodwill, acknowledging the challenges of accurate wallet identification.The public exchange between Nailwal and the Ethereum community, including a response from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin acknowledging Polygon's contributions, highlights ongoing tensions. Buterin praised Polygon's role in hosting applications like Polymarket and advancing ZK-EVM technology, yet noted that Polygon's PoS chain currently lacks the full security guarantees of some Layer-2 designs. Nailwal's recent comments reflect a growing sentiment among some Layer-2 developers who feel their efforts to scale Ethereum are not adequately recognized or supported by the broader ecosystem.