Polygon Labs has announced another round of layoffs as it nears the completion of its acquisition of crypto exchange Coinme. The move, announced on Thursday, is part of a broader effort to transform itself into a blockchain-powered payments business.
The job cuts come as Polygon enters the final stage of integrating Coinme into its operations, CEO Marc Boiron said. While some of the current roles will be eliminated, the company’s overall headcount will increase as Coinme employees join the organization, he said.
The layoffs are a tough call but necessary to set the company up for long-term growth and profitability, the company said in a post on X.
The restructuring marks a significant strategic shift for Polygon. Instead of being a blockchain infrastructure provider, the company is now looking to be what Boiron called a “blockchain-enabled payments company.”
That process has been going on for several months.
Coinme deal: what has happened so far
In January, Polygon acquired Coinme and wallet infrastructure provider Sequence in a $250 million purchase, both as parts of its broader Polygon Open Money Stack initiative.
The Open Money Stack aims to bring together the building blocks for blockchain-based payments like wallets, exchange services and payment infrastructure, into one platform.
The notion is to make sending and receiving digital objects as simple as traditional payment apps, but with less middlemen in the background.
The integration of Coinme’s exchange capabilities with Sequence’s wallet technology is part of Polygon’s vision to build a stronger payments ecosystem for businesses and consumers.
The move is also a sign of a wider shift happening in the crypto industry.
As digital currencies mature, many blockchain companies are shifting away from trading-oriented businesses to invest in payment infrastructure, tokenised assets and financial services with more practical, everyday use cases.
And Polygon seems to be following that trend, moving beyond its role as a blockchain scaling network and positioning itself as a company focused on real-world payments.
Job cuts also in line with the broader target
The restructuring also fits with Polygon’s financial objectives as the company is targeting profitability in 2027, Boiron said.
The company did not say how many workers are affected, but the latest round of job cuts is the latest in a broader round of restructuring across the crypto sector as companies keep trimming operations after years of rapid growth.
Polygon also emphasised that the Coinme integration will ultimately grow the business despite the workforce reductions.
“Bringing Coinme into Polygon Labs will make the company bigger overall and shift its focus more toward payments and away from just blockchain infrastructure,” said Boiron.
As the acquisition nears completion, Polygon is betting that the demand for blockchain-powered payment services will only continue to grow. By bringing wallets, exchange services and payment technology together under one roof, the company hopes to position itself for the next phase of digital finance, where blockchain increasingly operates behind the scenes to power faster and more efficient financial transactions.
