Polygon Labs lays off employees after Coinme acquisition

Polygon Labs announces layoffs as part of a major strategic shift. The company is in the final stages of acquiring Coinme and is using the opportunity to fully reposition itself as a payments company rather than a blockchain foundation.

From blockchain foundation to payments company

Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, announced on X that the acquisition of Coinme is nearly complete. The Coinme team will be integrated into Polygon Labs as part of a broader merger operation. The goal is to make the company profitable by 2027. This transition requires a different organisational structure and different profiles, leading to the departure of a large number of employees.

Boiron indicated that the layoffs are not related to the performance of the departing employees, but to the company’s change of direction. A blockchain foundation and a payments-focused technology company simply operate differently. According to him, the decision to act now is driven by the strong momentum Polygon Labs is currently experiencing: revenue is strong, stablecoin volume continues to break records, and the customer pipeline is larger than expected.

Layoffs despite strong momentum

Polygon Labs is offering departing employees a severance package and supporting them in finding new jobs. Boiron personally noted that former employees of the company are of a high calibre and is asking companies looking for talent to reach out via direct message. This combination of positive news and forced departures makes the situation striking: the company is doing well, yet it is cutting the workforce to prepare for the next phase.

The acquisition of Coinme is part of a broader trend in which crypto and blockchain companies are increasingly focusing on payment solutions. For instance, Base is also focusing on payments as a strategic direction. Polygon Labs further reports that its onchain payment solution has already gone live, faster than expected. The departing employees contributed to all these results, Boiron acknowledged, which makes the decision all the more difficult.