Polygon Labs Conducts Second 2026 Layoffs as Company Pivots to Payments Model with $250M Coinme Acquisition

Jul 16, 2026

Polygon Labs is executing its second round of layoffs in 2026 as it finalizes the $250 million acquisition of Coinme and Sequence. CEO Marc Boiron framed the cuts as a strategic transition from a blockchain foundation to a commercial payments company targeting profitability by 2027. Meanwhile, 1inch co-founder Anton Bukov revealed he was fired following leadership disputes. These corporate restructurings occur as both POL and 1INCH tokens trade near historic lows, highlighting industry-wide pressure to generate real-world revenue.

Polygon Labs workforce reductions

▪Polygon Labs previously laid off approximately 100 employees in February 2023, 60 employees in 2024, and 60 employees in January 2026.
▪Polygon Labs announced a new round of layoffs on July 16, 2026, marking its second workforce reduction of 2026.

Coinme acquisition integration

▪Polygon Labs is in the final stages of completing its acquisition of crypto exchange Coinme and wallet infrastructure platform Sequence.
▪Polygon Labs agreed to acquire Coinme and Sequence in January 2026 for a combined value of more than $250 million.

Payments business model pivot

▪Polygon's stablecoin supply stands at approximately $3.36 billion to $3.37 billion, with transaction volume reaching a record $9.12 billion in June 2026.
▪Polygon Labs is transitioning from a blockchain foundation model to a blockchain-enabled payments company, targeting profitability in 2027.

1inch co-founder termination

▪Anton Bukov, who owns a 50% stake in 1inch, attributed his dismissal to a leadership dispute after he advocated for management and communication changes.
▪1inch co-founder Anton Bukov was terminated from his operational and security oversight roles at the decentralized exchange aggregator in late November 2025.

POL token price decline

▪POL was trading at approximately $0.0838 on July 16, 2026, which is more than 93% below its 2024 all-time high of $1.29.
▪The Polygon Ecosystem Token (POL) fell to an all-time low of $0.068 on July 1, 2026, representing a decline of nearly 64% over the preceding year.