Polygon’s zero-knowledge chain, zkEVM, which was originally acquired through the $250 million purchase of Hermez in 2021, appears to have fallen flat.
According to GrowThePie’s research lead, Lorenz Lehmann, Polygon zkEVM has seen little meaningful progress since its rebranding and is now operating at an annual loss of over $1 million.
“Development Quietly Abandoned”
Lehmann claims development on the chain has been “quietly discontinued” and that it was never upgraded to incorporate Ethereum’s Blob data structure, which drastically reduces data availability costs for rollups. His comments arrive amid broader changes at the Polygon Foundation, where co-founder Sandeep Nailwal has recently stepped into the role of CEO.
The leadership transition follows the quiet exit of co-founder Mihailo Bjelic, leaving Nailwal as the only founding member still actively involved. Two other co-founders, Jaynti Kanani and Anurag Arjun, exited operational roles in 2022. With this shift, Nailwal is now overseeing structural changes aimed at consolidating Polygon’s focus.
While official communication has set 2026 as the target date to sunset zkEVM, Lehmann’s latest claim suggests that the shutdown process is already well underway behind the scenes. His remarks imply the decision to wind down zkEVM predates any formal announcement, and that Polygon’s current narrative may understate the degree to which the product has been deprioritized.
Polygon zkEVM was once positioned as a major milestone of the project’s commitment to zero-knowledge scaling. But with continued losses, stagnating development, and a shift in focus toward its proof-of-stake chain and new initiatives like AggLayer, the chain’s role has been effectively marginalized.
TVL Down By 80%
Polygon zkEVM’s total value locked (TVL) reached an all-time high of $187 million in March 2024, according to data from L2Beat. Although it briefly rebounded to $111 million later that year, the overall trend has been downward.
In 2025, the decline has accelerated, as the TVL dropped nearly 80%, from $80.2 million to just $16.25 million at the time of writing.
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