Polygon’s zkEVM Never Adopted Blobs, Now Running at a $1M+ Annual Loss: Researcher Claims

Polygon’s zero-knowledge chain, zkEVM, which was initially acquired via the $250 million buy of Hermez in 2021, seems to have fallen flat.

In keeping with GrowThePie’s analysis lead, Lorenz Lehmann, Polygon zkEVM has seen little significant progress since its rebranding and is now working at an annual lack of over $1 million.

“Improvement Quietly Deserted”

Lehmann claims improvement on the chain has been “quietly discontinued” and that it was by no means upgraded to include Ethereum’s Blob information construction, which drastically reduces information availability prices for rollups. His comments arrive amid broader modifications on the Polygon Basis, the place co-founder Sandeep Nailwal has not too long ago stepped into the position of CEO.

The management transition follows the quiet exit of co-founder Mihailo Bjelic, leaving Nailwal as the one founding member nonetheless actively concerned. Two different co-founders, Jaynti Kanani and Anurag Arjun, exited operational roles in 2022. With this shift, Nailwal is now overseeing structural modifications aimed toward consolidating Polygon’s focus.

Whereas official communication has set 2026 because the goal date to sundown zkEVM, Lehmann’s newest declare means that the shutdown course of is already nicely underway behind the scenes. His remarks suggest the choice to wind down zkEVM predates any formal announcement, and that Polygon’s present narrative could understate the diploma to which the product has been deprioritized.

Polygon zkEVM was as soon as positioned as a significant milestone of the undertaking’s dedication to zero-knowledge scaling. However with continued losses, stagnating improvement, and a shift in focus towards its proof-of-stake chain and new initiatives like AggLayer, the chain’s position has been successfully marginalized.

TVL Down By 80%

Polygon zkEVM’s whole worth locked (TVL) reached an all-time excessive of $187 million in March 2024, in line with data from L2Beat. Though it briefly rebounded to $111 million later that yr, the general pattern has been downward.

In 2025, the decline has accelerated, because the TVL dropped practically 80%, from $80.2 million to simply $16.25 million on the time of writing.