Ethereum Foundation Faces Backlash From Polygon, Sonic Labs Over Lack of Support

• Péter Szilágyi accused the Ethereum Foundation of being controlled by a small inner circle linked to Vitalik Buterin and venture capital firms.
• Polygon’s Sandeep Nailwal said the Foundation offers no direct support despite Polygon’s key role in scaling Ethereum.

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The Ethereum Foundation is under renewed scrutiny after former Geth lead developer Péter Szilágyi published a letter accusing the organization of centralization and influence by a small elite circle.

His disclosure comes as prominent builders, including Polygon’s Sandeep Nailwal and Sonic Labs’ Andre Cronje, question the Foundation’s support for developers contributing to the broader Ethereum ecosystem.

Szilaiyi, who served as a lead developer at the Ethereum Foundation for years, shared a letter he sent to leadership last year in which he criticized what he called “a tight-knit group of five to ten individuals” who were in charge of the direction of Ethereum.

He said the success of most projects depends on their proximity to co-founder Vitalik Buterin and a handful of venture capital backers.

“Ethereum’s direction always boiled down to your relationship with Vitalik,” Szilágyi wrote. He further cautioned that important funding and approval processes might be captured by well-aligned interests, essentially reducing the openness of the ecosystem.

Szilai used the example of personal experience to underscore the imbalance, saying he earned about $625,000 in six years as Ethereum’s market capitalization ballooned into the hundreds of billions. His comments highlight issues related to internal inequality and transparency in the way resource is allocated.

Polygon’s Sandeep Nailwal Says Loyalty to Ethereum is “Weakening”

Amid the controversy, Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal complained of escalating frustration with the Ethereum Foundation. Ethereum’s mainnet is one of the main scaling solutions for Polygon, but it appears that Polygon has not received any direct support, as he stated in a post on October 21, 2025.

Nailwal said that the Ethereum community underestimates Polygon’s work and often treats it as an external entity, rather than a part of the network. He added that Polygon’s ecosystem – which spans projects such as Katana and XLayer – is still deeply intertwined with Ethereum. Yet, the lack of recognition and funding has him revisit the company’s positioning.

He proposed that the valuation of Polygon would be “two to five times higher” than it would be as a standalone layer one chain.

Buterin Responds as Tensions Rise Among Builders

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin responded publicly, acknowledging Nailwal and Polygon for their efforts in developing zero-knowledge technology and scaling, including AggLayer. Buterin did not refute that Polygon had its significant uses, such as Polymarket, but praised the philanthropies of Nailwal, such as the Balvi biotech program and CryptoRelief.

However, Buterin also explained why some within the Ethereum community hesitate to label Polygon as a “true” layer 2. He said Polygon currently lacks a proof system that would give it full Ethereum-level security guarantees. According to Buterin, integrating modern zero-knowledge proving systems could help Polygon strengthen its link to Ethereum’s main chain at lower transaction costs.

Andre Cronje, co-founder of Sonic Labs, expressed the sentiment of unfair support. He stated he “burned over 700 ETH” building on Ethereum without any grants. His comments have heightened scrutiny of the Foundation’s funding practices.

The debate is unfolding whilst the Ethereum Foundation changes internally. Earlier this year, it laid off a number of developers and outlined a new strategy for managing its ETH reserves and prioritizing funding.

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