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Polygon zkEVM

avoid.net/polygon-zkevm→26/100·82% conf.
[AI-DRAFTED · AWAITING VERIFICATION]

Auto-generated score, not yet verified against the scoring model. Under review — treat as indicative, not a verdict.

anchored·5EZKuH…ftua

Summary

Polygon zkEVM was a zero-knowledge rollup network launched in March 2023 by Polygon Labs, built upon the 2021 acquisition of Hermez Network for approximately $250 million in MATIC tokens. Despite early promise — including Vitalik Buterin processing the first transaction — the chain never achieved meaningful adoption, reportedly failed to implement the cost-reducing EIP-4844 blobs upgrade, and was shut down on July 1, 2026. Assets locked in DeFi smart contracts at the time of shutdown cannot be auto-migrated and may be permanently inaccessible.

Connected Entities

6 entities · 60 linked investigations
Organizations
□Starknet62□Polygon54□Ethereum64□Vitalik Buterin25□Polygon zkEVM□Scroll58
Relationships
  • Starknet→mentioned with→Ethereum(80%)
  • Scroll→mentioned with→Ethereum(80%)
  • Ethereum→mentioned with→Vitalik Buterin(80%)
  • Polygon zkEVM→mentioned with→Vitalik Buterin(80%)
  • Vitalik Buterin→mentioned with→Ethereum(65%)
  • Polygon→mentioned with→Ethereum(70%)
  • Polygon zkEVM→mentioned with→Scroll(60%)
  • Polygon zkEVM→mentioned with→Polygon(80%)
  • Polygon zkEVM→mentioned with→Ethereum(80%)
  • Polygon zkEVM→mentioned with→Starknet(60%)
Also appears in
Vitalik Buterin·25Polygon·54Ethereum·64Lendf.me·30Levyathan·18Jump Trading·42StableMagnet·2Shibarium·28Bankr·18Nexera·32
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Community submissions

  • Under reviewincriminating[WAYBACK]7/2/2026, 4:09:29 PM

    “Polygon shut down its zkEVM Mainnet Beta sequencer on July 1, 2026, ending a $250M initiative after failing to gain traction. Wallet-held balances have a claims path, but funds locked in DeFi protocols, LPs, and multisig contracts cannot be auto-migrated and are likely permanently inaccessible for users who did not withdraw before the sequencer cutoff.”

    — avoid-scout

Timeline(11 events)

4 August 2021

Polygon acquires Hermez Network for approximately 250 million MATIC tokens (~$250 million at the time), structured as a token merger at 3.5 MATIC per 1 HEZ.

The Block

11 October 2022

Polygon releases Hermez-based zkEVM public testnet, allowing Ethereum developers to deploy smart contracts on the ZK rollup without reprogramming.

Invezz

14 February 2023

Polygon announces March 27, 2023 as the Mainnet Beta launch date for Polygon zkEVM.

CoinDesk

27 March 2023

Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta goes live publicly. Vitalik Buterin sends the first transaction. Nailwal notes it remains in beta and carries technological risk.

CoinDesk

March 2024

Polygon zkEVM total value locked reaches peak of approximately $187 million. The EIP-4844 blobs upgrade is introduced to Ethereum but is allegedly never implemented on Polygon zkEVM.

DefiLlama / CryptoPotato

June 2024

Alleged internal work stoppage on Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta, approximately 18 months before the official shutdown — according to CEO Marc Boiron's later disclosure.

Crypto Times

11 June 2025

Sandeep Nailwal assumes CEO role at Polygon Foundation amid strategic restructuring. Polygon announces strategic pivot to PoS chain and AggLayer, and announces zkEVM sunset with 12 months' notice.

CoinDesk

13 June 2025

Jordi Baylina — original Hermez co-founder and Polygon zkEVM lead — spins off to form Polygon ZisK as an independent entity under SilentSig Switzerland GmbH, taking a team of seven engineers.

The Block

30 June 2025

AggLayer v0.3 launches, representing Polygon's new strategic focus on cross-chain settlement.

Cryptopolitan

17 June 2026

QuickSwap DEX issues public warning to users that funds locked in DeFi protocols on Polygon zkEVM will be lost after the July 1 shutdown, and that assets cannot be recovered post-deadline.

QuickSwap on X

July 2026

Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta sequencer is taken offline. Transactions cease to be processed. Balance snapshot taken for eligible wallet-held asset claims. DeFi-locked funds become inaccessible with no automated recovery pathway.

Polygon Community Forum (official)
Provenance & Audit Trail
Anchored on SolanaVerify on-chain15 Wayback Archives

Decision Log

This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (4 events). 15 of 18 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.

Fact-checked 2026-09-0738 claims checked6 corrections pending0 applied⛓ anchoredSee findings →
full audit log →version history →

model: claude-sonnet-4-6

generated: 7/2/2026, 12:17:12 PM

last updated: 8/27/2026, 4:08:04 PM

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