- He praised Polygon and its founder Sandeep Nailwal for their contributions to Ethereum’s scalability.
- Buterin highlighted Polygon’s early leadership in zero-knowledge technology.
- Nailwal has participated in various humanitarian efforts, including funding the Balvi pandemic research initiative.
The cryptocurrency market remains subdued as Bitcoin fundamentals continue to show weakness.
Amid this uncertainty, Vitalik Buterin took to X to publicly praise Polygon and its co-founder Sandeep Nailwal for their notable contributions to advancing Ethereum.
Buterin commented on Polygon’s technical achievements, particularly its early investment in developing a ZK-EVM (zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine).
He also acknowledged Nailwal’s humanitarian work that blends health initiatives with blockchain development.
I greatly appreciate both Sandeep Nailwal’s personal contributions and Polygon’s immensely valuable role in the Ethereum ecosystem.
I really appreciate both @sandeepnailwal’s personal contributions and @0xPolygon’s immensely valuable role in the ethereum ecosystem.
To recap:
* Polygon hosts @Polymarket, which is probably the single most successful example of a “not just boring finance” app that has actually…
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) October 21, 2025
Polygon’s Influence on Ethereum’s Growth
Buterin’s post emphasized Polygon as a core scalability layer for Ethereum, commending the network for hosting innovative applications.
For example, Polymarket stands out as a compelling use case that goes beyond traditional finance by delivering real-world utility.
Polygon has also supported numerous high-throughput projects and prioritized research and development in ZK-EVM technology.
Vitalik noted Polygon’s early collaboration with Jordi Baylina’s team, which helped the ZK ecosystem within Ethereum progress during its experimental stages.
Polygon put substantial resources into proving ZK-EVM earlier, both by bringing in Jordi Baylina’s team and through other efforts, and that helped move the space forward.
The Ethereum co-founder also praised Polygon for creating AggLayer, a tool that aids in proof aggregation.
Buterin sees these initiatives as evidence of Polygon’s dedication to building innovative tools that strengthen the broader Ethereum ecosystem.
Nailwal’s Humanitarian Efforts
Beyond Polygon’s technical successes, Buterin highlighted Sandeep Nailwal’s humanitarian drive and personal integrity.
For instance, Nailwal’s CryptoRelief initiative has donated crypto assets to support India’s bio-medical infrastructure.
In a notable act reflecting his integrity, the Polygon co-founder returned SHIB tokens worth $190 million that had been sent by Buterin to the relief fund.
Buterin then directed those funds to launch Balvi, an open-source anti-pandemic project focused on indoor air safety and advancing global health research.
He voluntarily returned $190 million from proceeds of SHIB tokens I had donated, which made the entire Balvi open-source anti-airborne pathogen biotech program possible and may accelerate understanding of critical anti-pandemic topics like clean indoor air for years to come.
Zero-Knowledge Technology and What Comes Next
In addition to his praise, Buterin reflected on the current state of developments around Polygon.
While the Polygon ecosystem has been a pioneer in ZK technology, the landscape has matured and diversified.
Dedicated ZK teams such as Risc Zero, Brevis, and Succinct Labs now operate independently of L2 networks, allowing these groups to specialize and realize their full potential.
Buterin suggested Polygon should adopt “off-the-shelf” ZK solutions to enhance proof-chain security and better align with Ethereum’s vision for L2 scalability.
Indeed, ZK solutions have become more user-friendly and cost-efficient, with proof verification costs dropping to a fraction of a cent per transaction in some implementations.
Today, Ether and Polygon’s POL token traded lower as selling pressure dominated the crypto market, with losses of up to 5% over the past day.