#Polygon zkEVM Spins Off as Independent #ZisK Project After $250M Acquisition


Polygon co-founder Jordi Baylina has moved the zkEVM team into standalone startup ZisK, transferring all code and intellectual property.


The carve-out follows new Polygon Foundation CEO Sandeep Nailwal's decision to sunset the underperforming zero-knowledge EVM chain.


#ZisK will focus on low-latency, open-source #zkVM proving technology for transaction verification without revealing underlying data.


The project was incubated inside #PolygonLabs from May 2024 until becoming independent on June 13.


Critics note Polygon acquired Hermez for $250 million in 2021, rebranded it as zkEVM, then quietly abandoned development.


The network has accumulated over $1 million in annual losses while seeing minimal adoption compared to other Polygon solutions.


All zkEVM intellectual property and core team were transferred to SilentSig Switzerland GmbH, wholly owned by Baylina.

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June 18, 2025 at 6:44 PM
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