According to PANews, Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron has attributed the challenges in broader adoption of the Polygon network to racial bias against its co-founder, Sandeep Nailwal. In a post on the X platform dated November 25, Boiron suggested that Nailwal's Indian heritage has led to prejudice, hindering Polygon's recognition despite its widespread use in the blockchain industry. Boiron stated, "If Sandeep were not Indian, Web3 would embrace Polygon on a large scale, rather than treating it as a second-class citizen even when its proof-of-stake is more utilized than all blockchains combined."
In response to a user in the cryptocurrency community who argued that Indians hold significant positions in major global tech companies, Boiron noted that geographical location also plays a role. He highlighted that Indians working in Western countries, like EigenLayer's Sreeram Kannan, face less bias compared to those working in India. Meanwhile, the broader Web3 community remains divided on this issue. Some users believe that the challenges faced by Polygon stem from competition with emerging Ethereum Layer 2 networks or the network's own strategies, rather than bias.