Optimism Snags Ex-Polygon Labs President as L2 Battle Rages

• The competition between Optimism and Polygon is heating up.
• Optimism has tapped former Polygon Labs President Ryan Wyatt as a growth lead.
• Wyatt boasts a wealth of experience in esports and gaming.

With the Ethereum scaling vision going multichain, Polygon Labs and the Optimism Foundation have emerged as leading contenders in the battle to offer the preferred stack for the Layer 2 revolution. 

As the competition heats up, projects and executives are jumping ship. Optimism has snagged up a once instrumental figure in Polygon’s executive ranks in the latest instance.

Wyatt Trades Purple For Optimistic Red

In July 2023, Polygon Labs experienced an organizational shake-up as the firm announced that Ryan Wyatt was stepping down as president to take an advisory role. Four months later, the former Polygon executive has now switched sides, taking up a role at the rival Optimism Foundation.

In a tweet on Monday, November 13, Wyatt announced that he was joining Optimism as chief growth officer. Per the announcement, the former Polygon executive will help “grow the OP ecosystem by supporting developers of all sizes!”

The move has sparked significant excitement within the Optimism ecosystem, and for good reason. Wyatt boasts an impressive background in esports and gaming that culminated in him serving an eight-year stint as head of gaming at YouTube before he joined Polygon in 2022.

The Optimism Foundation will hope to leverage Wyatt’s experience and connections for the growth of the OP ecosystem. The move comes as Optimism’s OP Stack finds itself in a battle for dominance with Polygon’s Chain Development Kit (CDK) .

Layer 2 Battle Heating Up

In 2023, several Ethereum scaling firms have launched tech stacks to help projects bootstrap their own Layer 2 chains. Among these stacks, Optimism’s OP stack and Polygon’s recently launched CDK have been locked in fierce competition, with each hoping to expand their respective ecosystems.

The competition has seen Polygon Labs bid against Optimism Labs for Celo’s Layer 2 transition. Manta Network also recently disclosed that it would be moving away from the OP stack to become a zero-knowledge-powered chain with the Polygon CDK.

On the Flipside

• After Wyatt stepped down in July, Polygon Labs appointed Marc Boiron as CEO.

Why This Matters

Ryan Wyatt enjoyed a successful stint as Polygon president, overseeing partnerships with brands like Nike and Starbucks. His move to Optimism could signal similar developments for the ecosystem, further intensifying the competition with Polygon and within the broader Layer 2 space.

Read this to learn more about Ryan Wyatt’s Polygon exit:
Who Is Polygon Labs’ New CEO, Marc Boiron?

Learn more about recent crypto inflows:
Crypto Inflows Top $1B in 2023 as Investors Anticipate Boom