Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron Discusses Katana, DeFi Fragmentation, and the Future of Multichain Liquidity

Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs and a core contributor to Katana, shared how his early experiences in M&A and corporate law shaped his perspective on decentralised systems. He emphasized two lessons from the legal world: incentives outweigh intent, and good governance must be swift and transparent. According to Boiron, clear leadership and decision-making authority are essential to execute effectively in complex and fast-moving environments.

Observing Repeated Patterns in Crypto

As an external counsel to crypto companies, Boiron noticed recurring issues: leaders often act in ways that others blindly follow, and teams underestimate the complexity of building valuable products. He noted that regulatory fear frequently hindered product development, and that close collaboration with internal product teams allowed for better risk-reward decisions.

Lessons from dYdX and Derivatives Markets

Boiron reflected on his time at dYdX, one of the earliest high-stakes DeFi regulatory battlegrounds, highlighting the difference between decentralised systems and decentralised organisations. While decentralised components can enable success in derivatives trading, operating fully as a decentralised organisation remains highly challenging.

Polygon’s Unique Scaling Vision

Boiron was drawn to Polygon by its ambition to scale Web3 through multiple chains that feel unified to users. Early challenges included implementing zero-knowledge proofs to compress trust into mathematics and building an aggregation layer to coordinate state across chains for seamless user experiences. These solutions underpinned his decision to join and eventually lead the company as CEO.

Leadership During a Crucial Transition

Upon assuming the CEO role, Boiron focused on sharpening cultural and product priorities. He guided the team to shift from “announce, then build” to “ship, then talk.” Polygon PoS was narrowed toward payments and real-world assets, and energy was poured into the AggLayer to enable specialised chains to interoperate as one network.

Specialisation in DeFi

Boiron sees specialisation as beneficial when users value specific aspects such as deep liquidity, predictable execution, and sustainable yield. However, he warns that fragmentation and governance overhead are critical trade-offs. Properly designed incentives are essential to concentrate activity and avoid dispersing liquidity.

Katana: Solving Liquidity and Fragmentation Challenges

Katana addresses both cross-chain and intra-chain fragmentation by providing a single spot DEX for swaps and a unified lending market for credit. This creates a foundation for thousands of apps to build on top, with yield generated from real usage rather than token emissions. Sequencer fees, VaultBridge L1 yield, and AUSD revenue are redistributed to users, turning TVL into productive TVL and maintaining a self-reinforcing flywheel.

Execution Flow and Network Integration

Boiron highlighted that chain-level liquidity engines must concentrate depth for large trades, generate real revenue for liquidity providers, and integrate seamlessly with interoperability protocols. Katana accomplishes this by recycling sequencer fees into chain-owned liquidity and employing VaultBridge to generate yield from otherwise idle assets. Users experience one unified market rather than multiple fragmented venues.

Katana Within the Polygon Ecosystem

Katana complements the AggLayer by providing DeFi infrastructure: deep order books, stable credit rates, and higher sustainable yields without requiring chains to rebuild DeFi from scratch. It also solves the cold-start problem by delivering concentrated liquidity accessible to all connected chains via a unified bridge and zero-knowledge verification.

Vision for the Next 12–24 Months

Boiron envisions Katana becoming the default destination for swaps and borrowing across chains. Liquidity will remain robust even in bear markets, VaultBridge deposits and AUSD usage will increase real yields, and users will benefit from seamless execution and optimal returns without needing to think about bridging. Katana aims to establish itself as the core hub for DeFi in the multichain ecosystem.

Motivation and Future Challenges

Boiron remains motivated by fixing inefficiencies in DeFi and delivering real benefits to users. The main challenge ahead is large-scale coordination—aligning incentives, settlement, and user experience across thousands of chains. Successfully addressing this challenge is central to Polygon’s mission of making the internet of value feel as seamless as the internet itself.