Ex-Polygon Veteran Wyatt Joins Optimism Foundation Unit in Growth Role

A unit of the Optimism Foundation has hired Ryan Wyatt as as chief growth officer, just four months after he departed rival Polygon Labs in a management shakeup.

As CGO of Optimism Unlimited Ltd., an operating subsidiary of the Optimism Foundation, Wyatt will be responsible for supporting blockchain development, and helping developers build across the Optimism ecosystem. The Optimism Foundation is tasked with supporting the broader community of companies and developers committed to Optimism’s technology, with OP Mainnet (previously known simply as Optimism) ranking as the second-biggest layer-2 network atop Ethereum.

Earlier this year, when the U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase launched its Base blockchain, the project relied on technology from OP Labs, the primary developer behind Optimism.

Wyatt previously was president at Polygon Labs, before leaving in July when then-Chief Legal Officer Marc Boiron was promoted to CEO.

He has a wealth of experience in gaming from his time at Polygon as well as in a prior role at YouTube, where he first started exploring non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital ownership.

“I really do think that Optimism is the best team in crypto, hands down,” Wyatt told CoinDesk in an interview. “I loved my time at YouTube, I loved my time at Polygon. I’m super happy with the work that I did at both of those places. I’m so eager about what Optimism can do and what they’ve already done.”