Polygon Co-Founder Mihailo Bjelic Steps Down, Says He’ll Keep Supporting from Afar

Bjelic Steps Down After Serving Decades as a Leader

Mihailo Bjelic, the co-founder of Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution Polygon, announced on May 23 that he is stepping down from the Polygon Foundation board and ending his active involvement with Polygon Labs.

In an open X post, Bjelic reflected on the project’s history, writing, “As projects get mature and grow up, it is understandable for visions to diverge and grow.” He added that he will continue to support the ecosystem from the sidelines.

Industry Reactions to Bjelic’s Exit

The announcement had a strong response across the crypto ecosystem. Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal referred to Bjelic as “a force behind so much of what makes Polygon what it is today.”

Others did as well. Polygon’s head of marketing, Leon Stern, thanked Bjelic for his efforts, and Skale Network CEO Jack O’Holleran wished him well in his next adventure and congratulated him on his achievements. Aave-chan Initiative’s Marc Zella called it a “Big L for Polygon.”

Not the First Founder Exit

Bjelic’s exit is one of a chain of departures for Polygon’s original leadership. Over the last two years, co-founders Jaynti Kanani and Anurag Arjun also departed Polygon. Arjun now leads Avail, a spin-out data availability and consensus layer project.

Though absent, Bjelic continued to express his enthusiasm for the crypto environment: “You will most likely still see me around,” he said.

Polygon Keeps Expanding Through Leadership Transitions

Regardless of these shifts in leadership, Polygon remains active with massive developments. During March, DigiShares launched tokenized real estate on Polygon in live form with RealEstate.Exchange (REX). Earlier, in January, Indian telecom giant Jio Platforms announced a partnership with Polygon Labs to implement Web3 solutions.

With Bjelic taking a step back from official responsibilities, all eyes are on what comes next—for him as well as for the future growth of Polygon.