Polygon Co-founder Mihailo Bjelic Steps Down, Marking Third Major Founder Exit

Mihailo Bjelic, one of the original co-founders of the Ethereum Layer 2 project Polygon, has officially stepped down from his roles at Polygon Labs and the Polygon Foundation board, signaling a new chapter in the project’s leadership.

Bjelic announced his departure on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, citing evolving visions within the project.

“As projects evolve and mature, it is natural for visions to evolve, and sometimes diverge. With this in mind, I can no longer contribute to Polygon to the best of my abilities,” he wrote. “That said, I remain confident that Polygon leadership is committed to the success of the project. I’ll always be cheering from the sidelines, and supporting however and whenever I can.”

PSA: After much thought and reflection, I’ve decided to step down from the board of the Polygon Foundation, and wind down my day-to-day involvement with Polygon Labs.

I was introduced to crypto in 2013 (damn, time flies). By 2017, I was deep down the rabbit hole, fascinated by…

— Mihailo Bjelic (@MihailoBjelic) May 23, 2025

His exit follows the earlier departures of co-founders Jaynti Kanani and Anurag Arjun, making Bjelic the third founding member to step away from active involvement in the project since its inception in 2017, when Polygon was initially launched as Matic Network.

A Core Contributor Steps Aside

Bjelic’s resignation marks the end of an era for Polygon, which has become a leading player in Ethereum scaling, particularly in the areas of zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs and proof-of-stake architecture. Alongside co-founders Sandeep Nailwal, Kanani, and Arjun, Bjelic helped grow Polygon from a grassroots sidechain solution into a prominent Layer 2 ecosystem with a global developer and enterprise footprint.

Polygon Labs, the development arm of the network, has played a key role in advancing zkEVM technology, Ethereum interoperability, and the vision behind AggLayer, a unified liquidity layer across Ethereum-compatible chains.

Nailwal responded to Bjelic’s departure with an emotional tribute:

“More than a co-founder, you’re a brother. From the earliest days — whiteboards full of ideas, endless whitepapers, governance frameworks, strategy calls deep into the night — you have been a force behind so much of what makes Polygon.”

It’s hard to put into words what you mean to me and to Polygon. More than a co-founder, you’re a brother. From the earliest days — whiteboards full of ideas, endless whitepapers, governance frameworks, strategy calls deep into the night — you have been a force behind so much of…

— Sandeep | Polygon (※,※) (@sandeepnailwal) May 23, 2025

Strategic Transition After Polygon 2.0

The leadership change comes months after Polygon’s token migration from MATIC to POL, part of its broader Polygon 2.0 roadmap. The migration aimed to unify network utility under a single token for gas fees, staking, and validator incentives. While widely supported, the transition marked a shift in how Polygon positions itself in an increasingly competitive Ethereum scaling landscape.

With Bjelic’s departure, Sandeep Nailwal remains the only co-founder still actively involved in the network’s development. The project now faces a critical juncture: scaling its next phase without three of its original visionaries.

Market Response and What’s Next

Following the announcement, the POL token dipped about 3.7%, trading at $0.24 as of Friday evening. While the market reaction was relatively muted, some community members have raised concerns over Polygon’s long-term leadership depth and clarity of vision.

Still, the network continues to attract developers, institutional partners, and rollup-based infrastructure builders. Industry observers suggest that Polygon’s next phase will hinge on its ability to execute on zkEVM scaling and cross-chain unification through AggLayer, now without three of its original architects.

Editorial Note: This news article has been written with assistance from AI. Edited & fact-checked by the Editorial Team.

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