Polygon co-founder steps down, will be 'cheering from the sidelines'

Mihailo Bjelic, co-founder of Polygon, a prominent Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution, recently resigned from his position. While he’ll be stepping away from day-to-day involvement with Polygon Labs and the Polygon Foundation board, he assures continued engagement within the broader cryptocurrency industry. His departure follows a period of significant growth and development for Polygon, prompting varied reactions across the crypto community.

Bjelic’s May 23rd X post announced his resignation, citing evolving visions and a reduced ability to contribute effectively to Polygon’s future direction. He expressed continued support for the project, emphasizing his enduring passion for the cryptocurrency sector and hinting at future involvement. Fellow co-founder Sandeep Nailwal acknowledged Bjelic’s substantial contributions to Polygon’s success.

The reaction to Bjelic’s departure has been mixed. Some, like Aave-chan Initiative founder Marc Zella, viewed it as a significant loss (“Big L for Polygon”), while others offered supportive messages. Polygon’s head of marketing, Leon Stern, expressed gratitude and well wishes, and Skale Network CEO Jack O’Holleran highlighted Bjelic’s achievements and anticipation for his next endeavors.

Bjelic’s resignation isn’t an isolated incident. Over the past two years, Polygon Labs has seen the departure of two other early founders, Jaynti Kanani and Anurag Arjun. Arjun’s departure coincided with the spin-off of Avail, a Web3 data availability and consensus layer, into an independent entity under his leadership.

This transition occurs amidst a period of substantial growth for Polygon. Recent collaborations include a partnership with Jio Platforms, a major Indian mobile network operator, to integrate Web3 capabilities, and a deal with DigiShares to facilitate tokenized real estate trading on the Polygon network. Bjelic’s future plans remain undisclosed, leaving the crypto community speculating about his next venture.