Polygon co-founder Mihailo Bjelic steps down, marking third founder exit

Mihailo Bjelic, a co-founder of Polygon, is stepping back from the blockchain project he helped create, according to an announcement on Friday. 

“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,” Bjelic wrote on X. “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.”

Bjelic will step down from his position at the blockchain’s main development studio, Polygon Labs, and from the Polygon Foundation board. In 2017, he co-founded the popular Ethereum Layer 2, which was initially called Matic Network, alongside Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal, and Anurag Arjun. 

Polygon has contributed heavily to blockchain R&D, including making advancements in the zero-knowledge and proof-of-stake fields. 

In late 2024, Polygon initiated a token migration as part of its 2.0 roadmap, swapping MATIC tokens for POL on a 1:1 basis. The move was intended to expand the utility of the network’s native token across gas fees, staking, and infrastructure such as the AggLayer.

Bjelic’s move comes about two years after Kanani and Arjun, two other Polygon co-founders, left their active roles on the network. 

“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,” Nailwal said on X.

POL is currently down about 3.7%, to $0.24, according to The Block's price page.