Mihailo Bjelic, one of Polygon’s founding superheroes, just dropped the mic and stepped away from the blockchain stage he helped build. He’s quitting his board seat at the Polygon Foundation and clocking out from Polygon Labs, the main dev hub.
On X, Bjelic penned, “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.” Boom. The third founder to exit the scene, joining Jaynti Kanani and Anurag Arjun, who already peaced out earlier, Kanani in October 2023 and Arjun back in March 2023, chasing his modular blockchain dreams with Avail.
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.
— Mihailo Bjelic (@MihailoBjelic) May 23, 2025
I was introduced to crypto in 2013 (damn, time flies). By 2017, I was deep down the rabbit hole, fascinated by…
Bjelic says he can’t bring his A-game to Polygon anymore. The guy co-founded Polygon (originally Matic Network) back in 2017 alongside Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal, and Arjun. Polygon’s Ethereum Layer 2 tech is all about speedier transactions, lower fees, and massive scalability, basically making Ethereum cooler and faster. They’ve been killing it in zero-knowledge and proof-of-stake tech, too.
Stepping Back but Staying True - Bjelic’s Crypto Love Affair
Late 2024 saw Polygon switch gears, swapping MATIC for POL tokens one-to-one as part of their shiny 2.0 upgrade, driving token use for gas fees, staking, and infrastructure like AggLayer. Bjelic’s 10+ years as an IT engineering ace didn’t go unnoticed during this blockchain rise.
But on May 23, Bjelic announced via X that he just couldn’t pour his heart into Polygon anymore. He explained how projects grow and evolve, sometimes pulling ideas apart. Still, he tipped his hat to Polygon’s leaders, calling them “sincerely dedicated” to the project’s success and promising support from the sidelines.
Nailwal showered him with brotherly love on X, calling Bjelic not just a co-founder but a “force behind so much of what makes Polygon”, whiteboards, late-night strategy, the whole nine yards.
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
Bjelic’s crypto passion runs deep. He first got crypto-curious in 2013 and by 2017 was all-in on creating a global, inclusive economy. Since Polygon’s 2019 launch, the team has made huge strides, landing big brands and pushing zero-knowledge tech boundaries.
Though stepping down, Bjelic’s still jazzed about crypto’s power to shake up systems, empower people, and make the world fairer. So don’t be surprised if you see him pop back up in the blockchain buzz.
Alex Shepel
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