Polygon co-founder Mihailo Bjelic steps down from board

Mihailo Bjelic, co-founder of Polygon, has announced his decision to step down from the board of Polygon Foundation.

The Polygon (POL) co-founder revealed the move via a post on X on Friday, May 23, 2025, noting that he will also “wind down” his day-to-day involvement with Polygon Labs.

“Polygon was born in 2019, and we’ve come a long way since then,” Bjelic wrote. “From significant breakthroughs in zero-knowledge tech, to onboarding some of the world’s biggest brands, we’ve made meaningful strides toward that grand vision. I’m proud of this, and grateful for the privilege to work with so many talented people.”

Bjelic notes that he first entered the crypto space in 2013, with his foray into the ecosystem seeing “deep down the rabbit hole” by 2017.

He co-founded Polygon, a layer-2 scaling solution on Ethereum (ETH) alongside Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal and Anurag Arjun. The project, among the most searched proof-of-stake blockchain in the U.S. in 2023, rebranded from its initial name Matic Network.

Explaining his decision further, Bjelic said:

“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.”

While he will no longer be actively involved, he said he is confident Polygon will continue to succeed. Bjelic plans to offer his support “from the sidelines”.  

Bjelic’s exit from the Polygon Foundation board sees him join co-founders Jaynti Kanani and Anurag Arjun in stepping down from active roles at the blockchain project. Kanani left Polygon in October 2023.Meanwhile, Arjun left in March 2023 to focus on his modular blockchain project Avail.

Nailwal said via X that words cannot describe what Bjelic means to him personally 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 what makes Polygon what it is today,” he added.