Mihailo Bjelic, co-founder of Polygon, has officially announced his departure from the Polygon Foundation board and will also wind down his day-to-day involvement with Polygon Labs, marking a significant leadership shift at one of Ethereum’s most prominent scaling projects.
In a statement posted on X on May 23, 2025, Bjelic reflected on Polygon’s evolution from its early days as Matic Network to its current position as a major player in Layer 2 scaling and zero-knowledge (ZK) technology.
“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.”
“Visions Naturally Evolve”
Bjelic noted that as projects mature, it’s normal 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 explained. Despite stepping away from operational duties, he emphasized that he remains a firm supporter of the project and will continue cheering from the sidelines.
His departure follows previous exits by fellow co-founders Jaynti Kanani in October 2023 and Anurag Arjun in March 2023, leaving Sandeep Nailwal as the only Polygon co-founder still actively leading the project.
A Legacy of Scaling Ethereum
Bjelic entered the crypto space in 2013, fully immersing himself by 2017, before co-founding Polygon with the goal of improving Ethereum’s scalability and usability. Since then, Polygon has become a leader in ZK-rollups, onboarding major brands like Nike, Starbucks, and Reddit, and powering various Ethereum-based applications.
Nailwal Pays Tribute
Responding to the announcement, Sandeep Nailwal wrote on X:
“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.”
What’s Next?
While Bjelic hasn’t announced his next move, his departure caps a transition era for Polygon, one that could open the door for new leadership as the project continues to build out its Polygon 2.0 roadmap and further expand its ZK-proof infrastructure.
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