Mihailo Bjelic, The Co-founder Of Polygon, Is Stepping Down From His Position

Departures are piling up in the crypto universe. Here, no one clings to their seat forever. Some make way to innovate elsewhere, others step back with flair. Every separation is a turning point. The one that Polygon is going through right now is no exception: one of its historical pillars, Mihailo Bjelic, is turning the page. This is neither a clash nor a collapse. Just a page turning, but not without echo.

The breath of a pioneer fades from Polygon

At Cardano, Charles Hoskinson announced his departure from the scene in mid-April, citing issues of decentralized governance. Barely a month later, it is Mihailo Bjelic, a pillar of Polygon, who also announces his withdrawal. The separation is clear, even if it aims to be elegant. Mihailo Bjelic has officially stepped down from the board of the Polygon Foundation and from his operational activities at Polygon Labs.

After much reflection, I decided to step down from the Polygon Foundation board and end my daily involvement.

This departure fits into a larger wave. Before him, Jaynti Kanani and Anurag Arjun, two co-founders, had already left Polygon. Bjelic, issuer of the POL crypto, leaves behind an important strategic footprint.

Since 2019, he has contributed to advances in ZK technologies and partnerships with giants like Starbucks or Reddit. In January, Polygon still sealed a key deal with Jio Platforms, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani , to integrate Web3 in India.

Despite the internal disagreements mentioned, he remains faithful to his ideals: “I am still as passionate about the promise of crypto“, he states, before adding: “You will still see me in the ecosystem.“

The crypto community reacts to the blast

Tributes came swiftly. Co-founder Sandeep Nailwal expressed himself emotionally :

More than a co-founder, you are a brother. You have always been a strength behind Polygon.

The message is clear: this departure is an emotional as well as a strategic loss.

Marc Zeller, founder of the Aave-chan Initiative, does not mince words: “Big L for Polygon. They have lost one of the few assets they had left.” On the marketing side, Leon Stern salutes Bjelic’s impact: “Thank you for all you have done for Polygon.“

Jack O’Holleran, CEO of Skale Network, speaks of a record he can be “very proud of“.

Maggie Shefi highlights another aspect: the leverage effect Bjelic represented at the beginning of her project. “Thank you for being one of the first to believe in SheFi.“

Key figures:

• Polygon has seen three of its co-founders leave in two years;
• The network powers over 53,000 active dApps in 2024;
• The partnership with Jio Platforms reaches over 450 million users;
• More than 20 global brands use Polygon solutions;
• In March, DigiShares launched REX, a real estate tokenization platform on Polygon.

At Ethereum as well, the departure crisis hits. At the end of January, Eric Conner, the project’s lead developer , slammed the door. He denounced the internal atmosphere and deep disagreements. Like an echo of this reality: the crypto industry moves forward, but its builders are exhausted.