Polygon Co-Founder Mihailo Bjelic Leaves Project Amid POL Token Transition

• Polygon loses third active co-founder since 2022
• POL token replaces MATIC on Layer 2 network
• Development with zero-knowledge proofs continues

Mihailo Bjelic has announced his departure from active roles at the Polygon project, becoming the third co-founder to depart from the Ethereum-based initiative. The decision was shared on Friday and marks his departure from both Polygon Labs and the Polygon Foundation board.

The justification, published on his official X profile, was direct: “As projects evolve and mature, it is natural for visions to evolve and sometimes diverge. With that in mind, I can no longer contribute to Polygon to the best of my abilities.” Even with the resignation, Bjelic stressed that he continues to believe in the current leadership and in the success of Polygon.

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.

I was introduced to crypto in 2013 (damn, time flies). By 2017, I was deep down the rabbit hole, fascinated by…

— Mihailo Bjelic (@MihailoBjelic) May 23, 2025

Founded in 2017 as Matic Network by Bjelic, Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal, and Anurag Arjun, Polygon has established itself as one of Ethereum's most relevant Layer 2 solutions. The project has gained prominence by investing heavily in scalability technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs and proof-of-stake.

Bjelic’s departure comes about two years after Kanani and Arjun also stepped down from their operational roles in the ecosystem. The only co-founder leadership still active is Nailwal, who used the X to pay tribute to his colleague: “More than a co-founder, you are a brother […] you have been a force behind so much of what makes Polygon.”

In parallel with the exit, Polygon is moving forward with its transition to the POL token. The move, part of the Polygon 2.0 roadmap, involves exchanging MATIC tokens for POL at a 1:1 ratio. The goal is to expand the use of the digital asset on the network, serving as a means of paying transaction fees, staking, and integrating with tools such as AggLayer.

Despite the internal changes, Polygon continues to be a reference in the development of solutions for Ethereum scalability. In the market, the POL token registered a drop of 3,7%, quoted at US$ 0,24 at the last close.