Polygon Co-Founder Mihailo Bjelic Steps Down Amid Industry Shifts

According to Cointelegraph, Mihailo Bjelic, co-founder of the Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution Polygon, has announced his resignation from his role at the Polygon Foundation. Despite stepping down, Bjelic indicated his intention to remain active within the cryptocurrency sector. His departure has sparked reactions across the Polygon community and the broader crypto industry, with many viewing it as a notable loss for the company, which has been involved in several significant developments recently. Bjelic shared his decision to step down from the board and reduce his daily involvement with Polygon Labs in a post on May 23. He expressed his continued support for the project, stating he would be cheering from the sidelines and assisting whenever possible. Fellow co-founder Sandeep Nailwal praised Bjelic's contributions, highlighting his pivotal role in shaping Polygon's current status. Bjelic reassured the community of his ongoing passion for the crypto industry, suggesting that he would remain visible in the space. Reactions from industry figures like Aave-chan Initiative founder Marc Zella and Polygon's head of marketing Leon Stern underscored the impact of his departure, with many expressing gratitude for his work and anticipation for his future endeavors. This resignation follows a pattern of leadership changes at Polygon Labs, with early founders Jaynti Kanani and Anurag Arjun also having left the company in the past two years. Arjun's exit coincided with the spin-off of Avail, a Web3 data availability and consensus layer, which he now leads as an independent entity. Bjelic has not yet disclosed his future plans, leaving the community curious about his next steps. His resignation comes on the heels of several major announcements for Polygon this year, including the launch of RealEstate.Exchange by DigiShares on March 25, which aims to facilitate tokenized real estate trading on the platform. Additionally, in January, Jio Platforms, owned by Mukesh Ambani, partnered with Polygon Labs to enhance its offerings with Web3 and blockchain capabilities. These developments highlight Polygon's ongoing influence and evolution within the blockchain industry.