Polygon, one of the most prominent Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solutions, is facing a significant leadership shakeup as Mihailo Bjelic, one of its key co-founders, officially steps down. His departure marks the third exit from the project’s original founding team, leaving only Sandeep Nailwal at the helm.
Bjelic announced his resignation through a detailed statement on social media, expressing gratitude for his journey with Polygon while citing “differences in vision” as the main reason for his decision. “As projects grow, evolve, and reach new heights, it’s natural for visions to diverge. After deep reflection, I believe now is the right time to step aside,” he wrote.
Bjelic had been instrumental in Polygon’s rapid rise from a promising scalability solution to a dominant force in the Ethereum ecosystem. Under his technical leadership, the project launched key infrastructure such as Polygon PoS, zkEVM, and the ambitious Agglayer protocol aimed at unifying Ethereum scaling.
His resignation follows the earlier exits of co-founders Jaynti Kanani in late 2023 and Anurag Arjun in early 2023, the latter of whom left to build the modular blockchain Avail. With Bjelic’s exit, the original four-man founding team is now represented solely by Sandeep Nailwal, who remains active in leading business development and community engagement efforts.
While Bjelic emphasized that he would remain a supporter of the Polygon ecosystem from the sidelines, his departure has sparked concern among some in the crypto community, especially given the timing amid rapid evolution in Layer 2 competition. Rivals such as Optimism and Arbitrum continue to grow, and Polygon now faces the challenge of maintaining momentum with a streamlined leadership team.
Still, optimism remains. Industry insiders view the reshuffle as a natural part of startup evolution, especially in fast-moving industries like blockchain. Nailwal, in response to the announcement, praised Bjelic’s contributions and reaffirmed the team’s commitment to Polygon’s long-term vision.
Polygon Labs has not yet announced a replacement or any internal restructuring, but observers expect new leadership voices to emerge as the project continues to scale.
In a space where innovation never slows, Polygon’s ability to adapt—and now, to endure major leadership transitions—will be key to its sustained relevance in the Ethereum ecosystem.
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