Mihailo Bjelic, co-founder of Polygon , announced that he was leaving the crypto project. He announced his decision on X, saying he had thought over the issue and decided it was time to go. Bjelic will leave the board of Polygon Foundation and wind down his involvement with Polygon Labs. Sandeep Nailwal will be the only remaining co-founder to work on the project. Polygon was originally called Matic and was founded by four developers, including Mihailo Bjelic, Sandeep Nailwal, Jaynti Kanani, and Anurag Arjun. Bjelic had a keen eye for blockchain Research and Development (R&D), contributing many technical whitepapers for the community. Nailwal acknowledged Bjelic’s contributions and wished him well for the future. Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, offered a warm farewell to his colleague Bjelic. Nailwal mentioned that Bjelic made a valuable contribution to the project. “More than a co-founder, you’re a brother” , said Nailwal on X. He went on to say that Bjelic had a lasting influence on the blockchain, commenting that most of the features on Polygon were influenced by Bjelic. Nailwal also pointed out that Bjelic had a firm conviction and was essential to starting the project. Nailwal said that they would always cheer for Bjelic, whatever he did. Nailwal ended his farewell comment with “brother from another mother, ” highlighting his bond with Bjelic. Bjelic co-founded Polygon in 2017, known then as the Matic Network. It was a layer 2 project built over the Ethereum network. As with many projects built over the Ethereum network, the focus was improving transaction times and lowering fees. The Polygon team was focused on improving the usability of the blockchain for customers. They built their project using the powerful features provided by the Ethereum network. They aimed to create a blockchain that could scale easily. Polygon has contributed to blockchain research and development, providing new areas of study for zero-knowledge proofs and proof of stake. Even today, Polygon is still developing its blockchain and adding new features. However, Bjelic does not want to be part of this project anymore and feels that his goals have diverged from the project’s goals. Polygon Labs has seen three high-profile departures within the last two years, including Bjelic, Jaynti Kanani, and Anurag Arjun. Marc Zella, founder of Aave Chan, said Bjelic’s departure was a “big L for Polygon.” Arjun left Polygon to build the blockchain service Avail, which operates a consensus layer. Meanwhile, Polygon has implemented more Web3 functionality to boost the network and improve customer service. Bjelic discovered crypto in 2013 and went down a self-discovery rabbit hole, learning everything he could about the new technology. When he joined the Polygon project, he was able to use a wealth of knowledge that he had built up during his exploration days. Polygon became one of the top scalability options on the Ethereum blockchain because of its contribution. Bjelic said he worked on technical improvements, such as with zero-knowledge proofs, to fulfill his vision of a truly scalable blockchain. However, for someone with such a strong vision, Bjelic has found that his vision has diverged from the vision of Polygon. He attributes this development to a natural occurrence where projects and people evolve, diverging from their starting point. Due to his changing path, Bjelic believes he can no longer contribute to Polygon to the best of his abilities. Bjelic, however, still believes in cryptocurrency and will most likely be involved in future blockchain projects.
