Jack Melnick, previously the head of decentralized finance (DeFi) at Polygon Labs, has assumed the same role at Layer 1 developer Berachain.

Melnick commenced his new position at Berachain on Monday, bringing with him a wealth of experience from his tenure at Polygon Labs, where he served as Head of DeFi since January 2023.

In a statement shared on the social media platform X, Melnick expressed his enthusiasm for the transition, stating, "For those who don't know me — I've been in the trenches of the Berachain community for almost three years, and as Smokey The Bera used to say: 'it's when, not if' I came on full time." Smokey the Bera is a pseudonym for one of Berachain's founders.

Melnick further emphasized his gratitude for the opportunity to work in a culture and environment that aligns with his passion, alongside colleagues he has built relationships with and respected for years.

During his tenure at Polygon Labs, Melnick played a pivotal role in the development of the Ethereum Layer 2 network Polygon and other web3 technologies. His contributions spanned projects related to DeFi, infrastructure, and products such as the zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM), the Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK), and proof-of-stake technology.

In an X post announcing his departure from Polygon Labs, Melnick expressed his continued excitement about the developments on Polygon, affirming his confidence in the future endeavors of everyone involved.

Berachain, which recently secured $100 million in Series B funding, boasts an ecosystem comprising three main tokens designed to enable users to stake assets and provide liquidity to DeFi protocols. Among these tokens are Berachain's governance token (BGT), the dollar-pegged stablecoin HONEY, and the transaction fee token BERA.