Gujarat’s Jaynti Kanani, who rose from poverty to achieve an education against all odds, has now become one of India’s first crypto billionaire co-founders. Within a remarkable span of four years since the inception of Polygon in 2017, Kanani and his co-founders accomplished an astounding market cap of $10 billion by 2021. Overcoming obstacles, including the non-IIT background, Kanani and Sandeep Nailwal crafted their billion-dollar success story.
Growing up in a small flat on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Kanani’s father worked in a diamond factory, making finances a constant struggle for the family, hindering his education. Despite the challenges, Kanani was fortunate to complete his schooling. With a strong determination to lift his family out of poverty, he pursued engineering from Dharamsinh Desai University in Nadiad. Subsequently, he secured a job in Pune with a modest monthly salary of Rs 6,000.
However, a turning point occurred when Jaynti’s father had to give up his job due to failing eyesight. This motivated Jaynti to seek higher-paying opportunities. He joined a startup and took on multiple part-time projects while even borrowing money for his wedding. Little did he know that he would one day create a billion-dollar enterprise.
In 2017, Jaynti Kanani, Nailwal, and Anurag Arjun founded Polygon, with Mihalio Bjelic, a Serbian techie, joining the team later as the fourth co-founder. The company gained significant attention when they received investments from prominent figures like Mark Cuban, a renowned American investor and Shark Tank judge. In 2022, Polygon further raised $450 million in funding from notable investors like SoftBank, Tiger Global, and Sequoia Capital India, taking the current market cap to approximately $6.7 billion (over Rs 55,000 crore).
This incredible journey exemplifies Jaynti Kanani’s determination and the remarkable rise of Polygon in the cryptocurrency world.
