Euler Finance’s Founding CEO Michael Bentley Steps Down as the Protocol Shifts Toward Institutional Credit Markets
January 12, 2026 – DeFi Pulse
Euler Labs, the team behind the multi‑chain lending platform Euler Finance, announced that co‑founder Michael Bentley will relinquish his day‑to‑day responsibilities as chief executive after almost six years at the helm. Bentley said he will remain involved in an advisory capacity, focusing on product development, and will hand over the CEO role to Jonathan Han, former senior vice‑president of business development at crypto‑analytics firm The Tie.
A brief recap of Euler’s recent trajectory
- 2023 flash‑loan attack – A flash‑loan exploit in March 2023 drained roughly $200 million from the protocol, sending its total value locked (TVL) plunging from a peak of about $333 million to the low‑millions.
- 2025 resurgence – Following extensive code upgrades, risk‑parameter adjustments and a re‑branding effort, Euler’s TVL surged to over $4 billion in under a year, positioning the platform among the top DeFi lenders. By October 2025, TVL topped $2 billion, marking a dramatic rebound from the 2023 lows.
- Late‑2025 volatility – The collapse of Stream Finance in November 2025 triggered broader instability across lending protocols. Euler’s TVL slipped to roughly $1 billion as market participants re‑evaluated exposure to on‑chain credit.
Despite the recent pull‑back, Euler’s native token (EUL) reacted negatively to the leadership change, sliding more than 7 % to $2.64 immediately after the announcement and remaining down about 2 % at press time.
Bentley’s remarks and the “institutional pivot”
In an X post, Bentley reflected on the protocol’s original “fully permissionless” vision launched in 2020. While he praised the ambition behind that approach, he acknowledged that it never achieved strong product‑market fit. He argued that the next logical step for Euler is to leverage its modular architecture to create bespoke credit markets tailored for fintech firms and other institutional participants.
“Euler is exceptionally well‑suited to building custom credit solutions for novel use‑cases,” Bentley wrote. “Supporting tailored markets for fintech and institutional players is a natural next chapter.”
Jonathan Han’s mandate
Jonathan Han, who will assume the CEO role, outlined a three‑pronged focus:
- Vault infrastructure – Strengthening the protocol’s core vaults to serve both the existing community and incoming institutional and retail users.
- Institutional onboarding – Crafting on‑chain credit products that meet compliance, risk‑management, and liquidity requirements of large financial entities.
- DeFi as core finance – Positioning Euler as a foundational piece of the broader financial system rather than an experimental sandbox.
Han’s statements underscore a broader industry trend: DeFi projects that once catered primarily to retail and “permissionless” users are increasingly courting regulated institutions to capture deeper liquidity and legitimacy.
Analyst perspective
Euler’s leadership transition arrives at a pivotal moment. The protocol’s recent TVL growth demonstrated that a resilient technical foundation can survive major security setbacks. However, sustaining that growth may require more predictable, compliance‑friendly revenue streams that institutional partners can rely on.
- Risk mitigation – By targeting regulated players, Euler can potentially command higher capital efficiency and lower volatility, though it must navigate stringent AML/KYC requirements that could clash with its original open‑access ethos.
- Competitive landscape – Other lending platforms such as Aave, Compound and newer “institution‑grade” lenders are already courting banks and asset managers. Euler’s unique modular design could be a differentiator if it can translate technical flexibility into tangible product offerings.
- Token dynamics – The modest decline in EUL price suggests that the market is cautiously weighting leadership risk against the upside of an institutional strategy. Continued TVL erosion could pressure the token further unless the new roadmap delivers measurable traction.
Key takeaways
- Leadership change: Michael Bentley steps back after steering Euler through a major hack and a rapid comeback; Jonathan Han assumes the CEO role with a focus on institutional growth.
- Strategic shift: The protocol moves away from a purely permissionless model toward building customized credit markets for fintech and institutional users.
- Market reaction: Euler’s token dropped >7 % on the news, reflecting investor uncertainty about the transition.
- Growth outlook: If Euler can successfully package its lending infrastructure for regulated entities, it may capture a new source of capital that could offset recent TVL volatility.
- Industry signal: The move highlights a broader maturation trend in DeFi, where projects aim to become core components of traditional finance rather than niche experimental platforms.
Euler’s next few quarters will be a litmus test for how effectively a DeFi protocol can pivot toward institutional adoption while retaining the composability and openness that originally defined the space.
Source: https://thedefiant.io/news/people/euler-ceo-michael-bentley-steps-down
