Michael Bentley is a British entrepreneur, known for his role as a Co-Founder of Euler Labs, which developed the DeFi lending protocol Euler Finance. With an academic background in mathematical biology, Bentley transitioned from academia to entrepreneurship in 2020, leading Euler Labs' approach to decentralized finance. He held the position of CEO until January 2026, after which he assumed a more advisory and product development-focused role. ^[1]​

Early Life & Education

Michael Bentley studied at Newcastle University, obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Biology/Biological Sciences. He went on to the University of Leeds, where he earned a Master's degree in Computational Biology. Bentley then completed a PhD in Mathematical Biology at the University of Oxford. His research specialization included microbial ecology and evolution, dynamical systems, and evolutionary game theory — disciplines that would later influence his approach to complex financial systems. ^[1]

Academic and Early Career

Before entering decentralized finance, Bentley was engaged in academic research. Postdoctoral roles at the University of Oxford, University College London (UCL), and the University of Leeds shaped his research interests around evolutionary game theory, bioinformatics, and machine learning. Prior to his academic pursuits, Bentley served as a Pricing Analyst at the Royal Bank of Scotland Business. ^[1]

Founding of Euler Labs

In 2020, Bentley co-founded Euler Labs alongside Doug Hoyte and Jack Prior, with contributions from Anton Totomanov, Dariusz Glowinski, and Kasper Pawlowski. Euler Labs' beginnings were rooted in a hackathon, where the team conceptualized its decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol. Bentley served as CEO until early 2026. ^{[1] [2]}

March 2023 Exploit and Recovery

In March 2023, Euler Finance was hit by a flash loan exploit in which approximately $197 million was stolen. ^[5] During this period, Bentley personally lost access to roughly 1.2 million EUL governance tokens due to a hardware wallet failure. This personal loss was valued at approximately $3.8 million at the time; he later regained access to the tokens. ^{[6] [4]} Euler's recovery effort ultimately recouped approximately $240 million, exceeding the original amount stolen due to token price appreciation during the negotiation period. ^{[7] [3]} The recovery effort showcased the resilience of Euler Labs and its community. ^[5]

Leadership Transition

In January 2026, Bentley transitioned from his CEO role into an advisory and product development position, coinciding with Jonathan Han stepping into the role of CEO. Bentley described a shift from a fully permissionless model to more structured institutional, fintech, and retail vault infrastructure. ^[1]

Public Presence & Media

Bentley has participated in industry podcasts, including appearances on Castle Island Ventures' "On The Brink" ^[2] and The Block's "The Crypto Beat," discussing DeFi lending and Euler's history. ^[3] He continues to engage with the crypto community, sharing insights on the industry's development and challenges. ^{[1] [2]}