Founder & CEO, Ekho · Advisor · Testifying expert · Austin

Value should reach the people who create it.

I spent twenty years tracing where value goes. Now I'm building Ekho to send it back.

Michael Jelen at home in Austin, Texas
What I believe

Data is ownership.

Whoever holds the record of a relationship controls it. That should be the artist, not the platform sitting in the middle.

The record is the truth.

When the story and the data disagree, the data is right. My work is to find it, prove it, and make it undeniable.

Devotion makes a better system.

A room earned by the people who actually care beats a room sold to whoever paid most. Better nights, better economics, better careers.

Advisory

The same problem, from every seat.

Wrote blockchain policy for a sovereign government. Advised the world's largest institutions. Founded and ran venture-backed companies. Whatever you're facing, I've likely stood where you're standing.

Michael Jelen speaking on a panel
Policy & regulationCo-authored Abu Dhabi's blockchain strategy. Regulatory and compliance work since.
InstitutionsBanks, funds, and large corporates worldwide
BuildersFounders and operators, seed to scale, in blockchain, media, and technology
Michael Jelen
Expert witness & litigation support

The truth is already in the data.

My job is to find it, prove it, and explain it so clearly that nobody in the room can miss it. Digital assets, regulation, and data integrity, for courts, tribunals, and regulators.

20 yearsForensic data analytics, worked from the source records up
RegulatoryCompliance, enforcement, and policy matters worldwide
FTI · BRGManaging Director, then Director
Michael Jelen moderating a panel

Where did the value actually go,
and who should have gotten it?

How I got here.

That question again, in every seat I have ever sat in. Six of them, one problem.

FTI Consulting

Managing Director

Forensic financial investigation. Analyzed data on the Madoff and Lehman Brothers matters in a non-testifying analytical capacity.

Berkeley Research Group

Director

Disputes and investigations worldwide. Co-authored Abu Dhabi's blockchain strategy.

Swan / Bevy Fund

Founding Partner

Early-stage digital asset investing and company building.

RewardedTV / Replay

CEO

Blockchain streaming on connected TV. Past one million users with on-chain revenue sharing.

Expert witness

Testifying expert

Expert reports across disputes, investigations, and regulatory matters. Testimony in U.S. federal court.

Ekho

Founder & CEO

The direct-to-fan music economy. Artists own their fan data, and the money moves directly from fan to artist.