I am a co-founder, Executive Director, and former Chairman of Monerium, where I proposed the original concept and helped build the company as the first globally regulated institution to issue fiat currency directly on public blockchains - aka stablecoins.
I have served as CEO or Chair and co-founded multiple startups, including the Fintech companies Mentis and Netskil (both later acquired by banks), as well as Seed Forum Iceland, Seed Forum USA, and Klak.
My current work focuses on digital assets, on-chain liquidity, tokenized credit, and the restructuring of foreign exchange, payments, and deposits.
My latest research on tokenization and monetary systems was presented at Oxford Saïd Business School with the Bank of England in 2025. My previous work include the most-read paper ever in the Journal of Applied Economics and a mathematical model published in the Proceedings of the IEEE, recognized in The Best Writing on Mathematics.
After the financial crisis, I worked with InDefence, and co-founded Advice and contributed to the Icesave referendums rejecting the socialization of private banking losses — a decision later upheld by the EFTA Court as legally correct.
After the EFTA Court ruling and the subsequent electoral wipeout of the government, I was appointed by the new Parliament to serve on the Supervisory Board of the Central Bank of Iceland from 2013 to 2017, later as Chairman. I was appointed by the Prime Minister on advising on lifting capital controls — a successful case study later cited by the IMF. Recently I advised the Ministry of Finance on residential mortgage market reform (final report, January 2025).
I hold a PhD in Economics and an MSc in Engineering. I am a former adjunct professor of financial engineering, have taught MBA courses, and a visiting scholar at Columbia University in New York City. I am currently an Executive Fellow at King’s College London and an affiliate member of the Qatar Centre for Global Banking and Finance.
I write for Forbes and have published op-eds in outlets including the Financial Times, Euronews, and CoinDesk.
Jon Helgi Egilsson