Logo
BTCBTC$80,704+1.06%|
ETHETH$2,342.33+1.57%|
USDTUSDT$0.99875+0.00%|
BNB$746.7600+0.81%|
XRPXRP$1.3200+2.38%|
USDCUSDC$0.99946+0.01%|
SOLSOL$100.9500+0.64%|
TRXTRX$0.33116+0.42%|
FIGR_HELOCFIGR_HELOC$1.0200-2.05%|
ZECZEC$1,296.28+6.04%|
HYPEHYPE$81.0900+4.42%|
DOGEDOGE$0.07831+1.53%|
XMRXMR$603.5000+1.75%|
USDSUSDS$0.99984-0.00%|
WBTWBT$77.5100+1.10%|
LINKLINK$11.4600+1.02%|
LEOLEO$9.0400+0.18%|
ADAADA$0.20481+0.05%|
NEARNEAR$4.6300+3.62%|
XLMXLM$0.16990+1.32%|
BCHBCH$289.0600+3.91%|
RAINRAIN$0.00719080-5.35%|
USDEUSDE$0.99907+0.02%|
DAIDAI$0.99974-0.04%|
UNIUNI$7.0600-0.14%|
LTCLTC$56.7000+0.41%|
AVAXAVAX$8.8700-0.17%|
CCCC$0.09814-0.59%|
USD1USD1$0.99881+0.01%|
SUISUI$0.92393+1.66%|
BTCBTC$80,704+1.06%|
ETHETH$2,342.33+1.57%|
USDTUSDT$0.99875+0.00%|
BNBBNB$746.7600+0.81%|
XRPXRP$1.3200+2.38%|
USDCUSDC$0.99946+0.01%|
SOLSOL$100.9500+0.64%|
TRXTRX$0.33116+0.42%|
FIGR_HELOCFIGR_HELOC$1.0200-2.05%|
ZECZEC$1,296.28+6.04%|
HYPEHYPE$81.0900+4.42%|
DOGEDOGE$0.07831+1.53%|
XMRXMR$603.5000+1.75%|
USDSUSDS$0.99984-0.00%|
WBTWBT$77.5100+1.10%|
LINKLINK$11.4600+1.02%|
LEOLEO$9.0400+0.18%|
ADAADA$0.20481+0.05%|
NEARNEAR$4.6300+3.62%|
XLMXLM$0.16990+1.32%|
BCHBCH$289.0600+3.91%|
RAINRAIN$0.00719080-5.35%|
USDEUSDE$0.99907+0.02%|
DAIDAI$0.99974-0.04%|
UNIUNI$7.0600-0.14%|
LTCLTC$56.7000+0.41%|
AVAXAVAX$8.8700-0.17%|
CCCC$0.09814-0.59%|
USD1USD1$0.99881+0.01%|
SUISUI$0.92393+1.66%|
Triple.AKoinly

Your banner here? Contact us!

Juan Benet

Juan Benet

Founder & CEO of Protocol Labs, Protocol Labs

Protocol Labs website

Bio

Juan Benet is the founder and CEO of Protocol Labs and the inventor of IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) and Filecoin. His work is focused on upgrading the foundational infrastructure of the internet by replacing location-based content addressing with a content-addressed, peer-to-peer distribution model.

Benet studied computer science at Stanford University before founding Protocol Labs in 2014. IPFS, first described in a 2014 technical paper, is an open-source peer-to-peer protocol that identifies content by its cryptographic hash rather than its server address, enabling resilient, censorship-resistant data distribution. Filecoin, launched in 2020 after a significant token sale in 2017, creates an economic incentive layer for distributed file storage on top of the IPFS protocol.

Protocol Labs has evolved beyond its original centralized R&D model into a broader innovation network encompassing dozens of teams and projects. In 2026, Benet remains as founder and CEO of Protocol Labs, which also operates PL Capital as an investment vehicle. Filecoin Foundation and the Filecoin network are governed separately from Protocol Labs. Information last checked: August 2026.

Profile at a glance

Country
USA
Status
Active

Work & Project Background

  • Protocol Labs

    Founder

  • IPFS

    Founder

  • Filecoin

    Founder

Key Contributions

IPFS Protocol

Invented IPFS, a peer-to-peer protocol that enables content-addressed data distribution, replacing fragile location-based URLs with persistent content identifiers.

Filecoin Network

Created Filecoin, a decentralized storage network with a native token incentive layer enabling open markets for file storage and retrieval.

Protocol Labs R&D

Founded Protocol Labs as an open-source research and development organization, producing foundational internet infrastructure used across web3 and traditional web applications.

PL Capital

Established PL Capital as the investment arm of the Protocol Labs network, supporting early-stage projects in decentralized infrastructure.

Open-Source Ecosystem

Grew a large open-source ecosystem around IPFS and libp2p, which are now used by projects including Ethereum, Polkadot and many web3 applications.

Timeline

2014

Founded Protocol Labs; published the IPFS whitepaper describing a content-addressed peer-to-peer hypermedia protocol.

2017

Filecoin initial token sale raised over $200 million; Filecoin described as an economic incentive layer for IPFS-based storage.

2020

Filecoin mainnet launched after multiple development delays; storage mining began.

2021–2022

Protocol Labs restructured as an innovation network; launched PL Capital. Filecoin ecosystem and developer tooling expanded.

2023–2026

Continued as CEO of Protocol Labs; broadened research interests to include AI, neurotech and computing infrastructure alongside Filecoin/IPFS ecosystem development.

Previous - Joyce KimAll Crypto FoundersJulien Bouteloup - Next
Wiki Finance Expo Cyprus 2026Dutch Blockchain Week

Your banner here? Contact us!