Jake Stolarski
Founder & CEO, NERO Chain
Education

B.S. in Physics, New York University

Electrical Engineering Degree, Stevens Institute of Technology

Technical Leadership
Commencing his career in advanced R&D, Jake served as a researcher at Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), where he spearheaded reliability optimization and computational modeling for laser systems. His work established foundational protocols still referenced in photonics engineering.

Financial Sector Pivot
Transitioning to quantitative finance, Jake:

As Director at Chicago Trading Company, founded an energy volatility-focused trading fund that delivered 70% annualized returns for three consecutive years, ranking among the top 3 global performers at CME Group (the world's largest derivatives exchange)

At Cipher Technologies Management, directed trading operations and risk strategies for the firm's sole SEC/CFTC-registered digital asset fund

Architected pioneering standards:

Established benchmark protocols for OTC bilateral ISDA agreements

Created the industry's first collateral lock-up framework (now adopted by 72% of institutional crypto lenders)

Blockchain Innovation

Former Head of Volatility Trading at Dragonfly Capital

Early architect of Bitcoin ETF proposals (pre-dating SEC approvals by 18 months)

Recognized by Institutional Investor as "Digital Asset Risk Management Visionary 2023"