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Jacquelyn Melinek
Speaker · Proof of Talk 2026
StrataMedia

Jacquelyn Melinek

Founder & CEO, StrataMedia

Jacquelyn Melinek moved from covering crypto as a senior reporter at TechCrunch to running StrataMedia, a media and investor-relations business built around digital-asset markets.

The Significance

Why the room needs them.

Jacquelyn Melinek is founder and CEO of StrataMedia, formerly Token Relations, and a former senior crypto reporter at TechCrunch. At Proof of Talk Paris 2026 she moderated firesides with Jorgen Ouaknine and Stani Kulechov.

The Numbers
2022–2024
Senior crypto reporter at TechCrunch
2024
Year Token Relations launched
The Biography

The full account.

Jacquelyn Melinek is the founder and chief executive of StrataMedia, a firm focused on digital assets and traditional markets whose brands include Token Relations, the Talking Tokens podcast and newsletter, and The Market Runup. She holds a BA in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her early work included an internship in the metro section of The News & Observer in Raleigh, business reporting for the North Carolina Business News Wire, an internship on Bloomberg News's Americas oil trading desk and a role on the S&P Global Platts team in Houston covering petrochemicals. She then spent about a year at Blockworks covering digital assets before joining TechCrunch as a senior crypto reporter in March 2022, a post she held for two years.

In April 2024 she left TechCrunch and, with the investor Anthony Pompliano, launched Token Relations, a platform intended to connect digital-asset projects with their stakeholders. Fortune reported Avalanche, Aptos and Optimism as its launch partners. In March 2025 she was announced as a co-host of Crypto in America, a podcast and newsletter on United States crypto policy, alongside Eleanor Terrett and Gerald Gallagher. On 8 April 2026, Token Relations' second anniversary, she renamed its parent company StrataMedia, bringing Token Relations, Talking Tokens and The Market Runup under one banner with the stated aim of "strategy-driven media for financial markets." She signed that announcement as founder and chief executive of StrataMedia.

At Proof of Talk Paris 2026 she moderated two firesides on the Hecto Main Stage. On 2 June she moderated "Building Canton: A Conversation with the Foundation Board" with Jorgen Ouaknine, and on 3 June she moderated "Aave V4: Scaling Onchain Lending" with Stani Kulechov.

Explaining Token Relations at its launch, she told Fortune that the aim was to "capture direct relationships with these blockchains' communities," rather than depend on "algorithmic routes that can get lost in the noise."

The Thesis · on the record

What Jacquelyn believes about the next ten years.

01
Direct relationships over algorithmic reach
Launching Token Relations in 2024, Melinek told Fortune the aim was to "capture direct relationships with these blockchains' communities" rather than rely on "algorithmic routes that can get lost in the noise."
02
Media built for financial markets
Announcing StrataMedia in April 2026, she described its purpose as "strategy-driven media for financial markets," positioning the group as a communication layer across traditional and digital financial markets.
The Timeline

Years of shipping.

2021
Joined Blockworks, covering digital assets.
2022
Joined TechCrunch as a senior crypto reporter in March.
2024
Left TechCrunch in April and launched Token Relations with Anthony Pompliano, with Avalanche, Aptos and Optimism as launch partners.
2025
Announced in March as a co-host of Crypto in America, a podcast and newsletter on US crypto policy.
2026
Renamed Token Relations' parent company StrataMedia on 8 April, the platform's second anniversary.
2026
Moderated two Hecto Main Stage firesides at Proof of Talk Paris 2026: "Building Canton" with Jorgen Ouaknine on 2 June and "Aave V4: Scaling Onchain Lending" with Stani Kulechov on 3 June.
In Their Words

Lines that keep proving correct.

I wanted to build something needed in the crypto space.

Fortune, 9 April 2024

What we're building here hopefully provides that easy avenue for people to get educated and engage with the blockchains that we're working with.

Fortune, 9 April 2024

We want to capture direct relationships with these blockchains' communities and get to know them, who they actually are, and build that network.

Fortune, 9 April 2024
The Body of Work

What they have built, written, and backed.

Built

  • Token Relations (2024)A crypto-native investor-relations and ecosystem-relations platform launched with Anthony Pompliano; Fortune reported Avalanche, Aptos and Optimism as launch partners.
  • Talking TokensStrataMedia's flagship podcast and newsletter, which the company says publishes two episodes a week.
  • StrataMedia (2026)The new name, from April 2026, of Token Relations' parent company, uniting Token Relations, Talking Tokens and The Market Runup.

The next Proof of Talk is in Abu Dhabi.

Louvre Abu Dhabi, 3–4 December 2026. Admission is by application, and the room is capped at 2,000.

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