Projects

Table of Contents

• [full-stack LLM development] mev.fyi - the Flashbots-grant-recipient MEV research chatbot
  • 1. Overview
  • 2. Background
  • 3. Core Functionality
  • 4. Technical Aspects
  • 5. Impact and Outreach
• [mechanism design] NFT finance protocol market mechanisms: Innovating for efficiency and sustainability
  • 1. Project overview
  • 2. Market dynamics and mechanism design
  • 3. Stakeholder impact and fee structure analysis
  • 4. DeFi liquidity incentivization and token pricing
  • 5. Competitor landscape and user behavior
  • 6. Balancing innovation with practicality
• [mechanism design] Bumper Finance - structured product sell-side protocol on Arbitrum
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Role and Responsibilities
    • 2.a Competitive Analysis
    • 2.b Design and Implementation
    • 2.c Analysis and Optimization
    • 2.d Impact and Contributions
    • 2.e Technical Environment
• [mechanism design] NFTs for extreme sports athletes: sustainable income through digital assets
  • 1. Project overview
  • 2. Market research
  • 3. NFT collection analysis
  • 4. Business plan and roadmap
  • 5. Tokenomics, mint schedule, and stakeholder allocation
  • 6. User research and stakeholder interviews
  • 7. Pitch deck creation and fundraising

mev.fyi (opens in a new tab)

1. Overview

mev.fyi (opens in a new tab) is an open-source chatbot focused on Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) research and development (blockchain systems research more generally), created with the support of @Freddmannen (opens in a new tab) and funding of Flashbots (opens in a new tab). mev.fyi helps to navigate the complex landscape of maximal extractable value (MEV), transaction supply chains, and related topics in Ethereum. Access the beta version at mev.fyi and explore the content database at data.mev.fyi (opens in a new tab).

2. Background

The inception of mev.fyi was driven by the challenge of sifting through scattered and diverse Ethereum research materials: documentations (Ethereum.org), research papers, articles, YouTube videos. The project represents a significant collaborative effort to streamline access to information across various media.

3. Core Functionality

• Natural Language Processing: The chatbot utilizes a large language model (LLM) to interpret and respond to queries in natural language, making it accessible to a broad audience.
• Content Database: It connects users with a vector database of Ethereum-related content, ranging from documentation and research papers to forums and videos.
• Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) Model: This approach, with the large guidance of @AndyBabino (opens in a new tab), enables the bot to provide contextually relevant information with direct citations.
• User Education: mev.fyi serves as a learning tool for both newcomers and seasoned professionals in the blockchain research space.

4. Technical Aspects

• Frontend: React / Next.js
• Backend & Cloud: Python
• Model Fine-tuning: The system setup and fine-tuning has been guided by @AndyBabino (opens in a new tab). Current models:
  • embedding: text-ada-02
  • reranker: used to prioritise content from vetted sources: research paper, documentation, articles
  • inference: gpt-3.5-turbo
• Cloud:
  • backend: Google Cloud Services
  • frontend: Vercel

5. Impact and Outreach

mev.fyi aims to democratize access to Ethereum research, making it more understandable and accessible globally, with a focus on onboarding the next billion users into the Ethereum ecosystem.

NFT finance protocol market mechanisms: Innovating for efficiency and sustainability

1. Project overview

Contracted through CADLabs from May to August 2023, I focused on developing innovative market mechanisms for an NFT finance protocol, leveraging my understanding of both traditional and blockchain market dynamics. This role involved creating mechanisms such as maker/taker fee policies and evaluating their impact on the ecosystem.

2. Market dynamics and mechanism design

My work included an in-depth analysis of market dynamics, which informed the development of new market mechanisms aimed at optimizing platform efficiency and stakeholder engagement.

3. Stakeholder impact and fee structure analysis

I evaluated how stakeholder actions, the platform's fee structure, and DeFi liquidity incentivization mechanisms affect token pricing, expected protocol revenues, and their feedback loops.

4. DeFi liquidity incentivization and token pricing

Analysis of DeFi liquidity incentivization mechanisms and their impact on token pricing was a key part of my role, aiming to ensure sustainable protocol growth and user engagement.

5. Competitor landscape and user behavior

Performing competitor landscape and user behavior analyses was crucial for creating data-driven mechanisms that are competitive and meet user needs effectively.

6. Balancing innovation with practicality

Striking a balance between design innovation and practical considerations such as implementation workload, lifetime maintenance, on-chain designs, security risks, and oracle trade-offs was a crucial aspect of this role.

Bumper Finance

1. Introduction

During a six-month full-time project contracted through CADLabs (opens in a new tab), I worked closely with Bumper Finance, a sell-side protocol of physically settled put options with streaming premium on the Arbitrum network. This engagement was dedicated to unraveling the complex economics of their system, focusing on pricing and risk management through Python agent-based simulations (radCAD) and backtesting.

2. Role and Responsibilities

2.a Competitive analysis of option protocols

• Mapped all existing protocols and their key diffenrences on pricing, oracle-dependencies, business model

2.b Design and Implementation

• Helped refining the design of the inventory management system designed to facilitate the seamless trade of structured product (put-like payoff).
• Developed the risk management engine accounting for both gas cost and MEV-corrected price impact.

2.c Analysis and Optimization

• Performed exhaustive analysis on price impacts, evaluating various hedging strategies to mitigate potential risks.
• The insights from these analyses were pivotal in refining protocol features and informing critical strategic decisions.
• Performed system-level analyses with revenue sources and cost sinks to fine-tune the protocol risk parameters on pricing and risk management

2.d Impact and Contributions

The project's outcome had a substantial impact on Bumper Finance's operations, particularly in:

• Enhancing the protocol's economic resilience and efficiency.
• Providing actionable intelligence for protocol optimization, significantly influencing the direction of future developments.

2.e Technical Environment

• Network: Arbitrum
• Tools: Python
• Focus Areas: Pricing, Risk management, spot price impact, gas costs

NFTs for extreme sports athletes: sustainable income through digital assets

1. Project overview

Contracted through CADLabs during August to October 2023, our team of five embarked on a project aimed at leveraging NFTs to create sustainable income for extreme sports athletes. We conducted comprehensive market research to understand the dynamics of the web2/web3 extreme sports market, its main stakeholders, and the power disparities within the ecosystem.

2. Market research

Our market research focused on analyzing how brands like Red Bull and Monster Energy have utilized extreme sports as marketing vehicles, becoming successful rent extractors in an industry that would otherwise generate significantly lower revenues.

3. NFT collection analysis

We analyzed over 50 NFT collections to identify the reasons behind their success or failure, their income stream sources, risk exposures, and whether their success could be attributed to factors such as affiliation with known stakeholders, market momentum, or other aspects.

4. Business plan and roadmap

Based on our extensive research, we devised a comprehensive business plan and roadmap, considering upfront and opportunity costs, and long-term diversification strategies.

5. Tokenomics, mint schedule, and stakeholder allocation

We designed the entire tokenomics, mint schedule, and allocation strategy across all stakeholders, ensuring a fair and sustainable model for income distribution.

6. User research and stakeholder interviews

Through a series of interviews with extreme sports athletes and web3/NFT collection creators, we gained valuable insights into the extreme sports industry and NFT PFP operations, which informed our project development.

7. Pitch deck creation and fundraising

We created a detailed pitch deck for fundraising, undergoing numerous iterations to refine our presentation and effectively communicate our vision and business model to potential investors.