Deployed 70+ audited smart contracts across major EVM chains — from Play-to-Earn games and MEV-resistant vaults to custom oracles and cross-chain bridges. Currently focused on decentralized data infrastructure: building consensus systems, gasless relayers, and real-time data markets that power DeFi applications and AI agents. Passionate about protocol design that balances security, scalability, and developer experience.
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Hey, I'm
Akshay Dahiya
Protocol Engineer & DeFi Researcher
I architect decentralized data infrastructure and ship production-grade protocol code — from battle-tested smart contracts and gasless relayers to consensus systems that power real-time onchain Apps.
Whether it's 3 p.m. or 3 a.m., you'll find me deep in the terminal, writing Code, tuning infrastructure, or debugging the next big challenge.
- 8 +Years shipping code
- 100 +Contracts & Protocol Components
About Me
A Bit About Me 👨🏻
Intro
I'm a protocol engineer passionate about blockchain infrastructure, AI systems, and full-stack development. My work sits at the intersection of decentralized systems, machine learning, and game theory — fields I explore both professionally and in my own time.
Over the past several years, I've focused on building production-grade decentralized infrastructure: designing protocol architectures from V1 through multiple iterations, authoring smart contracts for node networks that raised ~800 ETH, architecting tokenomics and launching mainnets on Arbitrum Nitro, building high-throughput gasless EIP-712 relayers, and shipping on-chain points systems with auto-resolving prediction markets. I've also led incentivized testnets with partners including CoinList, Polygon zkEVM, and Socket, and single-handedly launched a production decentralized data market streaming real-time DeFi data with cryptographic IPFS proofs.
Outside of work, I'm active in the hackathon community, enjoy trading, and remain connected to my roots as a Google Summer of Code contributor and mentor. I'm always eager to discuss protocols, data markets, zero-knowledge systems, or AI agents — feel free to reach out at xadahiya@gmail.com.
Over the past several years, I've focused on building production-grade decentralized infrastructure: designing protocol architectures from V1 through multiple iterations, authoring smart contracts for node networks that raised ~800 ETH, architecting tokenomics and launching mainnets on Arbitrum Nitro, building high-throughput gasless EIP-712 relayers, and shipping on-chain points systems with auto-resolving prediction markets. I've also led incentivized testnets with partners including CoinList, Polygon zkEVM, and Socket, and single-handedly launched a production decentralized data market streaming real-time DeFi data with cryptographic IPFS proofs.
Outside of work, I'm active in the hackathon community, enjoy trading, and remain connected to my roots as a Google Summer of Code contributor and mentor. I'm always eager to discuss protocols, data markets, zero-knowledge systems, or AI agents — feel free to reach out at xadahiya@gmail.com.
My Interests & Past 👨🏻💻
Summary
Blockchain Engineering
Full-Stack & Beyond
Started as a Graduate Programmer at Fidelity International, building Django + React tools for portfolio managers handling real capital. Went deep into AI at Georgia Tech, then shipped production ML at Hypersonix. Mentored hundreds of Udacity students in Deep Learning, React, and Full Stack development — and watched them grow from zero to deployed. Google Summer of Code admin and mentor for Hydra Ecosystem across four years. Been navigating the intersection of AI, blockchain, and full-stack since 2016 — still can't pick just one lane.
AI & Machine Learning
Self-taught through MIT OCW, Georgia Tech OMSCS, and Udacity nanodegrees — covering AI, ML, RL, and Computer Vision. Master's from Georgia Tech provided deep expertise in applied machine learning. Built production ML systems with PyTorch and TensorFlow at Hypersonix, developed counter-plagiarism AI still running at Georgia Tech, and published peer-reviewed papers. Experienced with PPO agents, GANs, YOLO, and SLAM implementations.
Academic Research
Conducted research under Dr. Thad Starner, a pioneer in wearable computing. Built Examinator — an AI system that detects academic dishonesty using Gradescope metrics, improving detection accuracy from ~15% to 25%. Developed JackMarker and GitDown to trace and remove leaked solutions across the web. Published two ACM Learning@Scale papers featured in Forbes and Times Higher Education. System components remain in production at Georgia Tech.
Open Source & Hackathons
Google Summer of Code admin and mentor for Hydra Ecosystem (Linked Data for APIs) — four years growing the community and shipping lasting Python tooling. Mentored and judged 5+ ETHGlobal hackathons, guiding teams from concept to mainnet deployment in 36 hours. Regular Hacktoberfest contributor with multiple hackathon wins. Currently contributing to decentralized data market infrastructure — building open-source tooling for real-time on-chain data with cryptographic proofs, designed for AI agent consumption.
My Current Superpowers
Skills
Protocol Design & Tokenomics
Consensus, Staking/Slashing, Dynamic Tax Curves, Emission Schedules, Merkle Airdrops, Incentive Alignment, Sybil Resistance
Solidity & Smart Contracts
Upgradeable Proxies, EIP-712, Batching, Gasless Relayers, VRF, Chainlink, Audited Production Code
Decentralized Data Systems
Snapshotter Networks, DSV Sequencers, IPFS Proofs, On-Chain Data Markets, Sub-Second Propagation, Agentic AI Pipelines
Backend & Infrastructure
Go, Python, Node.js, Rust, Linux Ecosystem, Redis, PostgreSQL, Docker, AWS, High-Throughput APIs
Incentive Engineering
On-Chain Points, Auto-Resolving Prediction Markets, Delegation, Slashing, Game Theory Modeling
Web3 Tooling
Hardhat, Foundry, Ethers.js, Web3.py, IPFS
AI / ML
PyTorch, TensorFlow, Agentic AI, RL (PPO), Computer Vision, Georgia Tech MSCS
Other Skills
React, Next.js, Technical Writing, Team Leadership, Public Speaking
My Story 🗺️
History
Education
Master of Science - MS, Computer Science
Georgia Institute of Technology
2019 - 2021
Machine Learning specialization under Dr. Thad Starner's research team.
Research Publications:
- Examinator: Built an AI-powered plagiarism detection system for take-home exams using Gradescope metrics. Compared 2M+ exam pairs, improving referral accuracy from 15% to 25%. [ACM L@S 2020]
- JackMarker & GitDown: Developed tools to combat code plagiarism — JackMarker embeds hidden, traceable tokens in documents; GitDown locates and requests removal of leaked solutions online. [ACM L@S 2021]
Research featured in Forbes and Times Higher Education. Systems still in production at Georgia Tech.
Key Coursework: Machine Learning, Reinforcement Learning, Computer Vision, AI, Graduate Algorithms
Udacity Nanodegrees
Udacity
2016 - 2020
- Deep Learning (2020): Designed and trained neural networks from scratch using PyTorch. Built projects in image classification, sentiment analysis, and generative models. Mastered CNNs, RNNs, LSTMs, and GANs.
- Computer Vision (2020, NVIDIA Partnership): Built production projects: Facial Keypoint Detection, Image Captioning with attention, and Visual SLAM. Mastered YOLO, R-CNN, and real-time object detection.
- React (2017): Built 3 full-stack React apps with Redux: MyReads (Google Books API), Would You Rather (real-time polling), Mobile Flashcards (React Native).
- Full Stack Web Development (2016): PostgreSQL database design, RESTful APIs, Linux server hardening, OAuth, and AWS cloud deployment. Built scalable apps handling thousands of concurrent users.
Open Courseware Foundations
MIT OCW · edX · Coursera
2015 - 2019
- MIT 6.00x — Introduction to Computer Science: Foundational CS and Python programming. Computational thinking, algorithm design, testing/debugging, and basic data structures.
- MIT 6.042J — Mathematics for Computer Science: Discrete mathematics for CS — proofs, graph theory, modular arithmetic, counting, and probability. Foundation for algorithm analysis.
- MIT 6.006 — Introduction to Algorithms: Core algorithms and data structures: sorting, heaps, BSTs, hashing, graph algorithms (BFS, DFS, Dijkstra), and dynamic programming.
- MIT 15.390x — Entrepreneurship 101 (edX): Innovation-driven entrepreneurship from MIT Sloan. Customer discovery, market validation, and the 24-step framework for building startups.
- Stanford CS161 — Algorithms Illuminated (edX): Tim Roughgarden's rigorous algorithms course: divide-and-conquer, randomized algorithms, graph primitives, greedy algorithms, and NP-completeness.
- Berkeley CS188.1x — Artificial Intelligence (edX): AI fundamentals: search algorithms, constraint satisfaction, adversarial search, MDPs, reinforcement learning, and Q-learning.
B.Tech, Electronics and Communication Engg
Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science & Technology
2014-2018
- Graduated with comprehensive training in electronics, communication systems, and core engineering principles
- Established strong foundations in signal processing, embedded systems, and technical problem-solving
Experience
Lead Protocol Engineer & DeFi Researcher
Powerloom Protocol
Dec 2022 – Present
- Co-designed core protocol evolution from V1 → V2 → DSV architecture
- Authored Snapshotter Lite + Full node contracts + backend → 5,300+ SBT mints, ~800 ETH raised
- Designed $POWER tokenomics, dynamic-tax staking contracts, airdrop infrastructure, and shipped mainnet on Arbitrum Nitro
- Built gasless high-throughput EIP-712 relayers (batching + replay protection) sponsoring 1M+ transactions
- Co-built Onchain Points system + Generative Prediction Markets that auto-resolve on live Powerloom data
- Ran engineering for three incentivized testnets with partners like CoinList / Polygon zkEVM / Socket
- Single-handedly shipped BDS — production decentralized data market streaming real-time Uniswap data with 1-click IPFS proofs (built for agentic AI from day one)
- Set up and help lead Powerloom's Bangalore engineering hub (2024–present)
Blockchain Developer
Freelancer
Dec 2020 - Nov 2022
- Deployed 50+ production smart contracts across multiple EVM-compatible chains
- Architected custom ERC-20, ERC-721, and hyper-deflationary token implementations
- Built DeFi node projects featuring dynamic reward mechanisms, evolving NFTs, and referral systems
- Developed automated trading infrastructure using Web3.py and Solidity for NFT and token markets
- Created Play-to-Earn gaming systems with custom Chainlink oracles and cross-chain bridge integrations
Senior Software Engineer
Hypersonix Inc.
Mar 2020 - Dec 2022
- Built API Gateway and Management Platform from scratch, serving 3M+ requests/day
- Boosted API performance 80% with optimizations and Brotli compression
- Overhauled auth with Auth0 for better security
- Added ELK logging, performance monitoring, Learning Center
Graduate Programmer
Fidelity International
Jun 2018 - Nov 2018
- Built real-time feedback app with web sockets, Django, Redis, D3.js
- Worked with behavioral finance team on React tools for portfolio managers
- Full-stack dev for scalable solutions
Mentor and Project Reviewer
Udacity
Feb 2017 - Mar 2020
- Reviewed 2,000+ Full Stack, Deep Learning, and React projects with detailed technical feedback
- Mentored 500+ students through technical challenges, code reviews, and debugging sessions
- Helped students achieve certification and career advancement in software engineering
Administrator and Mentor
Google Summer of Code
Feb 2018 - Aug 2021
- Core contributor to Hydra Ecosystem — a Linked Data documentation framework for semantic Web APIs
- Developed and maintained Python tooling used by the open-source community
- Served as GSoC Admin and Mentor (2018–2021), mentoring 10+ contributors and shipping lasting open-source infrastructure
My GitHub Activity 📊
GitHub
Latest Posts 📰
Blog
![Personal Tech Expedition [Part 1]](/images/github_xa.png)
27 Feb 2024
Personal Tech Expedition [Part 1]
So, here I am, on a super long flight from Frankfurt to Denver, heading to ETH Denver with some awesome folks from Powerloom Network. I figured, why not use this time to reflect on the last 14 months at Powerloom Protocol? But, as these things go, I ended up spilling...
25 Aug 2017
GSoC 2017 summary
Hey everyone! Akshay here, and I was a Google Summer of Code student chilling with Hydra (a cool sub-org of the Python Software Foundation). This summer, I basically split my time between two awesome projects for Hydra:
22 Aug 2017
Finishing up!
Interesting Books (No Order) 📚
Books
Zero to One
Peter Thiel's framework for building transformative companies through original thinking.
Mathematics for CS
A rigorous yet accessible foundation in discrete mathematics and proofs by Eric Lehman et al.
Algorithms Illuminated Series
Tim Roughgarden's comprehensive treatment of algorithm design and analysis.
Reinforcement Learning
The definitive introduction to reinforcement learning by Richard Sutton and Andrew Barto.
The Lean Startup
Eric Ries' methodology for building products through validated learning and iteration.
Hooked
Nir Eyal's behavioral framework for designing engaging, habit-forming products.
Let's Chat Ideas 💬
Reach Out!