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unorthod0xd

About

Security engineer and computer science student working in the Ethereum ecosystem, building protocols to understand how they break.

I'm a security engineer and computer science student specializing in the Ethereum ecosystem. I deepen my security engineering by building what I study: full-stack DeFi protocols, Chainlink CRE oracle workflows, and open source contributions, all grounded in EVM internals and protocol security.

My path into crypto started in 2018, when Ethereum clicked as more than just “digital money.” What began as curiosity became a focus on security — understanding how protocols break before they break. That foundation is now extending into quantitative development: systematic trading strategies grounded in deep protocol knowledge rather than in charts.

I'm most interested in the space where security and quant overlap — MEV, liquidation mechanics, oracle manipulation, arbitrage. The same skills that identify vulnerabilities identify edges. The reading is the same; only the conclusion differs.

Most of what I know came from building the thing rather than reading about it, and most of that building happened in public, badly, first. Three Chainlink hackathons, two Intellibus events, a top-ten finish and a second place in a CTF, one upstream contribution merged, and a course I paused because I could read the findings but not derive them. Currently balancing university coursework with independent study, and shipping what I learn along the way.

Trajectory

Eight years, from an accidental 2 ETH tip to protocol architecture.

  1. 2026

    Architecture First

    Built Parametrix at Chainlink Convergence, my third Chainlink hackathon. Top ten overall and 2nd place in the CTF at Intellibus. First upstream open source fix merged into Bytecode Alliance's Javy.

  2. 2025

    Building in Public

    Redid the Cyfrin course with Git tracking. Built Emerald DAO at my second Chainlink hackathon and competed at Intellibus. Launched this site to document my journey.

  3. 2024

    First Hackathon & University

    Competed in first Chainlink hackathon, met brilliant minds from Singapore and India. Started Cyfrin Updraft course. Returned to university.

  4. 2023

    Database Admin & Deep Dives

    Remote DB admin role at a startup. Joined Chainlink and ZKsync communities, diving deep into their tech stacks.

  5. 2022

    Surviving the Bear

    Funds trapped in FTX collapse. Local banks blacklisted crypto. The Merge sparked my technical journey into Ethereum's infrastructure.

  6. 2021

    Hard Lessons Learned

    Joined crypto Twitter during peak bullrun. Lost money on memecoins. Pivoted to utility tokens and L2s, started reading documentation seriously.

  7. 2019

    NFT Experiments

    Introduced friends to NFTs. Traded and launched a few collections with basic JS. Learned how the game worked.

  8. 2018

    The Beginning

    Received my first 2 ETH (~$300) for photography at a Miami car show. The concept reminded me of in-game currencies - fascinating.