// research · financial infrastructure literacy
DeFi Privacy & Financial Infrastructure
Ethereum privacy layers, stablecoin systems, and zero-knowledge research
This is research-level work, not production deployment. The goal was to build financial infrastructure literacy — understanding how privacy layers, stablecoin issuance, ZK proof systems, and compliance frameworks interact at a design level, not just a surface API level.
Ethereum privacy layer
Aztec Protocol
Aztec is a ZK-rollup on Ethereum that enables private smart contract execution. Research focused on how Aztec's UTXO-based private state model differs from Ethereum's account model, and how private function calls are verified without revealing inputs.
USDC infrastructure
Stablecoin Transfer Modeling
Modeled USDC transfer flows across wallet types, exchange custody arrangements, and cross-border remittance paths. Explored how Centre's attestation model and Ethereum's ERC-20 standard interact with regulatory reporting obligations.
ZK awareness
Zero-Knowledge Systems
Survey-level understanding of ZK-SNARKs and ZK-STARKs: where each proof system trades off proof size, verifier computation, and setup assumptions. Applied to understanding how privacy-preserving DeFi protocols assert correctness without revealing underlying data.
Regulatory design
Compliance Thresholds & Reporting
Analyzed government transaction reporting thresholds (FinCEN, Bank Secrecy Act) and how they apply to on-chain activity. Explored how USDC issuers enforce sanctions compliance and how smart contracts interact with off-chain compliance infrastructure.
Physical-digital bridge
NFC-Based Asset Verification
Conceptual exploration of using NFC chips embedded in physical assets (art, certificates, physical goods) as a tamper-evident bridge to on-chain ownership records. Related to tokenization concepts and chain-of-custody verification.
// why this matters for systems design
Financial infrastructure is constrained by compliance requirements, cryptographic guarantees, and network trust assumptions — not just API availability. Understanding these constraints at a design level is what separates engineers who can build compliant financial software from those who can only use it.