1-click delta-neutral yield platform on SolanaArbor Finance is a Solana-native "1-click" router that turns fragmented perp markets into low-risk yield. Deposit USDC once and Arbor atomically opens equal-size long and short positions on different DEXes, harvests the funding-rate spread, and monitors health for you. Positions stay non-custodial, fees are a flat 1% on close, and the result is institutional-grade, delta-neutral yield anyone can access in a single transaction.
🔨 Building Arbor Finance — arborfi.trade (Proof of Concept in progress)
Liam A Faruq
Blockchain & Full Stack Engineer
An enthusiastic, self-motivated, and highly adaptable software engineer with over eight years of experience across traditional finance and Web3, specializing in blockchain protocols, DeFi, and distributed systems. Actively engaged in the Ethereum and Solana ecosystems through ETHGlobal hackathons, SuperteamDAO, and in-person collaborations with leading teams such as Hyperlane (interoperability), Arbitrum (Stylus), and core DeFi protocol builders.
Experienced in developing smart contracts with Solidity and Anchor (Rust), as well as full-stack dApps using Next.js, Spring Boot, and modern cloud-native tooling. Demonstrates strong problem-solving ability, effective cross-team collaboration, and a deep understanding of emerging blockchain technologies and ecosystem-level advancements.
Showcase
Smart Contract Development
Expert in Solidity and Rust (Anchor) for building secure and efficient smart contracts
DeFi Integration
Experience with major DeFi protocols and DEX integrations
Full Stack dApps
Building complete decentralized applications with modern web technologies
Hackathon Gallery
A collection of moments from various hackathons, including presentations, team collaborations, and recognition for our innovative projects.
ETH New York Presentation
Presenting our project at ETH New York
ETH New York
ETH Dublin Presentation
Presenting our project at ETH Dublin
ETH Dublin
Encode London
Presenting our project at Encode London
Encode LondonPartners & Sponsors
Contact
Professional Experience
Blockchain Developer Solana/Ethereum, Freelance
- Building Fullstack Solana/EVM Dapps with Anchor rust, foundry solidity, nextjs, nestjs, Web3js Viem and typescript
- Integrating with DEXs and DeFi protocols for building performant grpc backends (Jupiter, Uniswap, Drift, Pyth)
- Designing and deploying smart contracts on solana and ethereum for GameFi with auditing completion to mainnet
Senior Full Software Engineer, Caplin Systems
- Developing FX/Commodity Trading tools in spring boot kotlin and react redux for clients such as Westpac, FifthThird and Santader
- Created a reactive kotlin spring boot microservice to handle settlement Instructions for commodities with coroutines
- Enhanced UI Pricing utilities such as swap ladders, tiles and price feeds using react redux typescript
Full Software Engineer, Deko Pay Ltd, London
- Full Stack development to integrate new lenders (ie BNPP) into a retail brokerage platform for Buy now Pay later
- Creating new frontend wallet widgets (Typescript, React, Redux, Story book) for merchants websites
- Designing and developing public and internal restful apis with Spring Cloud Gateway, Spring MVC, Swagger V3
- Building persistence microservices with JPA/Hibernate/QueryDSL/Flyway Postgresql, Redis caching, Java 17
Associate Software Engineer, Rates Pricing, JP Morgan Chase, London
- Developed and enhanced a Rates pre-trade pricing application in core Java 8/11 with concurrency
- Migrated and modernized microservices into private cloud using Spring boot/integration, Kubernetes, Cloud Foundry, Jenkins
- Designed and implemented an OOP solution for financial messaging (OIS/IRS/Swaptions/Midcurves) using FIX/FPML
- Created abstract layers for Non-linear products to cater for JP Morgan's standard on FPML/FIX messaging
- Designed and implemented a cloud solution with Kubernetes and Cloud Foundry for a User RBAC Registry System
- Re-designed REST webservices in Spring Boot/Spring Integration/Spring Security with ADFS Authentication
- Recreated user portal from JSP to React JS with additional roles, permissions, and security on pricing features
Associate Developer, Data Services, Natwest Markets, London
- Built trade event feeds, batch processing, and aggregations using Guice, MongoDB, Zookeeper, Flink, and Kafka
- Fixed real-time bugs and wrote regression tests using Mockito, Hamcrest, and JUnit4
Graduate Developer, Data Services, Royal Bank of Scotland, London
- Automated the production of KPI data through PowerShell, Bash, Python, SQL*Plus, and PL/SQL scripts
- Designed and troubleshooted Java ODC API cache queries for fetching various MTM Data to meet regulations
Technical Skills
Blockchain
- Solidity
- Rust (Anchor)
- Ethereum
- Solana
- DeFi Protocols
- Web3.js / Ethers.js
Frontend
- React
- Next.js
- TypeScript
- Redux
- HTML/CSS
Backend
- Java/Kotlin
- Spring Boot
- Node.js
- PostgreSQL
- MongoDB
- Redis
DevOps
- Kubernetes
- Docker
- AWS
- Jenkins
- Git
- Linux/Unix
Hackathon Achievements
EthParis 2023 (SITA)
Recognition: https://ethglobal.co/showcase/sita-tsmvv
GitHub: https://github.com/EGP-2023/SITA
Description: An Agricultural Lending platform, Tailored credit lines for farmers using real-time soil insights from IoT & satellite tech.
Sponsors: Polygon, Worldcoin, Biconomy, Walletconnect, Chainlink, Airstack
Tech Stack: Solidity, JS/TS, React.js, Next.js, Hardhat, Chainlink functions, Biconomy AA
Prizes: Worldcoin — Most Creative, Polygon — Best Public Good with Account Abstraction
EthNYC 2023 (F.A.S.T)
Recognition: https://ethglobal.com/showcase/f-a-s-t-1ian9
GitHub: https://github.com/SwineCoder101/FAST-ETH-NYC
Description: The fastest way to use the blockchain to interact between 2 users. Take a picture of yourself to sign up, and then snap a picture with someone else, to then interact with their address seamlessly.
Sponsors: Safe, Gnosis, Arbitrum, Polygon, Linea, XDC
Tech Stack: Telegram, Safe SDK, Node.js, TypeScript, Python, AWS Lambda, Facial recognition
Prizes: ETHGlobal New York 2023 Finalist, XDC Foundation — Best Attendance, Linea — Deploy on Linea, Safe — Best Use of AA SDK, Polygon — Best Public Good
EthOnline 2023 (Enigma)
Recognition: https://ethglobal.com/showcase/enigma-q84ek
GitHub: https://github.com/AlexisBalayre/enigma
Description: Enigma introduces the Secret NFTs standard: a unique dual URI approach. Each NFT showcases a public and a private layer. Only owners have full access. From art to memberships, prioritizing privacy in the digital domain is paramount.
Sponsors: Lit Protocol, The Graph, Scroll
Tech Stack: Solidity, JS/TS, Vue, Next.js, Lit Encryption
Prizes: The Graph — Best New Subgraph or Substream, Scroll — Pool Prize
EthLondon 2023 (Chatchampions)
Recognition: https://www.blog.encode.club/eth-london-hackathon-prizewinners-and-summary-85cdff4d093d
GitHub: https://github.com/SwineCoder101/chatchampion
Description: An engaging Telegram community where you can earn tokens by chatting, engaging with communities, and sharing your humor through jokes. This is Achieved via an AI bot
Sponsors: Flock.io, Etherspot, Flare, Gateway FM
Tech Stack: Telegram, Node.js, React.js, Ethers.js, Foundry, Etherspot, Flare, ChatGPT AI
Prizes: Flock AIxWeb3 Tool, Flare Open Track, Gateway.fm Bounty Winner
EthLisbon 2023 (Chatchampions v2)
Recognition: https://taikai.network/ethlisbon/hackathons/ethlisbon-2023/projects/clolbsa6w07k6vm01mybyr0p8/idea
GitHub: https://github.com/SwineCoder101/chatchampion-v2
Description: An engaging Telegram community where you can earn tokens by chatting, engaging with communities, and sharing your humor through jokes. This is Achieved via an AI bot
Sponsors: Wallet Connect, Gnosis, Polygon ZKEvm
Tech Stack: Telegram, Node.js, React.js, Ethers.js, Walletconnect, Foundry, ChatGPT AI
Prizes: Wallet Connect
ZKHack Istanbul (Privacy Pledge)
Recognition: https://devfolio.co/projects/privacy-pledge-5c3d
GitHub: https://github.com/SwineCoder101/privacy-pledge
Description: Empowering Investments with anonymity and influence, an innovative crowd-funding platform designed to revolutionize the way investors engage with mutual funds.
Sponsors: O1js/Mina
Tech Stack: ZK, o1js, TypeScript/JavaScript, Next.js
Prizes: O1js - pool prize
EthIstanbul 2023 (Social Weaver)
Recognition: https://ethglobal.com/showcase/social-weaver-ce2pu
GitHub: https://github.com/SwineCoder101/social-weaver
Description: A web3 lookup directory against twitter handles, built on Celo
Sponsors: CELO
Tech Stack: Celo compose, Social Connect, Twitter, React.js, Next.js, Ethers.js
Prizes:
LFGHO 2024 Jan (LoGHO)
Recognition: https://ethglobal.com/showcase/logho-98z83
GitHub: https://github.com/chetanyb/loGHO
Description: Revolutionizing crypto access with no on-ramp fees, free GHO minting, and 1:1 USD-based stablecoin mint value. Enjoy easy GHO onboarding, liquidity benefits, and governance incentives.
Sponsors: AAVE, Family Wallet
Tech Stack: Scaffold, Next.js, React.js, Web3.js, Ethers.js, Solidity, Foundry, AAVE
Prizes: Family - Pool Prize
EthOxford 2024 (StealthFolio)
Recognition: https://taikai.network/home-dao/hackathons/ethoxford/projects/cltlrnyef05nry50109dixjur/idea
GitHub: https://github.com/SwineCoder101/stealthfolio
Description: StealthFolio is a private ZK swap management tool for traders and investors. Leveraging Solana, Jupiter, and Light protocol to build fast swaps with the option to conceal identity on certain trades.
Sponsors: Solana
Tech Stack: Next.js, Web3.js, Node.js, Jupiter, ZKLight
Prizes: Solana first prize
EthLondon 2024 (MysticDEX)
Recognition: https://ethglobal.com/showcase/mystic-dex-me14f
GitHub: https://github.com/SwineCoder101/MysticDex
Description: Allow verified humans to perform encrypted trades and retain privacy from any source chain.
Sponsors: Hyperlane, Nethermind, Fhenix, Worldcoin, Base, Circle
Tech Stack: Ethereum, Next.js, Ethers.js, Solidity, Foundry
Prizes: Hyperlane - Best Permissionless Use of Hyperlane, Nethermind - Institutional Blockchain Solutions, Worldcoin - Pool Prize, Fhenix - Best use of Fhenix Stack 3rd place
EthBrussels 2024 (Net Zero)
Recognition: https://ethglobal.com/showcase/net-zero-msor7
GitHub: https://github.com/NetZero-Brussels/NetZero
Description: Engaging Communities to Combat Climate Change with Transparency and Ease
Sponsors: Flare, Celo, Hyperlane, Arbitrum, Blockscout
Tech Stack: Ethereum, Next.js, Ethers.js, Solidity, Foundry, Rust
Prizes: Flare Network - Most Innovative Application using Flare's Data Protocols 2nd place, Celo - Best dApps Built for MiniPay 1st place, Hyperlane - Best Use of Hyperlane, Arbitrum - Stylus Project 3rd place, Blockscout - Best use of Blockscout Block Explorer
EthBangkok 2024 (GateSync)
Recognition: https://ethglobal.com/showcase/gatesync-wif1z
GitHub: https://github.com/SwineCoder101/GateSync
Description: Crosschain token gating between solana and evm
Sponsors: Rome Protocol, Neon EVM, Privy
Tech Stack: Ethereum, Next.js, Ethers.js, Solidity, Foundry, Rust, anchor
Prizes: Rome Protocol - Best Use of Rome Protocol 3rd place, Neon EVM - Neon EVM-Optimized Protocols and Apps 3rd place
Education
MEng Electronics and Computer Engineering (2.1)
University of Nottingham (2011 - 2015)
Sponsored by Siemens plc
Certifications
2023
Encode club Zero Knowledge
Encode club Advanced Solidity Programming
2021
CKAD Certified Kubernetes Application Developer
Cloud Native Computing Foundation
2018
M101J MongoDB for Java Developers
MongoDB University
2016
Lean Management
Cardiff University