At the tail end of 2023, I was afforded the opportunity to join Placeholder as a research analyst on the investment team. Being a semester away from receiving my engineering degree from UC Berkeley, I’ve decided to complete it while starting in a part-time capacity. Upon graduating, I’ll be moving to New York and joining Placeholder full-time. I’m excited to introduce myself!
I’ll be supporting the team on investment due diligence and research, while getting to know the broader crypto ecosystem in the Bay Area, New York City, and around the world.
I’ve been fortunate to learn through diverse work and research experiences. I was first introduced to the startup world in high school as I launched a coffee-grounds-repurposing startup after being inspired by Vienna’s circular economic models, as demonstrated in their storied coffee houses. After moving on from this venture and starting university, I developed my blockchain knowledge through Blockchain@Berkeley, a student-run organization at UC Berkeley focused on blockchain innovation.
Being involved with Blockchain@Berkeley has been instrumental in my development as I explored the depths of mechanism design and game theory in relation to DeFi protocols and foundational crypto infrastructure. I’ve also explored the relationship between traditional and decentralized finance while learning how to diligence innovative founders and startups through the Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator. Entering my final semester at Berkeley, I’m grateful to give back to the organization by serving as a co-president.
At Placeholder, I hope to relate the blockchain revolution to historical technological trends as I explore how the methods of past technological evolutions are mirrored (and can be utilized) within this cycle. More specifically, I’ll be focusing my research interests on exploring the Institutional DeFi stack, the development of on-chain treasuries, and the modular vs. monolithic debate. I’ll also start tackling the intersection of game-theoretic auction design, consensus, and MEV, while researching LVR mitigation and methods that increase LP profitability, especially with the imminent launch of Uniswap v4. On top of all of this interesting work, I’ll keep in touch with my engineering roots as I explore zk-enabled tech (everything from zkVMs to zkApps, and more) as applied research and applications catch up to the theoretical use cases being explored.
All in all, I’m incredibly excited to join the team and continue contributing to this space. Feel free to reach out to me if you’re building or want to bounce around some interesting research ideas!