ppoliani

Define and own the technical vision for Raycash — a privacy-first fintech platform combining self-custody blockchain technology with traditional banking products (IBAN, virtual debit card, instant global transfers). Designed and built the entire Rust back-end from the ground up: a Cargo workspace of microservices covering HTTP APIs, blockchain indexers, async queue consumers, real-time WebSocket delivery, and scheduled cron jobs. Implemented confidential token transfer infrastructure using Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), keeping on-chain balances and amounts encrypted at all times while remaining auditable for compliance purposes. Architected a multi-stage AML/KYT compliance pipeline: counterfactual deposit indexer routes ERC-20 transfers through Elliptic transaction risk scoring and ChainAnalysis address screening before funds are wrapped. Integrated KYC onboarding with Wirex/SumSub — covering identity verification, webhook handling, OTP phone confirmation, and status reconciliation flows. Built Wirex managed-flow payment processing: webhook receiver, card transaction lifecycle management, and on-chain settlement via a transaction relayer enabling gasless user flows. Designed and deployed a real-time WebSocket server for in-app push notifications, backed by a queue-driven notification centre. Shipped a fiat on-ramp integration, FUSD balance reconciliation service, and FHE-based balance decryption worker. Established engineering practices, code review standards, CI/CD pipelines, and observability stack (Prometheus + Grafana) across the platform. Designed and launched confidential yield vaults: users shield USDC into FHE-encrypted cUSDC in a single transaction, deposit into a Morpho-backed lending vault, and earn yield — all with balances, amounts, and positions kept encrypted on-chain while remaining auditable for compliance.

Collaborated on the architecture of a permissioned liquid staking protocol on Solana, working directly with the Solana Foundation throughout the engagement. Forked and extended the official SPL Stake Pool smart contract to support permissioned allowlist-controlled user interactions. Mentored a team with limited Solana ecosystem knowledge, accelerating delivery under a tight deadline.

Led a team of smart contract developers building a Solana-native bonding curve mechanism for AI-generated NFT sales. Designed and built a Rust-based Solana blockchain indexer and a Rust API layer to serve structured data to the front-end. Defined architecture and implementation plans across multiple product workstreams.

Founded and led a blockchain consultancy that delivered 100+ projects for startups across DeFi, NFT, infrastructure, and enterprise blockchain. Authored and deployed smart contracts across Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Avalanche, BNB Chain, Solana, Sui, and Aptos — collectively handling hundreds of millions of dollars in volume. Integrated multiple cryptocurrencies into the NGRAVE hardware wallet product. Built a custom Cosmos SDK blockchain for MPC operations underpinning a self-custody wallet solution. Developed Zero-Knowledge circuits comparable to Semaphore and Tornado Cash in scope. Created production blockchain indexing services using The Graph and StreamingFast Substreams. Organised and managed a team of full-stack blockchain, web, and mobile engineers.

Sole technical owner of a blockchain loyalty platform: designed and built back-end services, REST APIs, web dashboards, and a React Native mobile app. Authored an on-chain loyalty rewards protocol and smart contracts managing the full token lifecycle. Designed a custom Shopify plugin enabling store owners to launch blockchain-based loyalty programmes. Built SDK integrations allowing third-party platforms to connect to the Earth Rewards loyalty network.

Created the Transfer Checkpoint Layer (TCL) — a blockchain compliance protocol that orchestrates dynamic, upgradeable rules governing the validity of every Security Token ownership transaction. Designed and developed the Dappflow Cabinet: a tokenization platform automating the full lifecycle of Security Tokens using on-chain compliance and identity protocols. Built a one-click DApp deployment and interaction platform lowering the barrier to blockchain adoption for developers. Managed a team of engineers, running sprint planning and delivery across the product.

Created and deployed the EPT ERC-20 token, token vesting contracts, and investor distribution tooling. Implemented a custom web-based Ethereum multisig wallet and CLI tools for internal developer use.

Built and maintained the DB JavaScript SDK, adopted by multiple internal development teams across the bank. Designed and implemented automated trading tools for DB traders to interact with counterparties via Symphony and Bloomberg APIs. Led POC projects in ML-based fraud detection and Hyperledger consortium blockchain integrations. Created cross-platform UI component libraries for React and React Native.

Owned the online banking statements platform across Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland, managing a full ownership transfer and knowledge transition from the previous team. Migrated a legacy Flux-based data flow to a centralised Redux state management architecture. Sat on the LBG Frontend Guild governing body, defining standards and good practices adopted across the digital transformation department. Mentored junior and senior engineers; built a scaffolding tool to accelerate project bootstrapping across LBG teams.

Built and maintained a custom CMS for managing NowTV content on the MEAN stack (Angular, MongoDB, Node.js). Resolved front-end and back-end performance bottlenecks; contributed to shared npm packages used across Sky engineering teams.

Designed and built the SBS data-collection web app from scratch (6 months, greenfield), transforming how football watchers capture match data — React, RxJS, Scala, Thrift. Designed and built the Supervisor real-time monitoring system (4 months, greenfield): Node.js middleware, API gateway, Scala services, React/Redux/WebSocket frontend in TypeScript.

Led front-end development for a Data Hub platform and a product-mapping automation tool using AngularJS, ReactJS, and C# APIs. Implemented thegrocer.co.uk widgets as lead front-end engineer.

Redeveloped the company's flagship warehouse simulation desktop app (CLASS) into a web application using KnockoutJS, DurandalJS, and D3.js. Designed and implemented the security infrastructure for the company's web applications using .NET WIF.