Block#21,847,392USC · Spring 2026
✦Protocol Research✦Venture Building✦On-Chain Engineering

Pioneering theFuture of

USC's premier student-led organization for blockchain research, rigorous protocol analysis, and accelerating Web3 founders.

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VanEcka16zSolanaOptimismSuperscryptDorm DAOSUIAptosAVA LabsAkashKinexys by JPMCCircleVanEcka16zSolanaOptimismSuperscryptDorm DAOSUIAptosAVA LabsAkashKinexys by JPMCCircle
● 01 / RESEARCH

Protocol-Grade Research

Deep technical analysis of the protocols, primitives, and design patterns shaping the next era of on-chain systems.

social-mediaApr 30, 2026

Making Web3 Social

Over the past few months, I've been reflecting on how often I turn to social media when I want to learn something new or connect with people around me. Social media has become an integral part of…

Shriya Upadhyay

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Oct 29, 2025

Unichain Incentive Analysis

Authors: Sebastian Sampedro, Nitzan Saar, Federico Becerra Written on 25 February 2025 Introduction Uniswap Labs is one of the leaders in Decentralized Finance (DeFi). Uniswap is one of the most…

Nitzan Saar

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optimismSep 10, 2025

Incentive Impact Analysis: Velodrome

Authors: Rishab Rai, Mikey Chai, David Zhou, Eric Feng Incentive Impact Analysis: Velodrome Authors: @blockchainatusc @sator @pancakes_mikey @ericf @RSRai Program Information Velodrome Finance Phase…

Rishab S Rai

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distributed-systemsOct 05, 2023

The Fault-Tolerant Consensus Problem and Its Solutions in Blockchains and Distributed Systems

Abstract This essay explores the Byzantine Generals Problem (BGP) and Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT), which are fundamental concepts in blockchain and distributed systems consensus. After detailing…

Giovanni Zaarour

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web3Oct 05, 2023

Web3 Social: Driving New Forms of Identity, Connection & Value Creation

This article was a collaboration between our partner VC, Superscrypt.xyz, and our research team at Blockchain@USC gm At Superscrypt our mission is to support founders and projects that will bring on…

Giovanni Zaarour

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blockchainMar 27, 2023

Deep Dive into Account Abstraction and EIP-4337: Scaling Ethereum UX from 0 to 1

In Web 2.0, if you forget your password you can recover it from a centralized authority. In crypto, if you lose your private key or forget your seed phrase, you lose everything. This is one key…

Giovanni Zaarour

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cryptoNov 29, 2022

In the Re-embedding Moment

Part I: The Re/Dis-embedding Pendulum Special Thanks to @0xthorol for edits The term “market embeddedness” originates in Austro-Hungarian political economist Karl Polanyi’s most famous work dated in…

David Zhou

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psychologyNov 29, 2022

Talking to the Stranger, SBF

Special Thanks for @0xThorol and @Ansen0x for reviews. Unless you live under a bedrock, you have probably heard of the fallout of Sam Bankman-Fried (or SBF) and his crypto exchange FTX. At its peak,…

David Zhou

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avaxNov 22, 2022

Scaling Solutions of Monolithic and Modular Chains

Authors: Felix Chen, Dinesh Kumar Gnanasekaran, Chase Jeter Summary: In this paper we go over how monolithic and modular blockchains, namely Ethereum and Cosmos, approach the problem of scaling.…

Benjamin Chai

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nftNov 14, 2022

How Reddit Created a Successful NFT Project in Crypto Winter — and What it Means for the Web 3…

How Reddit Created a Successful NFT Project in Crypto Winter — and What it Means for the Web 3 Landscape Author: Anjo Cajigal How Reddit Got to Web 3 Ever since its inception in 2005, Reddit was…

Benjamin Chai

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● 02 / ENGINEERING

Build at the Edge

Hands-on workshops and shipped projects: from Solidity fundamentals to ZK proofs

Workshops

BUILD_LOG
Solidity

Build Night 1: Hello World & Counter dApp

Building a Hello World contract in Remix and a full-stack counter dApp deployed to Sepolia using Hardhat, Solidity, and an ethers.js React frontend.

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Solidity

Build Night 2: Crowdfunding dApp

Building a a crowdfunding dApp with launchable campaigns, ETH pledges, and creator claims deployed to Sepolia using Hardhat, Solidity, and an ethers.js React frontend.

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Solidity

Build Night 3: Create your own token!

Hands-on workshop creating your own ERC-20 token with OpenZeppelin: mint, burn, and transfer from a React frontend connected to a contract deployed on Sepolia.

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Solidity

Build Night 4 (HackSC-2024 Workshop): Voting dApp

Build a decentralized voting app on Ethereum using Solidity, Hardhat, and React.

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● 03 / EVENTS

On the Calendar

Workshops, speaker series, hackathons, and community nights all open to the entire USC community.

MAR 26

Akash Build Night @ USC

USC Campus/Thursday, March 26

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APR 22

Southern California Blockchain Conference Day 1

USC Campus/Wednesday, April 22

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APR 23

Southern California Blockchain Conference Day 2

USC Campus/Thursday, April 23

Register→
● 04 / TEAM

Core Contributors

The students driving research, engineering, and community at Blockchain@USC.

Noah Neri

Noah Neri

Co-President

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Rishab Rai

Rishab Rai

Co-President

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Shriya Upadhyay

Shriya Upadhyay

Director of Engineering

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Alp Guneri

Alp Guneri

Director of Governance/On-Chain Consulting

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Sebastian Sampedro

Sebastian Sampedro

Director of Research/Investments

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Alon Mutter

Alon Mutter

Director of Marketing

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Melanie Aguirre

Melanie Aguirre

Director of Recruitment

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Abba Wada

Abba Wada

Treasurer

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Melanie Rosas

Melanie Rosas

Director of Community

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Hersh Joshi

Hersh Joshi

Director of Events

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Nitzan Saar

Nitzan Saar

Director of Partnerships

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