About
Crypto is hard. I have been full-time in crypto for over 7 years. I gained valuable insights with my journey. I have been involved in innovative projects such as Fantom, Elrond, Cosmos, IOTX and REN for the past years. I have contributed to the open data community and worked with Australian & UAE regulators (ASIC, DIFC, ADGM) to legalize DAO & smart contract framework in 2019.
I got into crypto & blockchain in 2015 during an Ethereum meetup in Sydney. I was drawn into decentralization ideology and self-sovereignty. I started running Bitcoin meetups in Wollongong before I started my first blockchain startup.
I’m currently working on L3Atom Protocol & Deeplink. L3Atom is a petabyte-scale Open Data Initiative for crypto and Web 3.0, allowing everyone to have access to quality immutable data for free, forever. Information asymmetry has demonstrated social inequality, scandals, polarization, and corruption have even sometimes led to war. With an enormous amount of concentrated data and information, surveillance capitalism has come to shape politics and culture. Our mission is to address the information asymmetry in Web 3.0 by democratizing data.
L3Atom Protocol is designed to collect, cryptographically store, process, stream data, and run queries for free to anyone from anywhere. It stores billions of the world’s crypto and Web 3.0 data points, transactions, and historical records allowing anyone to access data without having any intervention, interference, or influence over regulations, governments, and corporations, including the creators themselves. L3Atom Protocol, by design, has no single authority that can alter its data, how the information is distributed or controlled, or who can see what and when. The infrastructure is open-source and governed by an open-source community. Building Open Data Protocols and Infrastructures will not only open doors for new industries and exponential growth in web3, but it will also help to legitimize the industry. I believe access to quality, unedited information, is a fundamental right, and you should NOT have to pay for it. The current L3Atom Infrastructure (v3) covers approximately 70% of the entire crypto and Web 3.0 transactions today. We are collecting between 0.8-2.5 terabytes of data per day, and we estimate that we will soon reach the petabyte scale.
Deeplink aims to introduce big data, on-chain data query, machine learning, and analytics into smart contracts. Our main product under Deeplink is Eta X. Building an unbiased DeFi Smart Order router & search engine for DeFi pools without attaching to a token or a liquidity pool.
Projects
2021 - Present | Founder at L3Atom
Ashton launched the world's first open-source crypto data initiative in 2021, called Project L3Atom. L3Atom is an ambitious project to solve one of the biggest problems in the crypto industry, the unreliable and noisy data problem. L3Atom recreates the clean L3 order book from its atomic structure in real-time, enabling a new generation of quantitative finance and algorithm trading in financial engineering applications. Moreover, the historical and live data provided by L3Atom are free for everyone.
2020 - Present | Founder at Deeplink
Ashton launched an Ethereum-based deep-learning protocol called Deeplink in 2020, which allows blockchains to maintain Large Neural Networks on-chain while introducing programmability, machine learning, and off-chain data science into the blockchain. It will be the first of its kind, offering on-chain neural networks and dev-ops for countless applications. With an SDK, developers can integrate powerful deep-learning tools located on-chain into their smart contracts, providing the perks of deep learning without relying on any centralized authority, and making their products more innovative and safer.
Sep 2019 - Present | CEO & Product Architect at GDA Fund
In 2019, Ashton founded GDA Fund. It is previously known as Blockchain Partners Holdings, a 7 years-old leading crypto research & technology firm out of New York and Sydney. It is a team of experienced engineers, product owners, data scientists, quants, and financial mathematicians. GDA Fund launched the world’s first open web3 data initiative in 2021, Project L3Atom.
2019 - 2019 | Partner at Global Digital Assets Corporation
Ashton became part of GDAC or Global Digital Assets Corporation as CEO. It introduces DLT or Distributed Ledgers Technologies into the public sector. The Dubai government appointed GDAC to lead the largest blockchain initiative, Dubai Foresight Initiative, in 2020.
Elrond Blockchain signed an agreement with GDAC and also the following companies: Quanstamp, Object Computing, LTO Network, IOST, Elrond, Ren, Iotex, Strategy of Things, Aeroid, Insolar, Emblematic, IIot World, Pymetrics, Leben Care, Jelurida, iExec, Altris, and Fractonium.
Jul 2019 - Present | Advisor and Committee Member for Smart Cities at Standard Australia
Ashton joined Standard Australia for Smart Cities in 2019 as an advisor and committee member. Standards Australia is an independent, non-profit organization recognized by the Australian Government as the peak body for non-government standards. Smart Cities’ goal is to improve the quality of life for citizens by leveraging smart technologies and analyzing data while optimizing city functions and promoting economic growth.
Jan 2018 - Oct 2019 | Advisor & Head of Innovation at Fantom Foundation
Ashton initiated the Fantom Innovation Labs, which focuses on use-case studies and smart city pilots, which have accomplished a lot in providing strong business development connections and getting the word out about Fantom to institutions to improve efficiency.
2016 - 2016 | Service Design Advisor at Sydney Airport
Ashton worked briefly with Sydney Airport to design and improve the relationship between service suppliers and clients, which allows for providing top-quality service to clients.
Nov 2016 - Present | CEO (Blockchain Technology) at Blockchain Partners Holdings
In 2016, Ashton became the CEO of Blockchain Partners Holdings. It is an Australian leading crypto assets research, advisory, and technology firm, applying professional trading, investing portfolio management, and R&D to an emerging digital asset class.
Feb 2014 - Apr 2015 | Founder at Innovate Society
With thriving resources, knowledge, and technology in biotech, Ashton wanted to give himself a tough challenge - one that would require a great deal of effort and could increase human longevity. In 2014, approximately 1,500 patients were awaiting organ transplants in Australia, a massive global issue. In partnership with Wollongong University, they demonstrated the possibility of replicating human tissue production using 3D printing technology in a few months.
2007 - 2011 | CEO at Voxlon Corporation
In 2007, Ashton built the second-largest eCommerce store in Dubai. The company came up with the concept that anything should be delivered within 4 hours. Otherwise, it will be free. It is also the first group buying concept for electronics using coupons where a number of people shall purchase an item at a certain price in a specified time period.
2003 - 2006 | Sales Executive at Sharaf DG
Before opening the 2nd largest e-commerce store in Dubai. He worked at Sharaf DG for three years and gained extensive sales experience.
1999 - 2000 | Founder at MandakiniFM
මන්දාකිනි “Mandakini” (English Translate- Galaxy) FM was a commercial-free youth radio channel in Kandy’s region (Sri Lanka). During the political suppression in Sri Lanka in the late 90s, certain areas of Sri Lanka were banned from listening to pop culture. So, out of frustration at 16, Ashton built an unregistered FM station.
Dr. Booth (2004)
Dr. Booth is a Mobile Medicare Unit with an automated low-frequency communication system. This was created during the 2004 tsunami when people didn’t have transportation, food, medicine, and communication for a day. Ashton installed a landline using car batteries and antennas. It had a medicine box and served as a communication channel that helped people stuck in small villages communicate with their loved ones, call for medical help, and evacuate.
Smart Traffic Lights (2000)
Smart Traffic Lights consist of pairs of photosensors and logic circuits designed with Boolean logic to help local Sri Lanka police to manage intersection control traffic. It is designed to track how many are on the road to determine which side has more cars to prioritize. There are sensors that are connected to traffic lights to assess which lane to go first.
Digital Astrology Watch (2000)
The Astrology watch predicts your future based on the principles of Astrology. With your birthday, month, and time, it calculates your planets and gives you astrological predictions. The details were encoded into the watch using LED diodes, the same as the outputs.
Voice-Controlled House: Smart House (1999)
Ashton created a system to control his house's equipment, doors, and lights via voice commands whenever he was inside the house. Three pairs of photosensors are embedded inside and outside the door, placed at a specific height parallel to his body build. The additional security feature is an early version of the secret bracelet he wears to send a signal to another pair of photosensors hidden at a specific height of the door.
Low-Cost FM/AM Wool Cone Microphone (1998)
Wool Cone Microphone is a low-cost FM microphone made of wool cones. Ashton's school hall was so big having only one microphone for big occasions, Ashton made a microphone from wool cones he got from his uncle's cone thread factory. He sold these microphones at a low cost. The cone microphones had built-in battery compartments and worked fine.
Inventions
Lodge, J. (2022, Oct 12). Impermanent Loss.ipynb.
Hettiarachi, A. (2022, Aug 24). Execution Engines.
Taylor, J. (2022, Aug 3). ProjectX IDE Proof of Concept.
Hettiarachi, A. (2022, Jul 17). Applying Deep Learning to Ethereum.
Hettiarachi, A. & Maynoor, T. (2022, Jun 27). Deep-dive: Deep Learning Applications in Decentralized Exchanges.
Taylor, J. (2022, Jun 24). GraphQL On L3Atom.
Hettiarachi, A. & Taylor, J. (2022, Jun 11). L3Atom Technical Overview.
Taylor, J. (2022, May 7). 2 More Useful Metrics For Algorithmic Traders, Week 4.
Taylor, J. & Tang, R. (2022, Apr 26). 4 Useful Metrics for Algorithmic Traders, Week 4.
Taylor, J. & Tang, R. (2022, Apr 20). 4 Metrics for Algorithmic Traders, Week 2.
Taylor, J. & Tang, R. (2022, Apr 20). 4 Useful Metrics for Algorithmic Traders, Week 3.
Taylor, J. & Tang, R. (2022, Apr 20). 4 Useful Metrics for Algorithmic Traders.
Stein, G. (2022, Apr 19). An introduction to the possibilities with Deeplink.
Stein, G. (2022, Apr 13). Deeplink: Making Blockchain Smarter and Safer.
Hettiarachi, A. et al (2022, Apr 4). Quick Start — L3Atom MVP v1.0.
Hettiarachi, A. et al (2022, Mar 23). L3Atom V2 Release.
Hettiarachi, A., et al (2022, Feb 7). Evaluation of Confusing Web 3.0 Metrics.
Hettiarachi, A. et al (2022, Feb 2). L3Atom Demo Day
Hettiarachi, A., et al (2022, Jan 24). Metrics for Evaluating Web 3.0: A Deep Dive Into Shitcoin Noise vs. Innovative Economical Models and Cutting-Edge Tokenomics Models.
Hettiarachi, A., et al (2022, Jan 19). Project Fusion.
Hettiarachi, A. (2022, Jan 11). GDA’s Mini-Hackathon Recap.
Hettiarachi, A. & Mashood, R. (2022, Jan 11). High-frequency trading (HFT) Predators.
Hettiarachi, A. (2021, Dec 23). DAY 01 — Data Science Hackathon (22-Dec to 24-Dec).
Hettiarachi, A. & Mashood, R. (2021, Dec 23). Massive efficiency and adaptability gains by using neuromorphic computing in Project L3Atom.
Hettiarachi, A. & Mashood, R. (2021, Dec 18). Market making mathematical modelling & Project L3Atomic design principles.
Hettiarachi, A. (2021, Dec 15). GDA Hackathon for Advanced Crypto Trading Technologies.
Hettiarachi, A. & Mashood, R. (2021, Dec 15). High Performance Computing in HFT (high-frequency trading).
Hettiarachi, A. et al (2021, Dec 10). Project L3Atom.
Hettiarachi, A. (2021, Dec 6). GDA’s novel Automated Chart pattern recognition infrastructure (ACPRI) framework using Deep Learning.
Hettiarachi, A. & Lodge, J. (2021, Nov 24). ACPR: a breakthrough chart pattern recognition tool.
Hettiarachi, A. et al (2021, Nov 24). Removing Noise from Crypto Volume & Liquidity Data (GDA Level I — Level III filters and indicators framework).
Mashood, R. (2021, Nov 24). Documentation Video: GDA Data Lake Automated Deployment.
Hettiarachi, A. & Godfrey, W. (2021, Nov 22). Addressing some of the biggest data problems in crypto.
Hettiarachi, A. (2021, Nov 22). GDA’s Next-Gen Strategy Testing Environment.
Lodge, J. & Hettiarachi, A. (2021, Nov 12). How Decentralized Autonomous Organizations Leverage Nature’s Complexity Engine.
Hettiarachi, A. & Mashood, R. (2021, Nov 12). Gap Analysis: Trade Execution for Cryptocurrency High-Frequency Trading.
Grigoryan, H. (2021, Nov 12). Documentation Video: New Dashboard for Data Feeds.
Grigoryan, H. (2021, Nov 10). Documentation Video: Bybit Orderbook Cloudwatch Dashboard.
Hettiarachi, A. et al (2021, Nov 8). Research Sprint: Hummingbot.
Hettiarachi, A. & Mashood, R. (2021, Oct 20). A Look into Machine Learning for Technical Analysis.
Hettiarachi, A. (2021, Sep 6). Rarity Gold.
Ashton Hettirachi & Stein, G. (2021, Aug 6). Middleware Solutions for the Ethereum Blockchain.
Hettiarachi, A. & Dimovski, C. (2021, Aug 6). Chainlink: Cryptocurrency’s best shot at making DeFi mainstream.
Girimath, A. (2020, Jul 8). Bitcoin Market Update.
Hettiarachi, A. & Girimath, A. (2020, Jun 29). The connection between Bitcoin spot and CME futures: Where is Bitcoin headed?
Hettiarachi, A. & Girimath, A. (2020, Jun 16). Bitcoin Market Update — Price forecast.
Hettiarachi, A. & Girimath, A. (2020, Jun 9). What Bitcoin’s recent difficulty adjustment means for the price?
Hettiarachi, A. & Girimath, A. (2020, Jun 4). Bitcoin Blockchain gets congested, again.
Hettiarachi, A. & Girimath, A. (2020, May 21). Bitcoin’s third halving is done, what now?
Hettiarachi, A. (2020, May 10). Foresight Initiative 2020 | GDAC.
Hettiarachi, A. & Girimath, A. (2020, May 8). Is Bitcoin Still a Safe Haven Asset?
Hettiarachi, A. (2020, May 2). Artificial Intelligence Versus Covid-19: The Digital Defense.
Hettiarachi, A. (2020, May 1). Deconstructing the Mystery Behind Yesterday’s Pump.
Hettiarachi, A. (2020, May 1). Dubai Blockchain: Elrond & GDA Corporation Exploring Fast Payments & Smart Contract Frameworks.
Hettiarachi, A. (2020, Apr 29). The Internet of Things Versus Covid-19.
Hettiarachi, A. (2020, Apr 27). Industry 4.0: China’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Begins Testing.
Girimath, A. (2020, Apr 26). Oil Prices, Dow Jones and what the future holds.
Hettiarachi, A. (2020, Apr 25). The Curious Case of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Adoption in China.
Hettiarachi, A. (2020, Apr 24). Bitcoin Market Update — April 2020.
Hettiarachi, A. (2020, Apr 16). Will Bitcoin’s third halving follow cues from other PoW coins?
Hettiarachi, A. (2020, Apr 11). Preparing a Portfolio for Climate Change.
Hettiarachi, A. (2020, Apr 10). Industry 4.0: A Global Evolution.
Hettiarachi, A. (2020, Apr 8). Emerging Markets.
Hettiarachi, A. (2020, Apr 8). GDAC Appointment by Dubai Future Council on Blockchain for Dubai Future Foresight Initiative.
Hettiarachi, A. (2020, Apr 2). DeFi, Ready for the World?
Hettiarachi, A. (2020, Apr 1). How will Bitcoin react to the next recession?
Girimath, A. (2020, Mar 29). Cryptocurrency Act of 2020 & India lifts two-year ban.
Hettiarachi, A. (2020, Mar 27). Stablecoins are the Backbone of DeFi.
Hettiarachi, A. (2019, Oct 7). Dubai To Transform by 2021: Smart Cities Envisaging Opportunities for Innovation.
Hettiarachi, A. (2019, Jul 10). Dubai Expo 2020 To Transform the Emirates As The Largest MarketPlace For Introducing Smart Tech.
Fantom Foundation (2019, May 24). The Fantom Dubai Recap.
Hettiarachi, A. (2019, Mar 21). Innovation sets institutional funds in motion.
Hettiarachi, A. (2019, Mar 20). Crypto Outlook 2019.
Hettiarachi, A. (2019, Mar 20). Cryptocurrency Market Growth, Analysis.
Hettiarachi, A. (2019, Mar 5). Fantom Confidential — 6. Korean Market Key Learnings — Jan 2019 Research Report.
Hettiarachi, A. (2019, Feb 27). Fantom Confidential — 4. Fantom Pay — Innovation Progress Report.
Hettiarachi, A. (2019, Feb 19). Fantom Confidential — 2. Fantom Pay Analysis 21122018 -v002.
Hettiarachi, A. (2019, Feb 15). Fantom Confidential — 1. Fantom Pay Product & Business Development Road Map.
Hettiarachi, A. (2017, Jul 26). Make a mess with MongoDB.
Hettiarachi, A. (2015, Sep 16). Cryptocurrency Market Growth, Analysis.
Hettiarachi, A. (2015, Sep 16). 30 minute gamer.
Publications
Volunteering
Dec 2004 - Jun 2005 | Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
A wide range of medical issues is treated by MSF teams, ranging from disease outbreaks to malnutrition to wounds suffered from war zones putting decades of experience to work in order to produce groundbreaking medical research.
Jan 2004 - Mar 2005 | Volunteer/Emergency Service Assistance at Sri Lanka Army
In 2004, the main coastal highway in the south of Sri Lanka was closed after the tsunami, delaying relief supplies. To help the Sri Lanka Army, Ashton invented Dr. Booth, a Mobile Medicare Unit equipped with an automated system for delivering medicine and a low-frequency communication system for patients. This invention helped a lot of people to contact not only their families but also to get medical help.
He and the others have to set up a hut to shelter 200-300 people on the ground. They cooked food for them while others were building Dr. Booths and delivered it by boat to the affected villages near the water.