Steve Slayo

Australian · Dubai · builds software

I run Hodl Labs, a Dubai company around the products I ship.

How I got here

2010

At 19 I took part in a protest DDoS against Australian government websites over the proposed internet filter. I pleaded guilty. There was no conviction. I was placed on a good-behaviour bond. That closed off some conventional paths in security, especially government work.
Pharmacy, then out

I chose pharmacy as the safer path, then left in 2017 before finishing the degree and went into software without a computer-science credential. I wrote about that decision.
Abachi

A DeFi credit experiment. While implementing OlympusDAO’s rebase model we found a bug, disclosed it, and the protocol added a bounty tier around that class of report. The project was later wound down and treasury returned to holders.
2025 · ReachMe

Pay-to-reach product, built with YZi Labs. Over 4,000 crypto KOLs. Later archived. Fastest thing I have helped ship. The useful lesson was about distribution, not payments.
Now

CryptoStat, TraceDart, and stdpush are live. Privage is the current product: chat and an economy in one place. Hodl Labs is the company those sit in. The FZCO was formed in 2024; some of the work is older.

Built with YZi Labs in two weeks. Over 4,000 crypto KOLs. Later archived.

Responsible disclosure of a rebase bug. OIP-77. White-hat NFT. Then an orderly wind-down.

What I am building now: chat, voice, and an on-chain economy in one app.