I'm Matt Lovan, a full-stack engineer building composable incentive structures that shape real-world user behavior. I work across the entire stack—from Solidity smart contracts and blockchain infrastructure to TypeScript applications, Node.js backends, Docker deployments, and everything in between.
I design and implement economic incentive systems that directly impact how users interact with products and communities. My work combines Solidity development with full-stack engineering and applied mechanism design to create tangible value—turning users into growth engines, aligning economic incentives with desired behaviors, and building systems that reward participation in meaningful ways.
Applied Engineering Focus: Every contract I write serves a real-world purpose. I don't build for technology's sake—I build mechanisms that enhance user lives, drive genuine engagement, and create sustainable economic value. See distroengine.mattlovan.dev for examples of how these composable incentive structures work together in real-world applications.
Learn more: mattlovan.dev | distroengine.mattlovan.dev
🌳 referralTree
Multi-Level Referral Reward System – Solidity contracts implementing tree-based referral chains that transform users into growth engines.
Real-World Impact: Projects can bootstrap network effects by aligning user incentives with viral growth. Users earn rewards not just from their direct referrals, but from their entire referral network—creating cascading incentives that reward early adopters and community builders proportionally to their contribution.
Solidity Mechanisms:
- Gas-optimized tree data structures for efficient referral tracking across unlimited network depth
- Geometric reward distribution (60% retention per level) that scales naturally with network growth
- Group-based isolation enabling multiple projects to use shared infrastructure without interference
- Oracle-signed reward distribution ensuring only authorized events trigger payouts
User Behavior Impact: Users are incentivized to actively grow their networks because they benefit from exponential downstream activity. Early community members build substantial referral networks, while new users are motivated to refer others to capture future network value.
View:
- 💾  View the Code
- 📺  Learn More
Keywords: Solidity, Foundry, Referral Systems, Network Effects, Incentive Design, Smart Contracts
🎯 contestCatalyst
Tournament + Prediction Market Hybrid – A dual-layer contest system combining traditional tournaments with secondary prediction markets, creating dynamic value flows that enhance engagement for both competitive and speculative participants.
Real-World Impact: Contests become more engaging when participants can bet on outcomes while competing. This creates positive feedback loops—larger prize pools attract more participants, which increases secondary market activity, which feeds back into prize pools. Both competitive players and market participants find value in the same event.
Solidity Mechanisms:
- State machine-driven contest lifecycle (OPEN → ACTIVE → LOCKED → SETTLED) ensuring secure fund management
- Cross-subsidy balancing automatically redirects deposits between primary and secondary pools to maintain target ratios
- Polynomial bonding curve pricing for secondary positions (
price = BASE_PRICE + COEFFICIENT * shares²) creating fair market dynamics - Winner-take-all secondary payouts with automatic position consolidation upon settlement
User Behavior Impact: Competitive participants are incentivized by prize pools that grow through secondary market activity. Market participants can express predictions through position-taking, with early positions offering better risk/reward. The dual-layer design means more people engage, creating larger prize pools and more exciting contests.
View:
- 💾  View the Code
- 📺  Learn More
Keywords: Solidity, Prediction Markets, Tournament Design, Bonding Curves, Cross-Subsidy Mechanisms, Smart Contracts
💰 yieldToken
Tokens with Built-In Economic Incentives – A framework for creating tokens that automatically generate yield for holders, reducing velocity and aligning long-term holder interests with project success.
Real-World Impact: Traditional tokens suffer from high velocity—users sell quickly because there's no cost to holding. YieldToken changes this by creating opportunity cost for selling: holders earn yield from staking, yield protocols, or other mechanisms. This aligns token holder behavior with project longevity and reduces sell pressure.
Solidity Mechanisms:
- Configurable yield generation from multiple sources (staking rewards, protocol fees, yield farming)
- Automatic yield distribution to holders proportional to their stake
- Velocity reduction through opportunity cost creation (selling means losing future yield)
- Integration patterns for various yield sources (Compound, Aave, custom protocols)
User Behavior Impact: Token holders are incentivized to hold longer because selling means losing future yield streams. This reduces token velocity, creating more stable token economics. Long-term holders benefit from compounding yield, while projects benefit from reduced sell pressure and more committed community members.
View:
- 💾  View the Code
- 📺  Learn More
Keywords: Solidity, Token Design, Yield Generation, Velocity Reduction, Economic Incentives, Smart Contracts
I build Solidity contracts that solve real problems for real users. Every mechanism I design is tested against these questions:
- Does this change how users behave in a meaningful way?
- Are the incentives aligned with desired outcomes?
- Will this create sustainable value for users and projects?
- Can users understand and benefit from these mechanisms?
The goal isn't just working code—it's creating systems that enhance user experiences, build stronger communities, and generate genuine economic value through well-designed incentives.
Blockchain & Smart Contracts: Solidity, Foundry, Ethereum, Smart Contract Architecture, Gas Optimization, Oracle Integration
Full-Stack Development: TypeScript, Node.js, React, Express, Docker, Containerization, RESTful APIs
Incentive Design: Mechanism Design, Game Theory, Economic Modeling, User Behavior Engineering
Infrastructure: Docker, Docker Compose, Linux, Deployment Automation, CI/CD
Learn more: mattlovan.dev | distroengine.mattlovan.dev