Conduit
Co-founded and led architecture for a decentralized marketplace enabling merchants to sell directly to customers with instant Bitcoin payments—zero platform fees, complete ownership.
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Case Study Details
Challenge
Pioneer a new paradigm for e-commerce built on decentralized protocols, enabling merchants to escape platform fees and content restrictions while maintaining seamless user experience.
Solution
Designed event-driven architectures on Nostr protocol with Lightning Network and eCash payment rails. Built infrastructure-as-code with comprehensive CI/CD, observability, and open-source codebase (MPL/GNU licensed).
Results
Delivered a censorship-resistant marketplace where merchants keep 100% of revenue with zero platform fees. Established technical foundation documented via C4/Structurizr, mentored engineering team, and presented at industry events.
Technologies Used
Bitcoin
The original cryptocurrency and most secure decentralized payment network.
We use Bitcoin when projects need censorship-resistant payments or integration with the hardest money ever created.
Lightning Network
A layer-2 protocol enabling instant, low-cost Bitcoin transactions at scale.
We use Lightning to make Bitcoin practical for everyday payments—instant settlement, negligible fees.
Nostr
A decentralized protocol for censorship-resistant social networking and messaging.
We use Nostr to build applications that can't be deplatformed—true digital sovereignty.
eCash
Cloudflare Workers
Serverless JavaScript execution at the edge, running code in 300+ cities worldwide.
We use Workers to run logic at the edge—closer to users, with sub-millisecond cold starts.
Project Details
As Co-founder & CTO (January 2024 – December 2025), Sundragon led technical strategy for Conduit, a decentralized e-commerce marketplace built on the Nostr protocol. The platform enables merchants to sell directly to customers and receive instant payments in Bitcoin, USDT, or eCash without platform fees or intermediaries.
Platform Vision Conduit empowers merchants with complete ownership: keep 100% of sales revenue, control customer data and reputation, and reach global markets without gatekeepers. The platform supports custom storefronts, community forums, curated collections, seller analytics, and cryptographically verified reviews from authenticated buyers.
Architecture & Strategy Owned the platform's technical vision and long-term direction. Combined strategic leadership with hands-on engineering across research, system design, infrastructure, and operations. Conducted R&D into cryptographic primitives, Nostr protocol behavior, relay performance, Lightning Network integration, and distributed caching strategies.
System Design & Implementation Designed core platform architecture including event flows, data modeling, module boundaries, and fault-tolerance strategies. Documented systems using C4 modeling and Structurizr for architectural clarity. Served as principal engineer for foundational, experimental, and high-risk components. Implemented core features, protocol integrations, migrations, and proof-of-concepts.
Infrastructure & DevOps Established corporate tooling including self-hosted Mattermost (DigitalOcean/Ansible), FOSS documentation platforms, and uptime monitoring. Managed DNS, edge routing, and worker infrastructure through Cloudflare. Designed frontend deployment using static-site generation and global CDN delivery. Built CI/CD pipelines, artifact management, observability systems, and operational security frameworks emphasizing reproducibility.
Team Leadership Mentored engineers through architectural guidance and code reviews. Produced documentation including architecture diagrams, specifications, and migration guides. Participated in the Gamma Markets Collective and presented technical work at industry events.
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