Boomerang

I built this project to solve a problem I’ve personally faced. I was once the top contributor to PittCSC, a GitHub repository with thousands of software engineering job postings relied on by nearly every CS major. Despite all the effort I put in as a volunteer, I received zero compensation. Meanwhile, online influencers like zero2sudo can profit from audiences built on resources that volunteers freely provide, while the actual contributors get nothing. The reality is, most ordinary people don’t want to become influencers or play the social media game just to be compensated for their work.

Crypto is meant to empower regular people, and that’s exactly what this app does. The platform enables volunteers who share resources—job links, referral codes, discount drops, or anything time-sensitive and valuable—to get rewarded fairly without needing to market themselves.

Here’s how it works:

Communities are open for resource sharing, but to join, users must stake a refundable entry fee. This deters bots, scammers, and scrapers.

All staked funds are pooled into yield-generating strategies. The yield—not the principal—becomes the payout source for contributors.

Volunteers earn based on quality, not popularity. Each resource is hashed to ensure uniqueness, and users upvote content they find valuable. Payouts are then distributed proportionally to contributions that genuinely help the community.

Users can also tip contributors directly, and the app supports filtering, sorting, and semantic search to surface the most useful resources.

This system creates a positive feedback loop: more contributors means more valuable content, which attracts more users, which generates more yield, which rewards more contributors. It’s a win-win cycle.

Boomerang is a hybrid Web3 application that seamlessly bridges blockchain and traditional web technologies. Built with React 19 + TypeScript on Vite, it features a sophisticated smart contract system written in Solidity deployed on Base Sepolia and Sepolia testnets. The frontend leverages Wagmi + Viem for Ethereum interactions, Dynamic Labs for seamless wallet connections, and Tailwind CSS for a polished mobile-first UI. The backend uses Supabase for user authentication and resource management, creating a hybrid architecture where blockchain transactions trigger database updates. Key Technical Innovations: Hybrid Resource Service: Smart contracts handle staking and voting while Supabase manages user data and resource metadata Multi-chain Support: Deployed on both Base and Ethereum testnets with chain-specific USDC addresses Real-time Updates: React Query ensures UI stays synchronized with blockchain state changes Gas Optimization: Efficient contract design with minimal storage operations and batch processing The most hacky part? We built a dual-layer validation system where blockchain transactions must succeed before database writes, ensuring data integrity while maintaining the performance benefits of traditional web apps. This creates a trustless, decentralized resource curation platform that feels as fast as a centralized app.