{"id":"matt-lockyer","title":"Matt Lockyer","content":"**Matt Lockyer** is a blockchain engineer, developer relations professional, and consultant with expertise in the [NEAR Protocol](https://iq.wiki/wiki/near-protocol) and [Aurora](https://iq.wiki/wiki/aurora) [EVM](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum-virtual-machine-evm) ecosystems. He is the founder of Soloblock Solutions Inc., a consultancy focused on token engineering and decentralized application development. Lockyer is a key contributor to the [NEAR](https://iq.wiki/wiki/near-protocol) ecosystem, known for his work on projects designed to improve developer and user experiences. [\\[8\\]](#cite-id-LKWgKsoVezhP9NsD) \n\n## Education\n\nLockyer has a background in both computer science and academia. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science. Following his undergraduate studies, he pursued doctoral research at Simon Fraser University, earning a PhD in Interactive Arts and Technology in 2016. His doctoral work, which continued until 2018, centered on topics including motion affect, information visualization, computer graphics, and animation. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-3DA7eSp3Bf8oTkY8) \n\n## Career\n\nLockyer began his career in academia, serving as an undergraduate teaching assistant at the University of British Columbia from 2008 to 2010. While pursuing his PhD at Simon Fraser University between 2010 and 2018, he held multiple teaching positions, including graduate teaching assistant, sessional lecturer, and lecturer. In these roles, he taught a diverse range of subjects such as functional and object-oriented programming, signal processing, computer vision, generative algorithms, mobile web application development, and information architecture.\n\nHis interest in [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) technology began around 2010 during his academic career, and he later became more involved through participation in local [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum) technology meetups. In 2018, Lockyer transitioned into the [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) sector and founded Soloblock Solutions Inc., a consultancy focused on token engineering, [smart contracts](https://iq.wiki/wiki/smart-contract), and the development of [decentralized applications](https://iq.wiki/wiki/decentralized-application), particularly those related to [digital assets](https://iq.wiki/wiki/digital-assets) and the creative economy. In late 2019, he joined [Harmony](https://iq.wiki/wiki/harmony), where he worked in developer relations to support the growth of its open consensus platform.\n\nFrom 2020 to early 2022, Lockyer served as the Developer Relations Director at [NEAR Protocol](https://iq.wiki/wiki/near-protocol) on a contract basis. His work involved extensive developer support and technical contributions across various domains, including [decentralized finance (DeFi)](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi), [non-fungible tokens (NFTs)](https://iq.wiki/wiki/non-fungible-token-nft), [decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs)](https://iq.wiki/wiki/dao), wallets, multisignature systems, interoperability, and the development of Rust-based [smart contracts](https://iq.wiki/wiki/smart-contract).\n\nSince 2022, he has continued to work within the [NEAR](https://iq.wiki/wiki/near-protocol) ecosystem in a variety of roles spanning technical advising, integrations, partnerships, developer relations, and business development. His focus remains on building on the [NEAR Protocol](https://iq.wiki/wiki/near-protocol) and its accompanying [Aurora](https://iq.wiki/wiki/aurora) [EVM](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum-virtual-machine-evm) environment, utilizing technologies like Rust, WebAssembly, and [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum)-compatible tooling. As of May 2023, he was a Partner at Proximity Labs, where his work centered on developing [DeFi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi) infrastructure for the [NEAR](https://iq.wiki/wiki/near-protocol) ecosystem. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-vrfj7ahiE9ZFpJFE)​\n\n## Interviews\n\n### What Are Shade Agents?\n\nIn a February 2025 appearance on the [NEAR](https://iq.wiki/wiki/near-protocol) DevHub livestream, Lockyer discussed the design and implementation of [Shade Agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/shade-agents) in a workshop-style session focused on their technical foundations. He described [Shade Agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/shade-agents) as autonomous systems that interact with web APIs and [smart contracts](https://iq.wiki/wiki/smart-contract) while operating within [trusted execution environments](https://iq.wiki/wiki/trusted-execution-environments), with an emphasis on securely handling protocol funds and verifiable execution via remote attestation. The discussion covered deployment templates, configuration workflows, and the role of decentralized key management, highlighting an architecture in which keys are controlled by [smart contracts](https://iq.wiki/wiki/smart-contract) rather than embedded in off-chain agents.\n\nThe session also addressed interoperability features that allow [Shade Agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/shade-agents) to act as controlled intermediaries between external data sources and on-chain logic, along with detailed explanations of agent registration, account generation, and access control. Lockyer outlined potential applications that extend beyond [decentralized finance](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi) to areas such as gaming, automation, and AI-related workflows, positioning [Shade Agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/shade-agents) as a general-purpose framework for verifiable, non-custodial agent-based systems. [\\[6\\]](#cite-id-ZtevGMvBaEai1YtS) \n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](https://youtube.com/watch?v=IPapCegAOuM)\n\n### NEAR Blockchain and Proximity\n\nIn a May 2023 interview on *The Web3 Prof* podcast, Lockyer discussed his entry into the [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) space, tracing his interest back to early academic exposure around 2010 and subsequent involvement with [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum) through local technology meetups. He described his recruitment into [NEAR Protocol](https://iq.wiki/wiki/near-protocol) and his work there as an opportunity to engage with [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) [consensus mechanisms](https://iq.wiki/wiki/consensus-mechanism) and core architectural design. Lockyer explained his role at Proximity Labs, which focuses on developing [decentralized finance](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi) infrastructure within the [NEAR](https://iq.wiki/wiki/near-protocol) ecosystem, and outlined how [NEAR’s](https://iq.wiki/wiki/near-protocol) [Layer 1](https://iq.wiki/wiki/layer-1) design differs from other networks in ways intended to improve developer usability.\n\nThe interview also addressed broader ecosystem trends, including developer adoption, multi-chain interoperability, front-end decentralization, and future development areas such as privacy and zero-knowledge technologies. Lockyer discussed the development of Keypom as a project aimed at reducing user onboarding complexity through mechanisms such as simplified event access and digital asset distribution without prior wallet setup, and noted early funding support from the [NEAR Foundation](https://iq.wiki/wiki/near-foundation), emphasizing a user-oriented design. [\\[3\\]](#cite-id-W6G6z2Zl3ajEJDO0) \n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](https://youtube.com/watch?v=Qub5VFrbLmI)\n\n## Presentations\n\n### Shade Agents\n\nAt [ETHDenver](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethdenver) 2025, Lockyer presented [Shade Agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/shade-agents) as a method for building autonomous, non-custodial agents that can operate across multiple [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) networks. The presentation examined the broader emergence of agent-based systems in Web2 and [Web3](https://iq.wiki/wiki/web3) and identified persistent limitations, including challenges around decentralized key management, limited code verifiability, and the lack of on-chain guardrails for user funds. Lockyer described the [Shade Agent](https://iq.wiki/wiki/shade-agents) architecture as a tightly integrated stack that combines worker-agent code with [smart contracts](https://iq.wiki/wiki/smart-contract) to address these issues, using [trusted execution environments](https://iq.wiki/wiki/trusted-execution-environments) for verification while keeping key management outside the agent itself. He outlined the process by which worker agents are registered and linked to contracts through code-hash-based access controls, enabling constrained and auditable execution. The talk also referenced live deployments and illustrated potential applications through an example agent that analyzed social media sentiment and distributed rewards, concluding with a discussion of broader use cases in areas such as financial infrastructure and markets. [\\[5\\]](#cite-id-RWrZnvd06BEJrkO3) \n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](https://youtube.com/watch?v=agAXpmC7kNE)\n\n### Keypom\n\nAt NEAR Day during [ETHDenver](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethdenver) 2023, Lockyer and Ben Kurrek presented Keypom as a framework to simplify [Web3](https://iq.wiki/wiki/web3) onboarding by reducing the technical friction of wallet creation. The presentation outlined common barriers for new users, such as managing seed phrases, configuring networks, and navigating multiple wallets, and described an alternative approach in which users interact with applications before setting up a wallet. They discussed use cases including single-action interactions such as [NFT](https://iq.wiki/wiki/non-fungible-token-nft) distributions, multi-step experiences using QR codes, and time-based mechanisms like streaming payments. The presentation also covered event-based scenarios in which users could claim [digital assets](https://iq.wiki/wiki/digital-assets) or tickets through simple web interfaces without prior wallet setup or internet connectivity, followed by optional post-event wallet creation to retain assets. Keypom’s trial account model was introduced to enable limited, application-specific interaction without full account creation, and the session concluded with an overview of how both developers and non-developers could integrate with or generate Keypom links with minimal technical requirements [\\[7\\]](#cite-id-W6HjoIHD9PZEBcdv) \n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](https://youtube.com/watch?v=oHj-GjFi6g4)","summary":"Matt Lockyer is a blockchain engineer and developer relations professional specializing in the NEAR Protocol. 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