https://thanos.github.io/ Thanos Vassilakis is a Distinguished Engineer and Managing Director at RBC Capital Markets, where he leads AI and architecture for Finance IT. He has spent decades building trading, risk, and operations platforms, ships open-source libraries, and writes about systems, data sketches, cryptography, and drones. en-us Mon, 24 Aug 2026 15:08:37 GMT https://thanos.github.io/articles/2026-08-23-which-model/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/2026-08-23-which-model/ Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT If you are building an inference engine for Apple’s M-series, start small and conventional. Qwen3-8B in 4-bit is the optimization target; Llama is the bootstrap. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/2026-08-01-flyby-simulator-before-hardware/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/2026-08-01-flyby-simulator-before-hardware/ Sat, 22 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Part 1: why FlyBy ships a first-class simulator, how VirtualNic and virtual time work, and how to run the constant_rate baseline at 100 kpps without privileged networking. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/2026-08-02-flyby-deterministic-fault-injection/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/2026-08-02-flyby-deterministic-fault-injection/ Sat, 22 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Part 2: LCG-seeded packet drops in FlyBy’s packet_loss scenario—5% drop at 10 kpps for 10 virtual seconds, with counters you can assert in CI. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/2026-08-03-flyby-protocol-aware-quotes/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/2026-08-03-flyby-protocol-aware-quotes/ Sat, 22 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Part 3: FlyBy’s protocol_quotes scenario fills 34-byte binary market quotes (AAPL) through VirtualNic so decoders see structured payloads, not random pads. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/2026-08-04-flyby-pcap-replay/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/2026-08-04-flyby-pcap-replay/ Sat, 22 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Part 4: replay FlyBy’s udp_quotes.pcap through the simulator—20 UDP binary quotes, full-speed or original timing, classic pcap only. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/2026-08-15-data_sketches_beyond_1brc/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/2026-08-15-data_sketches_beyond_1brc/ Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A small, mergeable approximation is more valuable than an exact answer whose state is expensive to retain, move, or combine. The original 1BRC min/mean/max result does not need a sketch. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/2026-08-14-building-darial/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/2026-08-14-building-darial/ Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT This is a walk through how Darial 0.1 was designed and built: the problem that forced the shape, the decisions we recorded as ADRs, the libraries we actually shipped, and the trade-offs we accepted. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/sketching_one_billion_rows/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/sketching_one_billion_rows/ Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Exact aggregates where they fit; probabilistic sketches where a billion values do not. Stream 1BRC-shaped weather data with ex_data_sketch—KLL, HLL, and FrequentItems—without loading a 12 GB file. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/02-otp-drone-swarms/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/02-otp-drone-swarms/ Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Part 2 of Programming Drones with OTP: thin swarm coordinators, Registry vs membership, fail-fast fan-out, formations as planners, local safety, Good/Bad Advisor, and where Nerves fits as a companion—not an autopilot. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/multi-ecosystem-rust-cli-install/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/multi-ecosystem-rust-cli-install/ Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Treat GitHub Release binaries as the source of truth, then wrap them for Homebrew, Scoop, mise/asdf, pip, npm, Mix, and CI—the Ruff/esbuild pattern for tools like Oratos. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/2026-07-29-datalog-and-mev/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/2026-07-29-datalog-and-mev/ Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A sandwich attack is three successful swaps. The blockchain never names it. Datalog can — with rules you can test, replay, and explain. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/the-classic-ui-is-dead-long-live-the-aiui/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/the-classic-ui-is-dead-long-live-the-aiui/ Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT I’ve spent decades building UIs. AI is about to evaporate them. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/01-beam-native-drone-controller/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/01-beam-native-drone-controller/ Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Part 1 of Programming Drones with OTP: why one GenServer per vehicle, how Tello UDP fits the mailbox, how a pure safety pipeline protects flight, and why the simulator is the real development surface. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/01-data-sketches-a-field-guide/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/01-data-sketches-a-field-guide/ Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The essential algorithms for reasoning about massive data streams thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/ex_datalog_examples/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/ex_datalog_examples/ Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT A dozen examples including RBAC & authorization, BOM tracking, relationship based recommendations, static security analysis, fraud ring detection thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/on-prem-alternatives-to-sentry/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/on-prem-alternatives-to-sentry/ Mon, 20 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT A quick look at logging aggregation alternative thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/polymarket-and-alternatives/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/polymarket-and-alternatives/ Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Evolution of Information Finance: A Comprehensive Technical and Comparative Analysis of Polymarket and the Global Prediction Market Ecosystem* thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/liquidity-tree/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/liquidity-tree/ Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT A Liquidity Tree is not a single standardized textbook structure—it’s a conceptual model used in trading systems, market microstructure, and smart order routing. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/rikkido/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/rikkido/ Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Rikiddo scoring rule** is a **specialized automated market maker (AMM) mechanism for prediction markets, designed to improve on classic models like LMSR. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/vamm/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/vamm/ Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT A Virtual Automated Market Maker (vAMM) is a pricing mechanism used primarily in perpetual futures protocols thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/01-why-pq-multi-recipient/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/01-why-pq-multi-recipient/ Wed, 10 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Why encrypt-once / decrypt-many needs post-quantum crypto: HNDL risk and the tholos-pq motivation. This is part 1 of a 3-part series on tholos-pq, a Rust crate for encrypting one message to many recipients with NIST post-quantum cryptography. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/02-wire-format-and-algorithms/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/02-wire-format-and-algorithms/ Wed, 10 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT This is part 2 of a 3-part series on tholos-pq suite and wire format: ML-KEM-1024, XChaCha20-Poly1305, ML-DSA-65, CBOR envelopes. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/03-hardening-in-public/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/03-hardening-in-public/ Wed, 10 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT This is part 3 of a 3-part series on tholos-pq. What public review broke in tholos-pq packaging — malleability, deps, docs — and what still isn’t promised. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/018-noise_ik-vs-noise_xx/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/018-noise_ik-vs-noise_xx/ Tue, 18 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Article 18: A Detailed Comparison of Two Interactive Handshake Patterns in the Noise Protocol Framework thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/017-noise_nn-pattern-explanation/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/017-noise_nn-pattern-explanation/ Mon, 17 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Article 17: The Noise_NN pattern is the simplest interactive handshake in the Noise Protocol Framework. It stands for 'No static keys, No pre-shared knowledge.' thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/016-noise_ik-vs-noise_xk-comparison/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/016-noise_ik-vs-noise_xk-comparison/ Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Article 16: Noise_IK vs Noise_XK: A Detailed Comparison of Two Key Handshake Patterns in the Noise Protocol Framework thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/015-noise_ik-handshake-details/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/015-noise_ik-handshake-details/ Sat, 15 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Article 15: The Cryptographic Pattern Often Used in Secure VPNs and Related to Mining Security Layers thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/014-wireguard-mining-security/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/014-wireguard-mining-security/ Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Article 14: WireGuard is a fast, modern VPN protocol that many miners use as an additional security and privacy layer around their mining setups. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/013-noise-protocol-details/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/013-noise-protocol-details/ Sat, 13 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT Article 13: The Noise Protocol Framework is the core cryptographic engine that secures nearly all modern Stratum V2 connections. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/011-stratum-protocol-v2/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/011-stratum-protocol-v2/ Fri, 11 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT The Stratum Protocol V2 (often abbreviated as Stratum V2 or SV2) is the current industry-standard communication protocol that connects individual mining hardware to mining pools. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/010-block-template-construction/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/010-block-template-construction/ Tue, 10 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT A detailed look at the Block template construction process by which a miner (or its pool) assembles all the pieces needed before the nonce hunt can begin. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/009-job-negotiation-mechanics/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/009-job-negotiation-mechanics/ Fri, 09 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT A look into Job Negotiation is one of the most powerful and forward-looking features introduced with Stratum V2. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/stabelcoins/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/stabelcoins/ Sat, 26 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT Stablecoins: What They Are, Why They Exist, Their History, How They Work, and Their Future thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/008-compact-block-relay-details/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/008-compact-block-relay-details/ Tue, 08 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT Compact Block Relay, defined in Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 152 (BIP 152) and widely adopted by all major PoW chains, is the single most important optimization that makes block propagation fast, bandwidth-efficient, and resilient. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/007-block-propogation-mechanics/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/007-block-propogation-mechanics/ Fri, 07 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT Article 7: The Cryptographic Mint in the Age of Geopolitical Crisis: An In-Depth Analysis of Mining Mechanics and Residential Profitability thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/an-alien-dialectic/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/an-alien-dialectic/ Wed, 12 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT In finance, contracts are civilization's atomic unit of trust. For millennia, they have been static documents - a specialized dialectic crafted by lawyers, interpreted by humans, and enforced by slow, costly third parties like courts. Their power was never in the document itself, but in the convoluted, expensive, and fallible human systems required to uphold them. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/006-the-difficulty-adjustment-algorithm/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/006-the-difficulty-adjustment-algorithm/ Thu, 06 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT Article 6: Describes the The difficulty adjustment algorithm that is the automatic feedback loop that keeps new blocks arriving at a steady, predictable rate no matter how much total mining power joins or leaves the network. thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/005-the-merkle-tree/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/005-the-merkle-tree/ Sun, 05 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT Article 5: Merkle Trees Explained thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/004-the-hunt-for-the-nonce/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/004-the-hunt-for-the-nonce/ Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT The Nonce Hunt in Greater Depth: The Global Cryptographic Lottery thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/003-how-miners-actually-operate/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/003-how-miners-actually-operate/ Sun, 03 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT Article 3: Solo Mining, Mining Pools, and Merged Mining explained thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/what-is-mining/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/what-is-mining/ Sun, 13 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT What is Crypto Mining? A Complete In-Depth Tutorial to Become a Crypto Mining Expert thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/002-pow/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/002-pow/ Wed, 02 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT Article 2: We look at the core purpose of Proof of Work (PoW) thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/001-what-is-crypto-mining/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/001-what-is-crypto-mining/ Sun, 01 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT Article 1: High-Level Overview of Crypto Mining thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/my-second-super-omputer/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/my-second-super-omputer/ Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT Speeding up Monte Carlo using AWS GPU Instances thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/my-first-super-omputer/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/my-first-super-omputer/ Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT Speeding up Monte Carlo using GPU thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/chouchdb-performance-on-mac/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/chouchdb-performance-on-mac/ Tue, 28 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT See the differences in on the Mac Pro thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis) https://thanos.github.io/articles/chouchdb-performance/ https://thanos.github.io/articles/chouchdb-performance/ Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT Looking in patterns for inserting and querying Couchdb 2.0 thanosv@gmail.com (Thanos Vassilakis)