Founder, CTO & Protocol Evangelist

Job role

I'm Daniel Maricic. Let me tell you about Anagolay Network — it proved something fundamental about who I am: I can learn anything I need to. I went from zero blockchain knowledge to designing a protocol in TypeScript and Rust, writing successful grant proposals to Web3 Foundation and Parity Technologies, and building a global community around a vision for decentralized content rights — all from a standing start. As Founder, CTO & Protocol Evangelist, I conceived, designed, and built a blockchain-based rights management protocol. I owned the full stack: protocol design, Substrate pallets, SDKs, browser extensions, frontend explorers, and decentralized infrastructure on Kubernetes. But the technical work was only half the mission — the other half was building the community around it.

I wrote and secured grant funding from Web3 Foundation, Parity Technologies, Substrate Builders Program, and the European Union's Next Generation Internet initiative — each requiring detailed technical roadmaps, milestone planning, and transparent progress reporting to external stakeholders. I created technical documentation and demos that lowered the barrier for third-party developers, presented at conferences to spread awareness, and represented the project in media interviews. The SDK ecosystem I designed enabled third-party integration — a deliberate developer relations strategy to grow the protocol's reach through external contributions.

I managed distributed contributors across time zones, coordinating async collaboration across an open-source-style team. I wrote marketing content and technical documentation side by side, understanding that adoption requires both great technology and great communication. I spoke at events, built demos that made the protocol tangible, and persisted through a market cycle that wasn't ready — learning that ecosystem building is as much about timing and relationships as it is about technology.

Technically, I implemented the original proof-generation and verification protocol in TypeScript before migrating to Substrate for consensus. I built pallets for identity, ownership proofs, and content registration. The browser extension automatically connected copyrighted content and verified creator domains — a full-stack feature shipped end-to-end. The end goal was to democratize monetization of the creator economy by giving creators direct ownership and control over their content, without intermediaries. This vision drove every technical and community-building decision I made during my time at Anagolay Network.

Personal development

I'm Daniel Maricic. This was my first blockchain project — I went from zero knowledge to protocol designer, Substrate developer, and grant-winning founder. It tested my entrepreneurial skills harder than anything before: writing grants, speaking at conferences, creating documentation and demos, and persisting through a market that simply wasn't ready. I learned that great technology alone is not enough without the right ecosystem timing and relationships.

Anagolay changed how I see myself as an engineer. Before it, I stayed within what I already knew. After it, I understood that my greatest strength isn't the knowledge I've accumulated — it's that I'm not afraid to start from zero and figure things out as I go. The technical depth I gained in distributed systems, cryptography, consensus mechanisms, and platform architecture shaped how I approach every system I've built since. But more importantly, it gave me the confidence to tackle anything.