Curriculum Vitae | Ryan X. Charles

Introduction

Ryan X. Charles is an engineer, scientist, and entrepreneur focused on building AI applications and tools.

I am based in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.

AI and Machine Learning

These days I am 100% focused on AI and machine learning.

My work on AI falls into three categories:

Building consumer apps that use state-of-the-art AI models, such as those from OpenAI, xAI, Anthropic, Google, and DeepSeek.
Building developer tools using those same models.
Researching machine learning and creating educational resources for learning AI and machine learning.

My AI work includes:

Hallucipedia, a Wikipedia-like app that uses AI to generate encyclopedia articles.
ChatVim, a Neovim plugin that allows you to chat with Markdown files using AI.
Artintellica, a resource for learning machine learning and AI.

Skills

I am a highly technical and mathematically inclined full-stack software engineer who also has experience managing small teams and designing products.

Technical Skills

Programming Languages: TypeScript, JavaScript, Rust, Python, C, C++, bash, zsh, nushell, HTML, CSS, PHP, BASIC, FORTH, WGSL (WebGPU Shader Language), SQL.
Web Technologies: React, Node.js, Express, tRPC, React Router, Tailwind, Next.js, bun.sh, Deno, Docker, AWS, PlanetScale, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Cassandra/AWS Keyspaces, AWS S3, AWS ECS.
CLI Tools: bash, zsh, nushell, git, ssh, grep/ripgrep, vim/neovim, tmux, wezterm. Extensive familiarity with Linux on desktop and servers and using the command line in macOS.
Package Managers: npm, pnpm, yarn, bun, deno, pip, uv, cargo, brew, apt, yum.
Deployment: fly.io, AWS (EC2, ECS).
Databases: MySQL / PlanetScale, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Cassandra / AWS Keyspaces, SQLite.
Mathematics and Physics: Calculus, linear algebra, probability theory, information theory, group theory, quantum theory.
Machine Learning: Code: Python, NumPy, PyTorch, Matplotlib. Theory: Neural networks, backpropagation, gradient descent, reinforcement learning, deep learning.
AI models: I have integrated state-of-the-art AI models for text, images, and search from OpenAI, xAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek.
Editors: Neovim, VS Code, Cursor.
Cryptography: Hash functions (SHA256, Blake3, RIPEMD160, HMAC), Elliptic curves (SECP256k1, ECDSA), Merkle trees, Encryption (AES/CBC). Many of these I have implemented myself in TypeScript, JavaScript, or Rust for cryptocurrency wallets, blockchains, authentication, and encrypted messaging.
Blockchain: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dogecoin, eCash, EarthBucks.

Leadership Experience

I am experienced at managing small teams. At its peak, my company Yours Inc. had 9 full-time team members, including 4 full-time employees and 5 full-time contractors. When I worked at Fabriik, I managed a team of about five people.

Workstation

I use an Apple MacBook Pro and an Apple Pro Display XDR as my primary workstation. I ssh into Linux machines when needed. I have also used Linux and Windows as my primary desktop for many years and am comfortable with all three operating systems.

Open Source Work

Some of my open-source work is available on GitHub and NPM, including (from recent to older):

Projects I currently maintain:

Older projects I no longer maintain, but for which I was the principal author:

Work Experience

Although I am currently focused on AI, before today I have a lifetime of engineering experience in other areas.

I started programming at age 10 in 1994, and along the way have built many full stack applications and tools in many programming languages on many platforms.

My lifetime of engineering experience falls into four categories:

Younger years (1994 - 2005): Learning to program and doing freelance web development.
Physics (2005 - 2013), where I worked on data analysis, simulation software, telescope drivers, electronics, and hardware, such as ASICs and microprocessors.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency (2013 - 2025): Full-time work on Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency, including BitPay, reddit, BitGo, and my own company Yours, which created Money Button. Worked on or created six different cryptocurrency web wallets. Created my own blockchain, EarthBucks.
AI focus (present day): Working on AI apps such as Hallucipedia, tools such as ChatVim, and educational resources such as Artintellica.

Younger Years (1994 - 2005)

I learned how to program at age 10 in 1994 by programming video games in BASIC for my TI-80 graphing calculator. I migrated to DOS programming in QBASIC/QuickBASIC, and then to Windows using Visual Basic and Visual C++. At some point, I migrated my efforts to web development, starting with GeoCities, and later buying my own domain name.

I did freelance web development in the early 2000s using PHP, MySQL, HTML, and CSS. I found clients both on the internet and in the real world in St. Louis and Columbia, MO. I knew a lot about web standards and accessibility and could make websites look the same in Netscape and Internet Explorer.

I also designed logos and graphics using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, which are tools that I still use to this day.

I was one of the first people to use a 3D CAD program to create 3D user interfaces as early as 2001 or so. I used Maya and 3D Studio Max (later “3ds Max”).

Physics: Undergraduate and Graduate Years (2005 - 2013)

Around 2005, I decided to shift gears away from programming to become a physicist. I changed my major to physics and mathematics, studied very hard, and graduated from Mizzou in 2007. I joined Wash U for the physics graduate program and worked for Prof. Jim Buckley.

My work in graduate school included:

Worked with an international team of scientists in the US and Europe on data analysis software and simulation software. Work included C++ data analysis with root. Worked with CORSIKA simulation software.
Built some ground-up N-Body gravity simulation software in C.
Developed and debugged telescope drivers and control software in C. Worked with the Linux kernel, POSIX pipes, and command-line tools.
Built data analysis software in Python 2.7 with numpy and scipy. Python work primarily involved Bayesian analysis of VERITAS gamma ray and cosmic ray data.
Did many rounds of observations on the VERITAS telescope array in Arizona. Also worked as “czar,” meaning the leader of the observers during one of the observation shifts.
Studied computer hardware including microprocessors, ASICs, and FPGAs. Designed an 8-bit microprocessor in a graduate course on computer engineering.

Throughout my time as a physicist, I continued learning computer science, and studied things such as algorithms and data structures, databases, and operating systems.

Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency (2013 - 2025)

Crypto Jobs & Entrepreneurship (2013 - 2021)

In 2011, I discovered Bitcoin and became obsessed with the possibilities of decentralized electronic cash. Eventually, my obsession led me to leave graduate school without finishing my PhD to focus on Bitcoin full-time in 2013. I joined BitPay, and later worked at reddit and BitGo, and then ended up starting my own company, raising money, and getting acquired.

BitPay (2013 - 2014): Worked in both the Atlanta office and San Francisco office on the core BitPay software (Bitcoin payment processor), and also did much of the initial work on Bitcore, a set of open-source tools for working with Bitcoin. I was the first person at BitPay to accept my full salary in Bitcoin.
reddit (2014 - 2015): Joined the reddit team in San Francisco and worked on a project called “Reddit Notes,” which was intended to be a cryptocurrency wallet for reddit users. I was the first officially titled “cryptocurrency engineer” at reddit, and probably in the world. I only worked at reddit for 4 months, but it was a very high-energy time and totally unforgettable. Unfortunately, when the CEO resigned, the executive interest in cryptocurrency evaporated, and I was eventually laid off. During that time, I created fullnode, what would have been the reddit cryptocurrency wallet.
BitGo (2015): After leaving reddit, I joined BitGo in Palo Alto, CA as a software engineer. BitGo is a Bitcoin security and wallet company whose primary wallet was and still is a 2-of-3 multisig wallet. I worked on the full-stack BitGo wallet software in Node.js/Mongo.
Yours/Money Button (2015 - 2020): I started my own company called Yours.org (now owned by unrelated entities), which was a decentralized social network that used micropayments to reward content creators. I raised two rounds of funding, including a $1.5 million round led by Bitmain. I was involved in the Bitcoin block size wars of 2017 and publicly switched the company’s technology from Bitcoin to Litecoin that year due to high fees. After the launch of Bitcoin Cash, I switched the underlying technology again, this time to Bitcoin Cash. Yours.org was the first application to use Bitcoin Cash in 2017. After running the project on Bitcoin Cash for a few months, it became clear there was a need for a developer tool to facilitate micropayments on Bitcoin Cash. I pivoted Yours.org to create Money Button, a “simple payment system”—essentially an entire wallet embedded in a button—making it easy for developers to integrate payments into their apps. Money Button achieved greater success than Yours.org and was acquired by The Bayesian Group in 2020.
The Bayesian Group/Fabriik (2020 - 2021): I worked at Fabriik as an Engineering Manager of four to five engineers. I was responsible for the Money Button product and what would become the token team. I led the initiative to create a new token product to enable users to create tokens using blockchain technology.

Solopreneur (2021 - Present)

In early 2021, I resigned from Fabriik (previously known as “The Bayesian Group”), the company that acquired Yours Inc. I worked on some side projects and eventually resumed work on some serious entrepreneurial projects, including EarthBucks, Identellica, and Hallucipedia.

Side Projects (2021 - 2024): I built several Bitcoin-related side projects, including most significantly HeartMail, which was a cryptocurrency email product, but which did not clearly have enough traction to continue to focus on. I also built an AI social network called Artintellica (completely unrelated to the new “Artintellica”), which had users and revenue, and some of the work from that project is included in what is now Hallucipedia.
EarthBucks (2024 - Present): I created a new blockchain called EarthBucks to facilitate small, casual transactions in the range of 1 US cent to 5 US dollars. I am the founder and CEO of EarthBucks. EarthBucks is operating, and I earn revenue by selling EBX.
Identellica (2024 - Present): I created Identellica, a pseudonymous identity verification service. I am the founder and CEO of Identellica. Identellica is operating, and I earn revenue by selling identifications.
Hallucipedia (2025 - Present): I created Hallucipedia, a collaborative AI-generated encyclopedia. I am the founder and CEO of Hallucipedia. Hallucipedia is operating, and I earn revenue for each generated article.
Artintellica (2025 - Present): I created Artintellica, which is essentially a large open-source textbook on machine learning and AI. There is currently no business model for Artintellica and it is completely free and open source.

Each of my current products has a blog, so you can learn more about these products at these locations:

My new products use my 2025 tech stack, which is: Node.js, TypeScript, Docker, fly.io, PlanetScale, AWS, React 19, React Router 7, tRPC 11, Tailwind 4, Drizzle ORM, Rust/WASM, WebGPU, AI models including OpenAI and Grok.

During my time as a solopreneur, I have become increasingly interested in AI to the point where I now believe it is irrational to work on anything else, hence why I am pivoting from cryptocurrency to AI.

Education

University of Missouri-Columbia (2002 - 2007): Double major: Bachelor of Science in Physics and Bachelor of Science in Mathematics.
Washington University in St. Louis (2007 - 2013): Graduate student in physics PhD program. Researched cosmology and high energy astrophysics, worked on data analysis and simulation software (C, C++, Python) and physical work on telescopes and computer hardware. Completed three years of coursework in physics, mathematics, computer science, and computer engineering, including designing an 8-bit microprocessor.

Bio

I was born in 1984 in St. Charles, MO, and grew up in the suburbs of St. Louis. I have lived in Missouri, Illinois, Georgia, California, and Texas, and I have visited 17 countries.

Contact

Please email me at website@ryanxcharles.com.