Project 0

The challenge: Moving fast while building trust in the crypto space

Abdul Rabbani faced a unique challenge when he joined Project 0 as the Head of Data. The company was building a decentralized lending and borrowing platform, and they were starting from scratch on the data side. Abdul needed to set up infrastructure quickly and figure out how to start delivering value, since crypto data is massive and constantly changing.

Project 0 rewards users with loyalty points, similar to a frequent flier program. The more you use the platform, the more points you earn that are used to distribute incentives to their end users. In a world where scams are common, users needed proof that the system was accurately calculating points: which activities earned points, when, and how much.

Separately, the team also needed to monitor the platform’s risk across thousands of transactions.

As a startup competing in the fast-moving crypto space, Abdul landed on Hex to build, analyze, and visualize data.

The solution: Project 0 is building user trust and moving 10x faster

Tracking every second of user activity to reward loyalty with precision and transparency

Project 0 tracked when each user action happened and how long it lasted, calculating the rewards for every second in between.

Using Hex, Abdul quickly iterated on the complex logic. He wrote SQL queries to test different calculation approaches, used the Notebook Agent to parameterize and optimize his code, and visualized the results to spot issues immediately. The Notebook Agent analyzed outputs and flagged when something didn't look right.

"The Notebook Agent has been really intelligent about not just writing the query, but also analyzing the outputs and saying 'this doesn't look right,'" Abdul said.

The team built a data app with multiple views: users can input their wallet address, filter by different campaigns, and see exactly how their points were calculated over time. Project 0 plans to make the notebook public so users can audit points themselves. This will be a radically transparent move in an industry often criticized for opacity.

Giving stakeholders the risk insights needed to make confident decisions

Abdul's team also built a comprehensive risk-monitoring dashboard to track system health. The challenge was creating a tool that multiple stakeholders could use: Risk teams analyzing potential loss, Application teams understanding user behavior, and Program Engineers ensuring contract solvency.

Instead of maintaining multiple dashboards that could fall out of sync, the team built single components that multiple notebooks could reference.

Color-coded formatting highlighted critical information for Risk teams monitoring thousands of data points. These visual cues meant the difference between spotting issues and missing them entirely.

Hex’s collaborative features accelerated iteration. Stakeholders could comment directly on specific sections, requesting changes or clarifications. Cross-functional teams could examine SQL queries and validate calculations.

"Using Hex to debug and move as a team has been incredibly beneficial. It allows all of us to collaborate and build our insights on one platform." Abdul said.

Empowering non-technical users with AI

Hex has democratized data access across Project 0. The company's Head of Operations started using the Notebook Agent to answer questions independently, building 90% of the report before pulling in the Data team to add the finishing touches. Team members can now build their own reports using the Data team’s components.

"It's opened up other members of our team who aren't as technical to come in and ask questions," Abdul explained. "They can use existing code and when they get stuck, they can use Hex’s Notebook Agent to tell it what they want to do and compare the changes."

The impact: A 10x faster data team that builds user trust

Project 0's Data team became the hub that helped teams build and gain faster insights. Instead of being a service organization responding to requests, the Data team became builders of products that powered interactive experiences.

Speed became the new normal. Queries that previously took two days to deliver could now take several hours. Abdul could prototype, get stakeholder feedback, iterate, and ship all in a few days.

Non-technical users became data-empowered. The Notebook Agent enabled business users to self-serve analytics and the Data team to spend more time building strategic data products.

Transparency differentiated Project 0 from competitors. By publishing their Data App, Project 0 sends a powerful message: if they invest this much care in data, users can trust them with their funds. In an industry plagued by opacity, auditability is their competitive advantage.

Front-end bottlenecks disappeared. Abdul's team can now ship customer-facing Data Apps, gather user feedback, iterate, and move the validated features into the main application.

“Hex let us set a new standard for transparency in crypto. We can show users the complete calculation behind their rewards in an explorable format, which wouldn’t have been possible without Hex.” - Abdul Rabbani, Head of Data, Project 0

For Project 0, Hex didn't just make the Data team faster, it made data a foundation for customer trust, operational efficiency, and competitive differentiation in the demanding world of crypto.