LockD: The Web3 accountability protocol. Stake crypto as a hostage for your goals. Miss a deadline? Assets freeze. Turn loss aversion into pure productivity.
LockD: Decentralized Commitment Protocol
We all have goals—learning a new language, coding everyday, or hitting the gym. But we often fail because rely on willpower, which is a finite resource. Current productivity apps rely on positive reinforcement (badges, streaks), but behavioral psychology tells us that Loss Aversion (the fear of losing something) is a motivator 2x stronger than the desire to gain.
I built LockD to solve my own procrastination. I wanted a system that doesn't just "track" my habits, but actively enforces them with real financial consequences.
LockD is a Web3 accountability tool where users stake crypto assets (ETH/USDC) as a "hostage" for their commitment.
The Pledge: Users lock funds into a Smart Contract for a set duration (1, 3, or 7 days).
The Grind: Users must "Check-In" daily via the dApp to prove they are actively working on their goal.
The Twist (Sudden Death): If a user misses a 24-hour window, the Smart Contract passively detects the delay and flips the pledge status to FROZEN.
The Redemption: Frozen assets aren't lost immediately. Users can trigger a "Redemption Mission" (a strict 3-day streak). If successful, they recover 80% of their funds (20% is the penalty). If they fail again, the assets are liquidated 100%.
LockD is a fully decentralized application (dApp) built with a "Trustless" architecture in mind.
Smart Contract: Written in Solidity. I implemented a custom State Machine (Active -> Frozen -> Redeeming -> Claimed) to handle the complex logic of failure and redemption.
Optimization: I used Variable Packing in the struct design to fit 8 different variables (including address, timestamps, and enums) into just 2 storage slots. This ensures the protocol is extremely gas-efficient for users.
Frontend: Built with React and Vite for a fast, responsive experience. The UI uses a "Dark Mode" aesthetic with aggressive visual cues (Red/Hazard stripes) to trigger the user's sense of urgency when their assets are frozen.
Security: Implemented ReentrancyGuard and strict modifier checks to prevent exploitation during the withdrawal process.
The biggest challenge was handling Time Management On-Chain. Blockchains don't have a native cron job or alarm clock.
Problem: How do we "freeze" a user's funds if they simply stop interacting with the contract?
Solution: I implemented a "Passive Check" logic. The contract validates the time difference (block.timestamp vs lastCheckIn) every time the user attempts an interaction. If the gap exceeds the grace period, the transaction executes but forces a state change to FROZEN instead of a successful check-in.
Social Verification: Allowing friends to "vouch" for a user's progress.
NFT Badges: Minting dynamic NFTs that evolve based on the user's consistency streak.
Multi-Chain Support: Deploying to low-cost L2 networks (Base, Optimism) to make it accessible for micro-commitments ($1-$5).
Day 1: Ideation & Logic Architecture Conceptualized the "Hostage Stake" mechanism based on Loss Aversion psychology. Designed the core State Machine flow (Active -> Frozen -> Redeeming). Pivot: Decided to remove IPFS/Photo proof verification to focus purely on on-chain time validation for a stronger, trustless MVP. Day 2: Smart Contract Development Wrote the LockD.sol contract from scratch. Implemented "Struct Packing" to optimize storage from 6 slots down to 2 slots (Gas efficiency). Solved the "Cron Job" problem by implementing a passive check logic (block.timestamp validation) inside the checkIn function. Day 3: Frontend Integration & UI Polish Built the frontend using React & Vite. Integrated Wallet connection (Wagmi/Viem). Designed the "Hazard/Warning" UI state to visually trigger urgency when a user's funds are frozen. Connected the frontend to the Smart Contract functions (createPledge, checkIn, startRedemption). Day 4: Testing & Deployment Deployed the contract to [Arbitrum Sepolia] testnet. Conducted rigorous testing on the "Sudden Death" logic to ensure the freeze mechanism triggers correctly after the grace period. Recorded the demo video.
