# About Mert Çiçekçi (Merth)

Mert Çiçekçi — known online as **Merth** (@merthxyz) — is a Web3 builder, speaker, and educator based in Ankara, Turkey.

He got his first computer at age 5, played basketball for 9 years, discovered crypto at 13, and turned an early loss into a builder's obsession. In 2021 he founded Tears of Astrea, a streetwear brand, before going all-in on Web3 — now 5 years deep.

Stellar is his home ecosystem: he served as a Stellar Development Foundation Ambassador, mentored at Stellar Hack Pera (Turkey's largest IRL Web3 hackathon, 200+ builders), and has delivered 10+ Soroban workshops. He previously co-founded **Noe Labs**, building **Noether**, a perpetual DEX on Stellar, and worked as a **DevRel Engineer at Rise In**, creating courses and running hackathons. These days he is heads-down on independent learning, research, and self-development.

He writes Soroban (Rust) on Stellar, Move on Sui, and Solidity on EVM chains. He studies at ODTU (METU) in Ankara, where he is a board member and developer lead of ODTU Blockchain.

## Experience

- Learning & Research at Independent (Present): Heads-down on learning, research, and self-development — focused on life and what's next.
- Co-founder at Noe Labs (2026): Built Noether, a perpetual DEX, and next-generation DeFi products on Stellar.
- DevRel Engineer at Rise In (May 2025 - 2026): Drove developer adoption and education across Web3 ecosystems.
- Ambassador at Stellar Dev Foundation (Aug 2025 - Dec 2025): Represented the Stellar network and supported the local ecosystem.
- Full Stack & Smart Contract Developer at Campus Arc (Dec 2024 - May 2025): Full stack development and Solidity smart contract engineering.
- Board Member at ODTU Blockchain (May 2025 - Present): Leading technical initiatives and developer community at university.
- Founder at Tears of Astrea (Oct 2021 - 2024): Founded and operated a streetwear brand. Designed collections and managed operations.

## Stats

- 5+ Years in Web3
- 7+ Hackathon Wins
- 20+ Workshops
- 10+ Events Organized

More: https://www.merth.xyz/about — Contact: https://www.merth.xyz/contact.md