diff --git a/src/hooks/useLeaderboard.ts b/src/hooks/useLeaderboard.ts
index b4f965f..83da8ad 100644
--- a/src/hooks/useLeaderboard.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/useLeaderboard.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from "react";
+import { sorobanService } from "@/lib/soroban";
 
 export type SortKey = "credits" | "stake";
 
@@ -11,34 +12,49 @@ export type LeaderboardEntry = {
 
 export const PAGE_SIZE = 10;
 const REFRESH_MS = 30_000;
+const SEARCH_DEBOUNCE_MS = 300;
 
-export async function fetchLeaderboard(): Promise<LeaderboardEntry[]> {
-  // Wire to Horizon event indexer or Soroban RPC when contract is deployed.
-  await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 400));
-  return Array.from({ length: 100 }, (_, i) => ({
-    address: `G${"A".repeat(55 - String(i + 1).length)}${i + 1}`,
-    totalCredits: 50000 - i * 480,
-    totalStake: 100000 - i * 950,
-    boostUtilization: Math.max(5, 100 - i),
-  }));
+export function fetchLeaderboard(
+  offset: number,
+  limit: number,
+  sortKey: SortKey
+): Promise<{ entries: LeaderboardEntry[]; total: number }> {
+  return sorobanService.getLeaderboard(offset, limit, sortKey);
 }
 
 export function useLeaderboard(publicKey: string | null) {
   const [entries, setEntries] = useState<LeaderboardEntry[]>([]);
+  const [total, setTotal] = useState(0);
   const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = useState(true);
   const [sortKey, setSortKeyState] = useState<SortKey>("credits");
-  const [searchQuery, setSearchQueryState] = useState("");
+  const [searchInput, setSearchInput] = useState("");
+  const [searchQuery, setSearchQuery] = useState("");
   const [page, setPageState] = useState(1);
   const [lastRefreshed, setLastRefreshed] = useState<Date | null>(null);
 
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const id = setTimeout(() => setSearchQuery(searchInput), SEARCH_DEBOUNCE_MS);
+    return () => clearTimeout(id);
+  }, [searchInput]);
+
+  const totalPages = Math.max(1, Math.ceil(total / PAGE_SIZE));
+  const currentPage = Math.min(page, totalPages);
+  const offset = (currentPage - 1) * PAGE_SIZE;
+
   const refresh = useCallback(() => {
     setIsLoading(true);
-    fetchLeaderboard().then((data) => {
-      setEntries(data);
-      setIsLoading(false);
-      setLastRefreshed(new Date());
-    });
-  }, []);
+    fetchLeaderboard(offset, PAGE_SIZE, sortKey)
+      .then(({ entries, total }) => {
+        setEntries(entries);
+        setTotal(total);
+        setLastRefreshed(new Date());
+      })
+      .catch(() => {
+        setEntries([]);
+        setTotal(0);
+      })
+      .finally(() => setIsLoading(false));
+  }, [offset, sortKey]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     refresh();
@@ -46,49 +62,35 @@ export function useLeaderboard(publicKey: string | null) {
     return () => clearInterval(id);
   }, [refresh]);
 
-  const sorted = [...entries].sort((a, b) =>
-    sortKey === "credits"
-      ? b.totalCredits - a.totalCredits
-      : b.totalStake - a.totalStake
-  );
-
-  const filtered = sorted.filter((e) =>
-    e.address.toLowerCase().includes(searchQuery.toLowerCase())
-  );
+  const paged = searchQuery
+    ? entries.filter((e) =>
+        e.address.toLowerCase().includes(searchQuery.toLowerCase())
+      )
+    : entries;
 
-  const totalPages = Math.max(1, Math.ceil(filtered.length / PAGE_SIZE));
-  const currentPage = Math.min(page, totalPages);
-  const paged = filtered.slice(
-    (currentPage - 1) * PAGE_SIZE,
-    currentPage * PAGE_SIZE
-  );
-
-  const connectedRank = publicKey
-    ? filtered.findIndex((e) => e.address === publicKey) + 1
-    : 0;
+  const connectedRank = (() => {
+    if (!publicKey) return 0;
+    const idx = entries.findIndex((e) => e.address === publicKey);
+    return idx === -1 ? 0 : offset + idx + 1;
+  })();
 
   const setSortKey = (key: SortKey) => {
     setSortKeyState(key);
     setPageState(1);
   };
 
-  const setSearchQuery = (q: string) => {
-    setSearchQueryState(q);
-    setPageState(1);
-  };
-
   return {
     paged,
     isLoading,
     sortKey,
     setSortKey,
-    searchQuery,
-    setSearchQuery,
+    searchQuery: searchInput,
+    setSearchQuery: setSearchInput,
     currentPage,
     totalPages,
     setPage: setPageState,
     connectedRank,
-    filteredCount: filtered.length,
+    filteredCount: searchQuery ? paged.length : total,
     lastRefreshed,
     refresh,
   };
diff --git a/src/lib/soroban.ts b/src/lib/soroban.ts
index cf348c1..e725113 100644
--- a/src/lib/soroban.ts
+++ b/src/lib/soroban.ts
@@ -32,6 +32,30 @@ import type {
 } from './soroban-parsers';
 export type { AssetInfo, PoolInfo, UserPosition } from './soroban-parsers';
 
+// Soroban RPC Configuration
+const RPC_URL = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SOROBAN_RPC_URL || 'https://soroban-testnet.stellar.org:443';
+const NETWORK_PASSPHRASE = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_NETWORK_PASSPHRASE || Networks.TESTNET;
+
+// Contract Addresses (will be set via environment variables in production)
+const FACTORY_CONTRACT_ADDRESS = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_FACTORY_CONTRACT_ADDRESS || '';
+
+const LEADERBOARD_API_URL = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_LEADERBOARD_API_URL || '';
+const LEADERBOARD_LOOKBACK_LEDGERS = 120960; // ~7 days at ~5s per ledger
+
+export type LeaderboardSortKey = 'credits' | 'stake';
+
+export interface LeaderboardRow {
+  address: string;
+  totalCredits: number;
+  totalStake: number;
+  boostUtilization: number;
+}
+
+export interface LeaderboardPage {
+  entries: LeaderboardRow[];
+  total: number;
+}
+
 // Initialize Soroban RPC Server
 export const rpcServer = new rpc.Server(sorobanRpcUrl);
 
@@ -1299,6 +1323,153 @@ export class SorobanService {
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Fetch one page of the leaderboard. Prefers the backend indexer
+   * (NEXT_PUBLIC_LEADERBOARD_API_URL); otherwise derives it from on-chain events.
+   */
+  async getLeaderboard(
+    offset: number,
+    limit: number,
+    sortKey: LeaderboardSortKey = 'credits',
+  ): Promise<LeaderboardPage> {
+    if (LEADERBOARD_API_URL) {
+      try {
+        return await this.fetchLeaderboardFromApi(offset, limit, sortKey);
+      } catch (err) {
+        console.warn('[SmartDrop] leaderboard API failed, falling back to event scan:', err);
+      }
+    }
+    return this.fetchLeaderboardFromEvents(offset, limit, sortKey);
+  }
+
+  private async fetchLeaderboardFromApi(
+    offset: number,
+    limit: number,
+    sortKey: LeaderboardSortKey,
+  ): Promise<LeaderboardPage> {
+    const url = new URL(LEADERBOARD_API_URL);
+    url.searchParams.set('offset', String(offset));
+    url.searchParams.set('limit', String(limit));
+    url.searchParams.set('sort', sortKey);
+
+    const res = await fetch(url.toString(), { headers: { accept: 'application/json' } });
+    if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Leaderboard API responded ${res.status}`);
+
+    const data = (await res.json()) as {
+      entries?: Array<Partial<LeaderboardRow>>;
+      total?: number;
+    };
+    const entries: LeaderboardRow[] = (data.entries ?? []).map((e) => ({
+      address: String(e.address ?? ''),
+      totalCredits: Number(e.totalCredits ?? 0),
+      totalStake: Number(e.totalStake ?? 0),
+      boostUtilization: Number(e.boostUtilization ?? 0),
+    }));
+    return { entries, total: Number(data.total ?? entries.length) };
+  }
+
+  private async fetchLeaderboardFromEvents(
+    offset: number,
+    limit: number,
+    sortKey: LeaderboardSortKey,
+  ): Promise<LeaderboardPage> {
+    const poolIds = await this.getLeaderboardPoolIds();
+    if (poolIds.length === 0) return { entries: [], total: 0 };
+
+    try {
+      const latest = await this.rpcServer.getLatestLedger();
+      const startLedger = Math.max(1, latest.sequence - LEADERBOARD_LOOKBACK_LEDGERS);
+
+      const lockSym = xdr.ScVal.scvSymbol('lock_assets').toXDR('base64');
+      const unlockSym = xdr.ScVal.scvSymbol('unlock_assets').toXDR('base64');
+      const creditSym = xdr.ScVal.scvSymbol('update_credits').toXDR('base64');
+
+      const response = await this.rpcServer.getEvents({
+        startLedger,
+        filters: [
+          {
+            type: 'contract',
+            contractIds: poolIds,
+            topics: [[lockSym, '*'], [unlockSym, '*'], [creditSym, '*']],
+          },
+        ],
+        pagination: { limit: 1000 },
+      });
+
+      const agg = new Map<string, { stake: number; credits: number }>();
+      const rowFor = (addr: string) => {
+        let row = agg.get(addr);
+        if (!row) {
+          row = { stake: 0, credits: 0 };
+          agg.set(addr, row);
+        }
+        return row;
+      };
+
+      for (const evt of response.events) {
+        if (!evt.inSuccessfulContractCall) continue;
+        const topics = (evt.topic as xdr.ScVal[]).map(scValToNative);
+        const action = topics[0] as string;
+        const address = String(topics[1] ?? '');
+        if (!address) continue;
+
+        const valueNative = scValToNative(evt.value as xdr.ScVal);
+        const amount = this.extractEventAmount(valueNative);
+        const row = rowFor(address);
+
+        if (action === 'lock_assets') row.stake += amount / 10_000_000;
+        else if (action === 'unlock_assets') row.stake = Math.max(0, row.stake - amount / 10_000_000);
+        else if (action === 'update_credits') row.credits = amount;
+      }
+
+      const all: LeaderboardRow[] = Array.from(agg.entries())
+        .map(([address, { stake, credits }]) => ({
+          address,
+          totalCredits: Math.round(credits),
+          totalStake: Math.round(stake),
+          boostUtilization: 0,
+        }))
+        .filter((e) => e.totalStake > 0 || e.totalCredits > 0);
+
+      all.sort((a, b) =>
+        sortKey === 'credits'
+          ? b.totalCredits - a.totalCredits
+          : b.totalStake - a.totalStake,
+      );
+
+      return { entries: all.slice(offset, offset + limit), total: all.length };
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.warn('[SmartDrop] event-derived leaderboard failed:', err);
+      return { entries: [], total: 0 };
+    }
+  }
+
+  private async getLeaderboardPoolIds(): Promise<string[]> {
+    const ids = new Set<string>();
+    const envPool = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_POOL_CONTRACT_ID;
+    if (envPool) ids.add(envPool);
+    try {
+      const pools = await this.getFactoryPools();
+      pools.forEach((p) => {
+        if (p.contractAddress) ids.add(p.contractAddress);
+      });
+    } catch {
+      // factory not configured; env pool is enough
+    }
+    return Array.from(ids);
+  }
+
+  private extractEventAmount(valueNative: unknown): number {
+    if (typeof valueNative === 'bigint') return Number(valueNative);
+    if (typeof valueNative === 'number') return valueNative;
+    if (Array.isArray(valueNative)) return Number(valueNative[0] ?? 0);
+    if (valueNative && typeof valueNative === 'object') {
+      const v = valueNative as Record<string, unknown>;
+      return Number(v['amount'] ?? v['credits'] ?? v['credits_earned'] ?? 0);
+    }
+    return Number(valueNative ?? 0);
+  }
+
   // Helper methods for parsing XDR data
   private parsePoolsFromXdr(xdrResult: xdr.ScVal): PoolInfo[] {
     return parsePoolsFromXdrResult(xdrResult);