Selected Projects Compilation from ETHGlobal Istanbul Hackathon: Account Abstraction, Governance, ZK Privacy
ETHGlobal, a well-known hackathon competition in the industry, co-hosted the event with Devconnect in Istanbul. According to the official announcement, there were ten teams selected for the finals, covering areas such as zero-knowledge proofs (ZK), account abstraction (AA), privacy, and asset security.
Table of Contents:
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Ten Teams Selected for Istanbul ETHGlobal Hackathon
Clade Club
S.C.I
BridgeBuddy
Buddy-Guard
Sarma
AidDistribute
TapTrust
Footy Stars
ZK Vote
Lens & Frens
Thinking about Improvement
The ten teams selected for the ETHGlobal finals are:
1. Clade Club: DAO governance tool
2. S.C.I: Anti-phishing tool
3. BridgeBuddy: Account abstraction wallet
4. Buddy-Guard: Community security service
5. Sarma: Privacy execution program
6. AidDistribute: Tool to restrict asset usage
7. TapTrust: NFC privacy activity participation tool
8. Footy Stars: Zero-knowledge proof project for game results
9. ZK Vote: Zero-knowledge proof voting tool
10. Lens & Frens: Zero-knowledge proof ticketing system
Clade Club aims to improve DAO operations. Traditionally, DAOs usually operate using tokens or NFTs, giving more power to those with more funds, and the decision-making process often lacks discussion. Clade Club, on the other hand, uses Worldcoin for governance, employing Quadratic Voting and ensuring that participants have undergone KYC through World ID. In terms of the voting system, the team was influenced by Ray Dalio’s Dot Collector concept, founder of Bridgewater Associates, to create a Web3 version of a scoring system.
Secure Contract Interactions (S.C.I) is an on-chain verification protocol that provides a more secure usage environment by utilizing domain and user verification mechanisms.
Domain-Contract On-Chain Whitelist:
The team has built an on-chain domain associated with on-chain contract verification system, where domain owners can add contracts to the whitelist.
User tagging feature:
By providing Ethereum Attestation Service (EAS), users can tag malicious domains or contracts and prove the security of contracts, reducing reliance on domain owners’ risk.
Ease of use:
When users access risky contracts, they receive alerts through Metamask Snap and other methods.
BridgeBuddy is a browser extension account abstraction wallet that simplifies the user experience by abstracting the complexities of cross-chain transactions on various EVM-compatible networks. The wallet integrates and displays assets from all chains together and allows automatic cross-chain transactions. For example, the balances of USDC on Ethereum and USDC on Arbitrum are automatically combined and displayed. When a user’s USDC balance on a specific chain is insufficient, the wallet automatically completes the transaction by crossing to another chain.
Buddy-Guard provides community security network mechanisms. Users who feel the need for protection, such as when walking alone at night, can use tokens such as ApeCoin or GHO as collateral to create orders. Buddy-Guards, who receive the orders, need to monitor whether the user has sent a signal (automatically transmitted by the system) upon reaching the destination within a certain timeframe. If no signal is received within the specified time, the Buddy-Guard needs to notify the police or others. The project uses EAS on-chain attestation to ensure the reputation of Buddy-Guards. NFC design is used for a more convenient offline experience, which also fits emergency scenarios.
The project implements a Sarma code format that enables public and private smart contract execution on any EVM. This feature also supports cross-chain functionality. Users can use Solidity to write the public part of the smart contract. When a private part is needed, it can be written using Noir and executed using Sarma (a blob of UTXO), hiding transaction information. Sarma also supports cross-chain functionality, achieving cross-chain privacy execution. The process is more secure because the cross-chain bridge protocol does not know what information it is transmitting.
AidDistribute is a project that ensures the correct usage and tracking of tokens. The project utilizes ERC-4326 to create a vault contract where the contract owner can deposit ERC-20 tokens and mint corresponding ownership tokens. These tokens can only be transferred, traded, or redeemed at whitelisted addresses, ensuring that funds are used for appropriate purposes. Daily withdrawal limits can also be set for whitelisted addresses. The team currently uses GHO stablecoin issued by Aave as the token.
TapTrust optimizes the experience of participating in activities using NFC and account abstraction technology. Users can automatically sign transactions and maintain privacy through NFC chips, making it easier to participate in Web3 activities without ETH. For example, users can sign up for voting or claim POAP even without ETH.
FootyStars provides trustless match results using zero-knowledge proof technology called EZKL. It brings real-world results onto the blockchain, simulating real-world matches. Each player in FootyStars is an ERC721 token. By aggregating transparent algorithms from multiple sports data sources such as Opta/Squawka and professional team ratings from FootyStars juries selected by DAO, the players’ game performances are reflected on the NFT chain.
ZK Vote uses Polygon ID to verify private credentials and generate zero-knowledge proofs, ensuring that participants have the right to vote without revealing personal information. It solves two common problems in blockchain governance systems: user anonymity and vote uniqueness.
Lens & Frens is a zero-knowledge proof ticketing system where related tickets do not disclose privacy. Users can participate in activities using zero-knowledge proof tickets securely. The underlying technology utilizes zk-SNARK and PCD to ensure the legitimacy of on-chain tickets without revealing other information.
Observing the latest hackathon projects can help generate interesting ideas and insights, providing another interesting way to participate in Web3. It is important to have an objective perspective and continue to think about how to improve. These projects usually have room for improvement, and teams tend to use corresponding technologies in order to win awards. For example, NFC technology is frequently used, partly because the NFT technology company Arx provides corresponding rewards, but there may be other better solutions. Therefore, these projects are by no means the end. When looking at these projects, it is important to constantly think about how to improve, which can often lead to unexpected gains.
AA
DAO
ETHGlobal
ZK
ZKP
Account abstraction
Further Reading
Solana’s Account Abstraction First Step, Neon EVM to Support Multi-Asset Fees
JPMorgan’s Digital Asset Platform Onyx to Test Tokenized Wealth Management Service with Avalanche.
