Hi everyone,
We appreciate the suggestion to make Unlock the ticketing provider for Devcon and Devconnect, as well as your dedication to making NFTs the primary method for Web3 event ticketing. We want to take this opportunity to clarify our decision-making process, as well as some of our overall goals.
One of our team’s main goals is to experiment with and showcase newer concepts and technologies within Ethereum. Take our most recent experiment with Zupass/Proof-carrying Data (PCDs) at Devconnect IST, for example. After the success of the Zuzalu event in Montenegro, where ZK-based ticketing was used & enthusiastically endorsed by Vitalik, we decided to use the same tech for Devconnect at the Cowork Space.
The flexibility of an open-source platform like Pretix, with a well-designed plug-in system, is pivotal for us. It not only allows us to experiment without maintaining a fork or requesting changes upstream, but allows for easy integration with various technologies (see: Zupass used at Devconnect, Attestations used at Devcon VI, or even new payment systems altogether) which aligns with our ethos of dogfooding — specifically, using our own conferences as platforms to trial and innovate with emerging tech & concepts being refined. The PCD experiment was insightful, offering advantages like enhanced privacy (tickets not revealed on a blockchain), reduced complexity and costs (no blockchain transactions or gas fees), and the ability to support complex claims tailored to our event’s specific needs.
While we recognize the success of NFT-based ticketing systems used across many events, we’re interested in both on- & off-chain cryptographic solutions. We value the privacy and flexibility PCDs offer, especially in terms of compatibility across different roll-ups and chains and their emphasis on privacy through off-chain cryptographic attestations.
While we value & aim to use open-source tech where possible, any list of requirements for a ticketing solution is overshadowed by our primary goal of staying at the forefront of Ethereum tech & being open to new paradigms not previously known. We have no qualms with NFT tickets; but our current goals and priorities lead us down a different path.
We again wish to convey that this is not a dismissal of the value or potential of NFT tickets. There are some advantages of having tickets as NFTs, and we have considered them against the advantages of off-chain PCD-style tickets. For Devcon’s specific objectives at this moment, we are likely to continue building on top of our existing infrastructure, including continued dogfooding of PCDs and Zupass. Our goals and perspective may shift in the future, and we remain open to future collaborations where our technological paths might converge more closely.
Devcon team