Last week, the zkMe team had the privilege of attending EthCC 2024 from July 8 to 11, the largest annual European Ethereum event. Hosted by Ethereum France, a French non-profit organization, EthCC 2024 was an exceptional opportunity for zkMe to reconnect with friends, introduce our zkKYC solution to potential partners, and forge valuable connections within the industry. The event also provided us with insights into the latest trends in compliance, regulatory challenges, and more, ensuring we stay at the forefront of industry developments.

What is EthCC?

The Ethereum Community Conference (EthCC) is the largest annual European Ethereum event focused on technology and community. The event of this year brings together developers, investors, founders, brands, and policymakers. The conference includes four intense days of conferences, networking, and learning with over 350 speakers and 300+ side events. EthCC 2024, held in Brussels Belgium, attracted over 5,000 attendees and 54 sponsors. EthCC is a community-driven event aimed at sharing and transmitting knowledge to develop a positive and fertile ecosystem.

Key Takeaways from EthCC 2024

EthCC 2024 provided zkMe the perfect opportunity to showcase its cutting-edge zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) infrastructure and zkKYC solutions. The zkMe team attended several significant events during EthCC 2024, gaining valuable insights and forging connections that will guide our future development.

One of the major events attended by zkMe include was Rollcon by Kakarot zkEVM, held on July 11. This event featured a keynote by Vitalik Buterin on the future UX of the Ethereum-verse. Vitalik emphasized, “Using the Ethereum-verse should not feel like using 40 different chains,” highlighting the need for a seamless user experience (UX).

We were particularly impressed and inspired by Vitalik’s vision, as it aligns closely with our goals as a chain-agnostic onchain Identity infrastructure provider. At zkMe, we strive to provide the highest degree of ease of use for onchain verifications, aiming to reduce give-up and bounce rates compared to our competitors. This insight reinforces our commitment to enhancing user experience for our users, ensuring that the KYC process is as smooth and intuitive as possible. Vitalik’s emphasis on seamless UX across the Ethereum ecosystem resonates deeply with our mission to deliver a frictionless user experience.

Additionally, we attended several other key events: the Rise Chain Builders Brunch, which focused on the latest developments and integrations within the RISE Chain ecosystem; Hack Seasons Brussels, a conference on hacking and building in the Web3 space that provided valuable community feedback; Multichain Day hosted by Blockswap Labs, which offered insights into multichain technologies to enhance our KYC and AML compliance capabilities; and RWA Brussels, an invite-only event on tokenization, credit, and real-world assets, aligning well with zkMe’s product offerings and potential collaborations.

There were also insightful talks on cryptocurrency regulation and innovation, emphasizing the evolving landscape of compliance within the blockchain and DeFi sectors. These sessions specifically discussed the EU’s MiCA framework and its industry impact, which is crucial for zkMe as we develop compliant and responsible solutions. For example, the “DeFi for the Real World: ERC-3643 and RWA Tokenization” presentation highlighted the benefits of combining DeFi with RWA tokenization using the ERC-3643 standard. This approach addresses compliance challenges and integrates real-world assets into the DeFi ecosystem, making DeFi more applicable in real-world scenarios.

“This year’s EthCC was brimming with an innovative spirit and by far the most diverse web3 conference I have participated in. I especially loved seeing a myriad of new onchain approaches in RWA, Payment, and Social Investing. Being in the political center of the European Union and seeing the Commission and AMLA actively engaging with the industry was again a reminder that (at least in Europe) mass adoption of web3 will come because of a positive exchange of the industry with regulators rather than despite of it.”

Alex Scheer, Founder and CEO at zkMe

Looking Ahead

EthCC 2024 has provided zkMe with invaluable insights and connections that will shape our future strategy and development. We are glad that our solutions align with some of the key messages and knowledge we received at the event, such as the importance of user experience and compliance.

Inspired by the discussions and presentations, particularly Vitalik Buterin’s emphasis on seamless UX, we are committed to enhancing our KYC user experience and ensuring our solutions meet emerging regulatory standards like MiCA. Our participation in various key events has opened doors for potential collaborations and innovations, especially in the areas of multichain integration and real-world asset tokenization.

As we move forward, zkMe remains dedicated to delivering cutting-edge, compliant, and user-friendly solutions that drive the adoption and growth of decentralized finance.

About zkMe

zkMe builds zk Identity Oracles for truly decentralized & anonymous cross-chain credential verifications.No personal information is ever processed by anyone but the user themselves. Data leaks & misuse by the service provider are impossible; full interoperability & reusability result in a superior ID solution. zkMe’s is the only FATF compliant KYC provider to be fully decentralized, offering a full suite of products from anti-bit/anti-sybil, to KYC and more.
For more information, follow the links below:
Website | Twitter | Discord | Docs |