
Memberships are everywhere: from your local gym, to your favorite news site, through conferences! At Unlock, we take great care in making sure we can _bridge_ the gap between online memberships and the offline world.

Today, we're excited to show you the flow to **check users in** if you are using onchain tickets for a conference.

# The flow

First, the users will have to purchase a ticket. You can learn much more about onchain ticketing at [https://events.unlock-protocol.com](https://events.unlock-protocol.com).

The ticket is a non-fungible-token, and can be delivered to either an email address or a crypto wallet. We also [built a key chain](https://app.unlock-protocol.com/keychain/) where users can instantly view all of their tickets and other onchain memberships.

On the keychain, an attendee can "confirm ownership" of their ticket, which is a way for them to prove that they own it.

<p style="text-align:center" ><img width="300" src="/images/blog/checking-key-in/devcon-demo-ticket.jpg" alt="key in keychain"></p>

For each ticket, we generate a QR code which can then be used by anyone to verify that indeed, this user owns this ticket and that this ticket is valid. Below is my QR code for a ticket. You can scan it with your camera application!

<p style="text-align:center" ><img width="300" src="/images/blog/checking-key-in/qr-code.png" alt="qr code ticket"></p>

# Checking users in

In a small number of cases, some individuals may try to transfer their ticket to someone after they have used it. This means that, unless we use a mechanism to prevent this, an unscrupulous individual could use their ticket (and the corresponding QR code) to enter a venue, and then transfer the ticket to another user who is waiting outside, who would re-use the same ticket (and another version of the QR code) to enter the venue as well. **This is not how tickets are supposed to work**!

Unlock has built-in mechanisms to prevent this, by checking in tickets at the venue and marking those tickets as "used" for event organizers who wish to do so. The verification page above works from any web browser. For this, we are using metadata on the NFT which can only be set by the event organizer (lock owner). This way, if the ticket is then transfered to someone else, the organizers would still be able to quickly identify sneaky users who are trying to re-use a ticket.

<p style="text-align:center" ><img width="300" src="/images/blog/checking-key-in/checked-in-key-2.png" alt="checked-in!"></p>

With our support for credit cards, the ability to ask users to submit information for their tickets, and sell them on the organizers' website directly, we believe Unlock now provides a **ticketing experience** that's even better than most legacy solutions, while still leveraging Ethereum's core capabilities: decentralization, permissionless and programmable!

You can learn much more about Unlock's ticketing flow for events, how to implement QR codes, and more in our [How To Sell NFT Tickets for an Event](https://unlock-protocol.com/guides/how-to-sell-nft-tickets-for-an-event/) guide.


At Unlock, we're proud to power the tickets for several conferences... but no ticketing solution is complete without a check-in mechanism!

Tickets to conferences are memberships!

Check In Attendees Using a Smartphone Using QR Code Tickets

<p>Memberships are everywhere: from your local gym, to your favorite news site, through conferences! At Unlock, we take great care in making sure we can <em>bridge</em> the gap between online memberships and the offline world.</p>
<p>Today, we're excited to show you the flow to <strong>check users in</strong> if you are using onchain tickets for a conference.</p>
<h1>The flow</h1>
<p>First, the users will have to purchase a ticket. You can learn much more about onchain ticketing at <a href="https://events.unlock-protocol.com">https://events.unlock-protocol.com</a>.</p>
<p>The ticket is a non-fungible-token, and can be delivered to either an email address or a crypto wallet. We also <a href="https://app.unlock-protocol.com/keychain/">built a key chain</a> where users can instantly view all of their tickets and other onchain memberships.</p>
<p>On the keychain, an attendee can "confirm ownership" of their ticket, which is a way for them to prove that they own it.</p>
<p style="text-align:center" ><img width="300" src="/images/blog/checking-key-in/devcon-demo-ticket.jpg" alt="key in keychain"></p>
<p>For each ticket, we generate a QR code which can then be used by anyone to verify that indeed, this user owns this ticket and that this ticket is valid. Below is my QR code for a ticket. You can scan it with your camera application!</p>
<p style="text-align:center" ><img width="300" src="/images/blog/checking-key-in/qr-code.png" alt="qr code ticket"></p>
<h1>Checking users in</h1>
<p>In a small number of cases, some individuals may try to transfer their ticket to someone after they have used it. This means that, unless we use a mechanism to prevent this, an unscrupulous individual could use their ticket (and the corresponding QR code) to enter a venue, and then transfer the ticket to another user who is waiting outside, who would re-use the same ticket (and another version of the QR code) to enter the venue as well. <strong>This is not how tickets are supposed to work</strong>!</p>
<p>Unlock has built-in mechanisms to prevent this, by checking in tickets at the venue and marking those tickets as "used" for event organizers who wish to do so. The verification page above works from any web browser. For this, we are using metadata on the NFT which can only be set by the event organizer (lock owner). This way, if the ticket is then transfered to someone else, the organizers would still be able to quickly identify sneaky users who are trying to re-use a ticket.</p>
<p style="text-align:center" ><img width="300" src="/images/blog/checking-key-in/checked-in-key-2.png" alt="checked-in!"></p>
<p>With our support for credit cards, the ability to ask users to submit information for their tickets, and sell them on the organizers' website directly, we believe Unlock now provides a <strong>ticketing experience</strong> that's even better than most legacy solutions, while still leveraging Ethereum's core capabilities: decentralization, permissionless and programmable!</p>
<p>You can learn much more about Unlock's ticketing flow for events, how to implement QR codes, and more in our <a href="https://unlock-protocol.com/guides/how-to-sell-nft-tickets-for-an-event/">How To Sell NFT Tickets for an Event</a> guide.</p>



The Unlock Protocol has been deployed to the [Base L2 🔵](https://docs.base.org/)! Our goal at Unlock has always been to support any ecosystem where developers, event organizers, creators, or brands want to deploy **their** membership contracts.

[Coinbase](https://www.coinbase.com/home) (one of our investors) has undeniably contributed massively to the crypto ecosystem, and we believe Base represents a step in democratizing web3 and the onchain web.

As an L2, Base benefits from the “security” budget of Ethereum, while also lowering transaction costs.

## How does it work?

Deploying a membership contract to Base follows the same process as deploying to any other of networks supported by Unlock Protocol. You can deploy your lock(s) using the Unlock Protocol Dashboard (or do it through code) and then use any of the tools available in the Unlock Protocol ecosystem, including using our checkout to sell your NFT memberships, airdrop them, or tap into any of the other capabilities available to the community.

## Related resources

- [Base docs on Unlock Protocol](https://docs.unlock-protocol.com/core-protocol/unlock/networks)
- [How to deploy a Base smart contract for memberships](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0pmdFUpJdY)
- [How to create event tickets on Base](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0pmdFUpJdY&t=97s)


You can use any of the tools available in the Unlock Protocol ecosystem to create membership smart contracts or ticket events on Base.

Unlock Protocol Has Been Deployed to the Base L2 🔵

<p>The Unlock Protocol has been deployed to the <a href="https://docs.base.org/">Base L2 🔵</a>! Our goal at Unlock has always been to support any ecosystem where developers, event organizers, creators, or brands want to deploy <strong>their</strong> membership contracts.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.coinbase.com/home">Coinbase</a> (one of our investors) has undeniably contributed massively to the crypto ecosystem, and we believe Base represents a step in democratizing web3 and the onchain web.</p>
<p>As an L2, Base benefits from the “security” budget of Ethereum, while also lowering transaction costs.</p>
<h2>How does it work?</h2>
<p>Deploying a membership contract to Base follows the same process as deploying to any other of networks supported by Unlock Protocol. You can deploy your lock(s) using the Unlock Protocol Dashboard (or do it through code) and then use any of the tools available in the Unlock Protocol ecosystem, including using our checkout to sell your NFT memberships, airdrop them, or tap into any of the other capabilities available to the community.</p>
<h2>Related resources</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://docs.unlock-protocol.com/core-protocol/unlock/networks">Base docs on Unlock Protocol</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0pmdFUpJdY">How to deploy a Base smart contract for memberships</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0pmdFUpJdY&#x26;t=97s">How to create event tickets on Base</a></li>
</ul>



Long-time users of Unlock know that the Unlock dashboard contains functionality that allows someone logged in with the "Lock Manager" role to airdrop keys to a list of recipients using their wallet addresses. Did you know that you can also airdrop NFTs using someone's email address?

The email generated includes a QR code of the signed NFT the recipient can use to prove ownership, for example, when showing an NFT ticket when attending in-person events.

Here are the key items.

## There is an email field on the airdrop screen

You can go into the Tools menu to airdrop.
![airdrop screenshot with new email field](/images/blog/email-airdrop-nft/airdrop-screenshot-2023-1-min.png)

An "email" field is included on the airdrop screen.
![airdrop screenshot with new email field](/images/blog/email-airdrop-nft/airdrop-screenshot-2023-2-min.png)

## Additional email actions on the "Members" page

In addition to airdropping the NFT via email, lock managers have additional membership actions they can perform on the "Members" page of the dashboard:

- Add or edit the email for a specific key
- Send QR-code by email

![airdrop screenshot with new email field](/images/blog/email-airdrop-nft/email-airdrop-screenshot2.png)

Want to go into the details and see a step-by-step walkthrough? Check out the Unlock Protocol Guide _[How to Airdrop NFTs by Email](https://unlock-protocol.com/guides/airdrop-nft-email/)_ in the Unlock Guides.

![airdrop guide](/images/blog/email-airdrop-nft/airdrop-guide-thumbnail-min.png)

We're excited to continue to support users of the protocol by consistently adding new features to the tools available. Be sure to join the [Discord](https://discord.unlock-protocol.com/) server and subscribe to our newsletter for updates if you haven't already.

_Note: Angela Steffens contributed to this blog post_


Unlock Protocol lets you send NFTs to a user using only their email address.

Unlock Protocol lets you send NFTs to a user using only their email address

Airdrop NFTs via Email with Unlock Protocol

<p>Long-time users of Unlock know that the Unlock dashboard contains functionality that allows someone logged in with the "Lock Manager" role to airdrop keys to a list of recipients using their wallet addresses. Did you know that you can also airdrop NFTs using someone's email address?</p>
<p>The email generated includes a QR code of the signed NFT the recipient can use to prove ownership, for example, when showing an NFT ticket when attending in-person events.</p>
<p>Here are the key items.</p>
<h2>There is an email field on the airdrop screen</h2>
<p>You can go into the Tools menu to airdrop.
<img src="/images/blog/email-airdrop-nft/airdrop-screenshot-2023-1-min.png" alt="airdrop screenshot with new email field"></p>
<p>An "email" field is included on the airdrop screen.
<img src="/images/blog/email-airdrop-nft/airdrop-screenshot-2023-2-min.png" alt="airdrop screenshot with new email field"></p>
<h2>Additional email actions on the "Members" page</h2>
<p>In addition to airdropping the NFT via email, lock managers have additional membership actions they can perform on the "Members" page of the dashboard:</p>
<ul>
<li>Add or edit the email for a specific key</li>
<li>Send QR-code by email</li>
</ul>
<p><img src="/images/blog/email-airdrop-nft/email-airdrop-screenshot2.png" alt="airdrop screenshot with new email field"></p>
<p>Want to go into the details and see a step-by-step walkthrough? Check out the Unlock Protocol Guide <em><a href="https://unlock-protocol.com/guides/airdrop-nft-email/">How to Airdrop NFTs by Email</a></em> in the Unlock Guides.</p>
<p><img src="/images/blog/email-airdrop-nft/airdrop-guide-thumbnail-min.png" alt="airdrop guide"></p>
<p>We're excited to continue to support users of the protocol by consistently adding new features to the tools available. Be sure to join the <a href="https://discord.unlock-protocol.com/">Discord</a> server and subscribe to our newsletter for updates if you haven't already.</p>
<p><em>Note: Angela Steffens contributed to this blog post</em></p>



![gasless minting image](/images/blog/gasless-minting/gasless-minting.png)

Gas fees in blockchain transactions refer to the cost associated with performing operations or executing smart contracts on a blockchain network. Blockchain networks, such as Ethereum, are decentralized and rely on a consensus mechanism to validate and execute transactions. To prevent spam and ensure that the network resources are used efficiently, a small fee in the form of cryptocurrency (usually in the native currency of the blockchain) must be paid for each transaction.

The term "gas" in this context refers to the unit used to measure the computational effort required to execute a specific operation or smart contract. Each operation on the blockchain network consumes a certain amount of gas, and the gas fee is calculated based on the complexity and resource requirements of the transaction.

When users initiate a transaction on the blockchain, they specify the gas price they are willing to pay for each unit of gas. Miners or validators on the network then choose transactions to include in the next block based on the gas price provided. Transactions with higher gas prices are prioritized because miners are incentivized to include them to maximize their rewards.

If the gas fee specified by the user is too low, the transaction may take longer to be processed or may even get stuck, as miners might prioritize higher-paying transactions. On the other hand, if the gas fee is set too high, users may end up overpaying for the transaction.

Gas fees play a vital role in the security and stability of blockchain networks, as they ensure that the network operates efficiently and that users pay a fair price for the resources they consume when interacting with the blockchain.

## The problems with gas fees on Ethereum mainnet

High gas fees on the Ethereum mainnet can lead to several significant problems for users and developers. Some of the main issues caused by high gas fees include:

- **Transaction costs:** High gas fees increase the cost of executing transactions on the Ethereum network. For users who are making simple transfers or interacting with decentralized applications, gas fees can become prohibitively expensive, discouraging everyday use of the network.
- **Economic barriers:** High gas fees create economic barriers for smaller users or those from economically disadvantaged regions. It can prevent individuals from participating in certain protocols, memberships, or events, limiting their access to opportunities and online mintable services.
- **Reduced adoption:** High gas fees can discourage developers from building or migrating their applications to the Ethereum mainnet.

To address these issues, the Ethereum community has been actively working on scaling solutions (such as EVM-compatible layer 2 blockchains) that have lower gas fees. These improvements are crucial for Ethereum's long-term sustainability and continued growth as a leading blockchain ecosystem.

## What is “gasless” or “gas-free” minting?

Gasless or gas-free minting refers to a mechanism that allows users to create or mint new tokens on a blockchain without having to pay the high gas fees associated with transaction execution.

To address this issue, various solutions have been developed to enable gasless or gas-free minting. Some common approaches include:

- **Gas subsidies:** Some projects or platforms offer gas subsidies to their users. They cover the gas fees for specific transactions, including minting new tokens, to encourage adoption and eliminate the burden of gas fees.
- **Sponsored transactions:** In this model, a sponsor pays the gas fees on behalf of users for specific operations, like minting tokens.

Gasless or gas-free minting solutions are beneficial as they can make blockchain interactions more accessible to a broader range of users and reduce friction for newcomers.

## How Unlock Protocol supports gas-free minting

Gas fees are often exorbitant on Ethereum mainnet. However, as an open, EVM-compatible protocol, Unlock Protocol runs on a number of EVM-compatible networks where Unlock can support gas-free minting of memberships, event tickets, certifications, and other mintable memberships and subscriptions.

Currently, Unlock supports gasless minting on Polygon and Gnosis Chain, and additionally may support gasless minting on other chains in the future. 

To see our full guide to implementing gasless minting, check out the [*How To Set Up Gas-free NFT Minting with Unlock Protocol*](https://unlock-protocol.com/guides/gas-free-nft-minting/) guide in Unlock Guides.


Unlock supports gasless minting on a number of EVM-compatible networks.

Unlock Protocol Supports Gasless Minting

<p><img src="/images/blog/gasless-minting/gasless-minting.png" alt="gasless minting image"></p>
<p>Gas fees in blockchain transactions refer to the cost associated with performing operations or executing smart contracts on a blockchain network. Blockchain networks, such as Ethereum, are decentralized and rely on a consensus mechanism to validate and execute transactions. To prevent spam and ensure that the network resources are used efficiently, a small fee in the form of cryptocurrency (usually in the native currency of the blockchain) must be paid for each transaction.</p>
<p>The term "gas" in this context refers to the unit used to measure the computational effort required to execute a specific operation or smart contract. Each operation on the blockchain network consumes a certain amount of gas, and the gas fee is calculated based on the complexity and resource requirements of the transaction.</p>
<p>When users initiate a transaction on the blockchain, they specify the gas price they are willing to pay for each unit of gas. Miners or validators on the network then choose transactions to include in the next block based on the gas price provided. Transactions with higher gas prices are prioritized because miners are incentivized to include them to maximize their rewards.</p>
<p>If the gas fee specified by the user is too low, the transaction may take longer to be processed or may even get stuck, as miners might prioritize higher-paying transactions. On the other hand, if the gas fee is set too high, users may end up overpaying for the transaction.</p>
<p>Gas fees play a vital role in the security and stability of blockchain networks, as they ensure that the network operates efficiently and that users pay a fair price for the resources they consume when interacting with the blockchain.</p>
<h2>The problems with gas fees on Ethereum mainnet</h2>
<p>High gas fees on the Ethereum mainnet can lead to several significant problems for users and developers. Some of the main issues caused by high gas fees include:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Transaction costs:</strong> High gas fees increase the cost of executing transactions on the Ethereum network. For users who are making simple transfers or interacting with decentralized applications, gas fees can become prohibitively expensive, discouraging everyday use of the network.</li>
<li><strong>Economic barriers:</strong> High gas fees create economic barriers for smaller users or those from economically disadvantaged regions. It can prevent individuals from participating in certain protocols, memberships, or events, limiting their access to opportunities and online mintable services.</li>
<li><strong>Reduced adoption:</strong> High gas fees can discourage developers from building or migrating their applications to the Ethereum mainnet.</li>
</ul>
<p>To address these issues, the Ethereum community has been actively working on scaling solutions (such as EVM-compatible layer 2 blockchains) that have lower gas fees. These improvements are crucial for Ethereum's long-term sustainability and continued growth as a leading blockchain ecosystem.</p>
<h2>What is “gasless” or “gas-free” minting?</h2>
<p>Gasless or gas-free minting refers to a mechanism that allows users to create or mint new tokens on a blockchain without having to pay the high gas fees associated with transaction execution.</p>
<p>To address this issue, various solutions have been developed to enable gasless or gas-free minting. Some common approaches include:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Gas subsidies:</strong> Some projects or platforms offer gas subsidies to their users. They cover the gas fees for specific transactions, including minting new tokens, to encourage adoption and eliminate the burden of gas fees.</li>
<li><strong>Sponsored transactions:</strong> In this model, a sponsor pays the gas fees on behalf of users for specific operations, like minting tokens.</li>
</ul>
<p>Gasless or gas-free minting solutions are beneficial as they can make blockchain interactions more accessible to a broader range of users and reduce friction for newcomers.</p>
<h2>How Unlock Protocol supports gas-free minting</h2>
<p>Gas fees are often exorbitant on Ethereum mainnet. However, as an open, EVM-compatible protocol, Unlock Protocol runs on a number of EVM-compatible networks where Unlock can support gas-free minting of memberships, event tickets, certifications, and other mintable memberships and subscriptions.</p>
<p>Currently, Unlock supports gasless minting on Polygon and Gnosis Chain, and additionally may support gasless minting on other chains in the future.</p>
<p>To see our full guide to implementing gasless minting, check out the <a href="https://unlock-protocol.com/guides/gas-free-nft-minting/"><em>How To Set Up Gas-free NFT Minting with Unlock Protocol</em></a> guide in Unlock Guides.</p>



![ethglobal-waterloo-big-photo-min.jpeg](/images/blog/ethglobalwaterloo23/ethglobal-waterloo-big-photo-min.jpeg)

[ETHGlobal Waterloo 2023](https://ethglobal.com/events/waterloo2023) was a three-day event that took place from June 23-25 in the heart of Ethereum innovation — Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. ETHGlobal hackathon events are always unique for bringing together seasoned Ethereum developers as well as those new to the space to immerse themselves in hands-on learning, and this weekend was no exception. 

There were over 650 participants in the hackathon, and attendees had access to ongoing mentorship and opportunities to connect with ecosystem champions. After 36 hours of hacking, over 160 teams showed off what they built. 

Vitalik Buterin kicked off the event as the keynote speaker, and set the tone for an exciting few days of innovation and collaboration.

![vitalik-3.jpeg](/images/blog/ethglobalwaterloo23/vitalik-3.jpeg)

In his talk, Vitalik discussed the current and future state of Ethereum, as well as challenges and opportunities that he perceives for people getting into the space. The topics included:

1. **Ethereum's Decade of Theory:** Vitalik reflects that the last decade has been theoretical for Ethereum, with much of the focus being on solving problems in theory such as switching from proof of work to proof of stake, improving scalability, solving privacy problems, and enhancing security.
2. **Decentralization and Real-World Problems:** Vitalik states that the next decade should focus on solving concrete real-world problems. He notes that although many people use Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies today, in many places, the only use people have found for them is for trading digital assets or using centralized exchanges.
3. **Adoption Challenges:** Vitalik notes that although crypto adoption is extensive in some areas (like Argentina), most people are interacting with it through centralized systems like Binance due to the low cost, convenience, and protection from user mistakes that these centralized exchanges offer. However, these centralized exchanges can also be untrustworthy, and users may risk losing their assets.
4. **The Promise of Decentralization:** The idea behind decentralization is to create systems where users cannot be exploited or "rug-pulled." It aims to provide transparent, programmable rules, giving control and power back to users and communities rather than centralized authorities. However, there are still significant technical challenges to overcome, like scalability and fees.
5. **Scalability and Fees:** One major challenge is transaction fees. In the early days of Bitcoin, the pitch was that transaction fees were lower than those of credit cards, which made it attractive. However, as transaction fees increased, this advantage diminished. Vitalik noted that many applications would make sense if transaction fees were low but are not feasible when they're high.
6. **The Future:** Vitalik suggests that people should not assume that a category of applications has failed just because it has failed in an environment where setting anything up is expensive. The implication is that if the technical challenges of scalability and fees can be overcome, a vast array of new applications and uses for Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies may become feasible.

You can check out Vitalik’s whole talk here:

<div style="position: relative; overflow: hidden; width: 100%; padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yH0zlGTD-sY?start=2893" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>


## The ETHGlobal Waterloo Hackathon

ETHGlobal does hackathons right. Their process is buttoned down, things run on time, and things run smoothly. ETHGlobal Waterloo had over 650 hackers registered, who formed teams and worked together over 36 hours to create some amazing projects. Here were a few of the highlights from teams who built using Unlock Protocol.

### Dutch — Winner of $3000 first prize from Unlock Protocol

**Learn more about Dutch here:**

[https://ethglobal.com/showcase/dutch-pm2xo](https://ethglobal.com/showcase/dutch-pm2xo) 

![dutch.png](/images/blog/ethglobalwaterloo23/dutch.png)

Dutch is a group expense management dApp and the way to effortlessly settle shared costs after a trip. After everyone has uploaded their post-trip expenses, Dutch optimally computes simplified debts using the fewest transactions between individuals, saving time & gas fees. The Dutch team hacked using Unlock Protocol, Filecoin, Graph Protocol, and more.

Here’s the Dutch team talking about their experience at the hackathon.

<div style="position: relative; overflow: hidden; width: 100%; padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4h_RnllFrz0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>


### Will3 — Winner of $1500 second prize from Unlock Protocol

**Learn more about Will3 here:**

[https://ethglobal.com/showcase/will3-0r705](https://ethglobal.com/showcase/will3-0r705)

![will3.jpeg](/images/blog/ethglobalwaterloo23/will3.jpeg)

Will3 is an innovative solution to a very real problem — how to distribute assets (especially digital assets) to designated beneficiaries according to someone's will and wishes, especially in the case where a digital wallet can no longer be accessed.

The ETHGlobal Waterloo hacker team of Melissa, Yicheng, Haoyu, Yvonne, & Maisha created an administration solution integrating Unlock Protocol smart contracts, XMTP notifications, and other components.

<div style="position: relative; overflow: hidden; width: 100%; padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5QKDIwo0JSo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>


### Evy — Winner of $500 third prize from Unlock Protocol

**Learn more about Evy here:**

[https://ethglobal.com/showcase/evy-y06iw](https://ethglobal.com/showcase/evy-y06iw)

![evy.png](/images/blog/ethglobalwaterloo23/evy.png)

Evy is an events platform, integrating Unlock Protocol, Eventbrite, Polygon, and Worldcoin. It is a view toward how web3 can build better community and connection with fans across events.

Evy uses Unlock Protocol and WorldID's human verification technology, as well as Eventbrite's developer API for its rich event information. By calling the Eventbrite OAuth login authorization, it retrieves a list of events that you created, and customizes a set of Unlock Protocol smart contracts that can be uploaded to the Polygon blockchain within two minutes based on the description of your event. A crypto payment link is generated and returned to be updated in your event information.

<div style="position: relative; overflow: hidden; width: 100%; padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G8ObM-Rq9NA" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

## Other fun stuff

In addition to having the practical logistics of the hackathon buttoned down, the ETHGlobal team made sure to bring the food and the fun. 

### Exhibit A:

![midnight-poutine.jpeg](/images/blog/ethglobalwaterloo23/midnight-poutine.jpeg)

### Exhibit B:

The ETHGlobal Waterloo hackathon was visited by some animal frens! Meet Gladys the tortoise. She was awesome. (And really likes grapes.)

<div style="position: relative; overflow: hidden; width: 100%; padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gypdOT2pqRc?feature=share" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>


The Unlock team had an amazing time meeting talking with all the hackers. See you at the next one!

![unlock-team-waterloo.jpeg](/images/blog/ethglobalwaterloo23/unlock-team-waterloo.jpeg)


ETHGlobal Waterloo had everything — building, learning, advice from Vitalik, and a huge tortoise.

ETHGlobal Waterloo and Unlock Protocol

<p><img src="/images/blog/ethglobalwaterloo23/ethglobal-waterloo-big-photo-min.jpeg" alt="ethglobal-waterloo-big-photo-min.jpeg"></p>
<p><a href="https://ethglobal.com/events/waterloo2023">ETHGlobal Waterloo 2023</a> was a three-day event that took place from June 23-25 in the heart of Ethereum innovation — Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. ETHGlobal hackathon events are always unique for bringing together seasoned Ethereum developers as well as those new to the space to immerse themselves in hands-on learning, and this weekend was no exception.</p>
<p>There were over 650 participants in the hackathon, and attendees had access to ongoing mentorship and opportunities to connect with ecosystem champions. After 36 hours of hacking, over 160 teams showed off what they built.</p>
<p>Vitalik Buterin kicked off the event as the keynote speaker, and set the tone for an exciting few days of innovation and collaboration.</p>
<p><img src="/images/blog/ethglobalwaterloo23/vitalik-3.jpeg" alt="vitalik-3.jpeg"></p>
<p>In his talk, Vitalik discussed the current and future state of Ethereum, as well as challenges and opportunities that he perceives for people getting into the space. The topics included:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Ethereum's Decade of Theory:</strong> Vitalik reflects that the last decade has been theoretical for Ethereum, with much of the focus being on solving problems in theory such as switching from proof of work to proof of stake, improving scalability, solving privacy problems, and enhancing security.</li>
<li><strong>Decentralization and Real-World Problems:</strong> Vitalik states that the next decade should focus on solving concrete real-world problems. He notes that although many people use Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies today, in many places, the only use people have found for them is for trading digital assets or using centralized exchanges.</li>
<li><strong>Adoption Challenges:</strong> Vitalik notes that although crypto adoption is extensive in some areas (like Argentina), most people are interacting with it through centralized systems like Binance due to the low cost, convenience, and protection from user mistakes that these centralized exchanges offer. However, these centralized exchanges can also be untrustworthy, and users may risk losing their assets.</li>
<li><strong>The Promise of Decentralization:</strong> The idea behind decentralization is to create systems where users cannot be exploited or "rug-pulled." It aims to provide transparent, programmable rules, giving control and power back to users and communities rather than centralized authorities. However, there are still significant technical challenges to overcome, like scalability and fees.</li>
<li><strong>Scalability and Fees:</strong> One major challenge is transaction fees. In the early days of Bitcoin, the pitch was that transaction fees were lower than those of credit cards, which made it attractive. However, as transaction fees increased, this advantage diminished. Vitalik noted that many applications would make sense if transaction fees were low but are not feasible when they're high.</li>
<li><strong>The Future:</strong> Vitalik suggests that people should not assume that a category of applications has failed just because it has failed in an environment where setting anything up is expensive. The implication is that if the technical challenges of scalability and fees can be overcome, a vast array of new applications and uses for Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies may become feasible.</li>
</ol>
<p>You can check out Vitalik’s whole talk here:</p>
<div style="position: relative; overflow: hidden; width: 100%; padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yH0zlGTD-sY?start=2893" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<h2>The ETHGlobal Waterloo Hackathon</h2>
<p>ETHGlobal does hackathons right. Their process is buttoned down, things run on time, and things run smoothly. ETHGlobal Waterloo had over 650 hackers registered, who formed teams and worked together over 36 hours to create some amazing projects. Here were a few of the highlights from teams who built using Unlock Protocol.</p>
<h3>Dutch — Winner of $3000 first prize from Unlock Protocol</h3>
<p><strong>Learn more about Dutch here:</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://ethglobal.com/showcase/dutch-pm2xo">https://ethglobal.com/showcase/dutch-pm2xo</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/blog/ethglobalwaterloo23/dutch.png" alt="dutch.png"></p>
<p>Dutch is a group expense management dApp and the way to effortlessly settle shared costs after a trip. After everyone has uploaded their post-trip expenses, Dutch optimally computes simplified debts using the fewest transactions between individuals, saving time &#x26; gas fees. The Dutch team hacked using Unlock Protocol, Filecoin, Graph Protocol, and more.</p>
<p>Here’s the Dutch team talking about their experience at the hackathon.</p>
<div style="position: relative; overflow: hidden; width: 100%; padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4h_RnllFrz0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<h3>Will3 — Winner of $1500 second prize from Unlock Protocol</h3>
<p><strong>Learn more about Will3 here:</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://ethglobal.com/showcase/will3-0r705">https://ethglobal.com/showcase/will3-0r705</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/blog/ethglobalwaterloo23/will3.jpeg" alt="will3.jpeg"></p>
<p>Will3 is an innovative solution to a very real problem — how to distribute assets (especially digital assets) to designated beneficiaries according to someone's will and wishes, especially in the case where a digital wallet can no longer be accessed.</p>
<p>The ETHGlobal Waterloo hacker team of Melissa, Yicheng, Haoyu, Yvonne, &#x26; Maisha created an administration solution integrating Unlock Protocol smart contracts, XMTP notifications, and other components.</p>
<div style="position: relative; overflow: hidden; width: 100%; padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5QKDIwo0JSo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<h3>Evy — Winner of $500 third prize from Unlock Protocol</h3>
<p><strong>Learn more about Evy here:</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://ethglobal.com/showcase/evy-y06iw">https://ethglobal.com/showcase/evy-y06iw</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/blog/ethglobalwaterloo23/evy.png" alt="evy.png"></p>
<p>Evy is an events platform, integrating Unlock Protocol, Eventbrite, Polygon, and Worldcoin. It is a view toward how web3 can build better community and connection with fans across events.</p>
<p>Evy uses Unlock Protocol and WorldID's human verification technology, as well as Eventbrite's developer API for its rich event information. By calling the Eventbrite OAuth login authorization, it retrieves a list of events that you created, and customizes a set of Unlock Protocol smart contracts that can be uploaded to the Polygon blockchain within two minutes based on the description of your event. A crypto payment link is generated and returned to be updated in your event information.</p>
<div style="position: relative; overflow: hidden; width: 100%; padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G8ObM-Rq9NA" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<h2>Other fun stuff</h2>
<p>In addition to having the practical logistics of the hackathon buttoned down, the ETHGlobal team made sure to bring the food and the fun.</p>
<h3>Exhibit A:</h3>
<p><img src="/images/blog/ethglobalwaterloo23/midnight-poutine.jpeg" alt="midnight-poutine.jpeg"></p>
<h3>Exhibit B:</h3>
<p>The ETHGlobal Waterloo hackathon was visited by some animal frens! Meet Gladys the tortoise. She was awesome. (And really likes grapes.)</p>
<div style="position: relative; overflow: hidden; width: 100%; padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gypdOT2pqRc?feature=share" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>The Unlock team had an amazing time meeting talking with all the hackers. See you at the next one!</p>
<p><img src="/images/blog/ethglobalwaterloo23/unlock-team-waterloo.jpeg" alt="unlock-team-waterloo.jpeg"></p>



The Unlock DAO deployed its governance contracts in 2021 using the then-current [version](https://blog.openzeppelin.com/governor-smart-contract) of the Open Zeppelin Governor contracts. The Unlock DAO was part of the first batch of Open Zeppelin adopters with [its DAO voting system](https://unlock-protocol.com/blog/unlock-dao).

## **A shiny new version**

Two years have passed and what was an initial release has evolved to include more features (including the ability to cancel a proposal, have consistent timestamps on different chains, support a time-based quorum, ERC721 support, etc.) as well as a few bug fixes. To take advantage of these recent evolutions in the state-of-the-art, we believe now is the time for the Unlock DAO to benefit from these improvements.

We have redeployed [a new version](https://etherscan.io/address/0x440d9D4E66d39bb28FB58729Cb4D3ead2A595591#code) of the governor contract and bumped from Open Zeppelin 4.4.2 to 4.9.0. This new contract will now be upgradeable so we can follow future releases without having to change its address.

## **The king is dead, long live the king!**

For the DAO, a change in governor requires two actions: canonize the new one and retire the old one. The vehicle for that process will be [a proposal](https://www.tally.xyz/gov/unlock/proposal/36208249270120864100503453462134662510103434369621143761091232235939585571890) containing the instructions to make the change. Once executed, this DAO popemobile will transport the voting system to its new location.

As a user/voter, there won’t be any change in delegations or voting process. The only apparent change is that the previous proposals will no longer appear in the Tally UI or be visible from the new governor contract.

## **What to do now**

-  If you own any amount of UDT, the Unlock protocol's governance tokens, [delegate your votes](https://unlock-protocol.com/guides/delegation/) (you **must** delegate to participate in onchain votes, including self-delegation)
- Head to [the proposal](https://www.tally.xyz/gov/unlock/proposal/36208249270120864100503453462134662510103434369621143761091232235939585571890)
- Cast your vote!

The voting period ends on **July 11th 2023**. At the end of the voting period, and if the proposal to upgrade passes, the proposal will be queued and executed and the change will become effective.


The Unlock DAO deployed its governance contracts in 2021 using the then-current version of the Open Zeppelin Governor contracts. To take advantage of recent evolutions in the state-of-the-art, we believe now is the time for the Unlock DAO to redeploy a new version of the Open Zeppelin governor contracts and benefit from recent improvements.

Proposed Upgrade of the Unlock DAO Governor Contract to the Most Recent Version

<p>The Unlock DAO deployed its governance contracts in 2021 using the then-current <a href="https://blog.openzeppelin.com/governor-smart-contract">version</a> of the Open Zeppelin Governor contracts. The Unlock DAO was part of the first batch of Open Zeppelin adopters with <a href="https://unlock-protocol.com/blog/unlock-dao">its DAO voting system</a>.</p>
<h2><strong>A shiny new version</strong></h2>
<p>Two years have passed and what was an initial release has evolved to include more features (including the ability to cancel a proposal, have consistent timestamps on different chains, support a time-based quorum, ERC721 support, etc.) as well as a few bug fixes. To take advantage of these recent evolutions in the state-of-the-art, we believe now is the time for the Unlock DAO to benefit from these improvements.</p>
<p>We have redeployed <a href="https://etherscan.io/address/0x440d9D4E66d39bb28FB58729Cb4D3ead2A595591#code">a new version</a> of the governor contract and bumped from Open Zeppelin 4.4.2 to 4.9.0. This new contract will now be upgradeable so we can follow future releases without having to change its address.</p>
<h2><strong>The king is dead, long live the king!</strong></h2>
<p>For the DAO, a change in governor requires two actions: canonize the new one and retire the old one. The vehicle for that process will be <a href="https://www.tally.xyz/gov/unlock/proposal/36208249270120864100503453462134662510103434369621143761091232235939585571890">a proposal</a> containing the instructions to make the change. Once executed, this DAO popemobile will transport the voting system to its new location.</p>
<p>As a user/voter, there won’t be any change in delegations or voting process. The only apparent change is that the previous proposals will no longer appear in the Tally UI or be visible from the new governor contract.</p>
<h2><strong>What to do now</strong></h2>
<ul>
<li>If you own any amount of UDT, the Unlock protocol's governance tokens, <a href="https://unlock-protocol.com/guides/delegation/">delegate your votes</a> (you <strong>must</strong> delegate to participate in onchain votes, including self-delegation)</li>
<li>Head to <a href="https://www.tally.xyz/gov/unlock/proposal/36208249270120864100503453462134662510103434369621143761091232235939585571890">the proposal</a></li>
<li>Cast your vote!</li>
</ul>
<p>The voting period ends on <strong>July 11th 2023</strong>. At the end of the voting period, and if the proposal to upgrade passes, the proposal will be queued and executed and the change will become effective.</p>



![](/images/blog/unlock-authentication-modal/main.png)

We're excited to announce the addition of unlock authentication modal which can be used through the paywall library to login users without building your own login modal.

Take a look at the example below.

```typescript
import { Paywall } from '@unlock-protocol/paywall'
import { networks } from '@unlock-protocol/networks'

const paywall = new Paywall(networks)
// Now, you can utilize the provider for tasks such as signing messages and sending transactions.
const provider = paywall.getProvider()
await provider.connect() // This step will initiate the login modal
```

To delve deeper into integrating the provider seamlessly within your application using "wagmi", we have prepared a [comprehensive tutorial](https://docs.unlock-protocol.com/tutorials/front-end/paywall/provider/).

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to enhance our authentication features and empower developers and users alike with seamless access to our application.


Developers can now integrate the Unlock authentication modal into their applications to enable users to login without building their own login modal.

🔒 Introducing Unlock Authentication Modal for Seamless User Login and Library Integration

<p><img src="/images/blog/unlock-authentication-modal/main.png" alt=""></p>
<p>We're excited to announce the addition of unlock authentication modal which can be used through the paywall library to login users without building your own login modal.</p>
<p>Take a look at the example below.</p>
<pre><code class="language-typescript">import { Paywall } from '@unlock-protocol/paywall'
import { networks } from '@unlock-protocol/networks'

const paywall = new Paywall(networks)
// Now, you can utilize the provider for tasks such as signing messages and sending transactions.
const provider = paywall.getProvider()
await provider.connect() // This step will initiate the login modal
</code></pre>
<p>To delve deeper into integrating the provider seamlessly within your application using "wagmi", we have prepared a <a href="https://docs.unlock-protocol.com/tutorials/front-end/paywall/provider/">comprehensive tutorial</a>.</p>
<p>Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to enhance our authentication features and empower developers and users alike with seamless access to our application.</p>



The Unlock Protocol has a unique feature that lets developers change the behavior of an Unlock [membership contract](https://docs.unlock-protocol.com/core-protocol/public-lock/) while still leveraging most of its logic. These additional pieces of functionality are accessed via “[hooks](https://docs.unlock-protocol.com/core-protocol/public-lock/hooks)”. One of the hooks is the [`onKeyPurchaseHook`](https://docs.unlock-protocol.com/core-protocol/public-lock/hooks#onkeypurchase-hook) and it is triggered when new members are purchasing a membership NFT.

One of the most frequent feature requests for Unlock has been the ability to restrict who can purchase a membership. Last year, we introduced a [CaptchaHook](https://github.com/unlock-protocol/captcha-hook) which requires users to go through a Recaptcha validation and prevents bots from being able to buy NFTs in bulk. We also introduced a hook to [require a password](https://unlock-protocol.com/blog/password-required-hook) when going through the checkout.

But we are still seeing demand for a more flexible approach, where a smart contract administrator (who is called a “lock manager” in the Unlock ecosystem) wants to only allow people in a specific allow-list, or people who own a certain amount of a specific token, or even users who have minted an NFT of a special kind to have access to mint or claim a membership.

Rather than build this complicated logic ourselves, we partnered with our friends at [Guild.xyz](https://guild.xyz) to build a general-purpose Guild Hook! With the Guild Hook, a lock manager can point to any Guild they created and Guilds are extremely flexible!

Let’s go ahead and create an example!

## Guild and Unlock Protocol integration using the Guild Hook

Let’s say I only want people who [follow Unlock on Twitter](https://twitter.com/UnlockProtocol) to be able to claim a membership [from this membership contract.](https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0xd36695BDF1A17BC4B0aA318d02c60F6e108CB653)

1. First, I will go to [Guild.xyz](http://Guild.xyz) and create a Guild whose **requirement** is to follow Unlock on Twitter.

![Guild.xyz Requirements](/images/blog/guild-hook/requirements.png)

2. Then, once the [Guild has been created](https://guild.xyz/the-unlock-followers), I come back to the Unlock dashboard, go to the advanced settings for my lock, and select the Hooks section.

![Guild.xyz Settings](/images/blog/guild-hook/unlock-hook-settings.png)

3. I can then save the changes and my membership contract is now **hooked** to the Guild of the Unlock Protocol followers on Twitter!

Now the requirements are set, and there is one more step to go.

The last step is to build a checkout URL, [like this one](https://app.unlock-protocol.com/checkout?id=23d15cce-8423-4761-ba48-6dd5ab5a048c), through which users are prompted to join the Guild if they are not already members. Once someone is a member of the Guild, they can mint their NFT membership!

![Guild.xyz Settings](/images/blog/guild-hook/unlock-guild-checkout.png)

Like always, we’re excited to see what creators, conference organizers and others are doing with this! We also want to inspire developers to create more hooks that can change the behavior of the lock contract based on their own needs and requirements!


By leveraging a new kind of smart contract hook, you can easily create all kinds of allow-list on your lock using Guild.xyz.

Easily create all kinds of allow-list on your lock using Guild.xyz!

Guild.xyz hook

<p>The Unlock Protocol has a unique feature that lets developers change the behavior of an Unlock <a href="https://docs.unlock-protocol.com/core-protocol/public-lock/">membership contract</a> while still leveraging most of its logic. These additional pieces of functionality are accessed via “<a href="https://docs.unlock-protocol.com/core-protocol/public-lock/hooks">hooks</a>”. One of the hooks is the <a href="https://docs.unlock-protocol.com/core-protocol/public-lock/hooks#onkeypurchase-hook"><code>onKeyPurchaseHook</code></a> and it is triggered when new members are purchasing a membership NFT.</p>
<p>One of the most frequent feature requests for Unlock has been the ability to restrict who can purchase a membership. Last year, we introduced a <a href="https://github.com/unlock-protocol/captcha-hook">CaptchaHook</a> which requires users to go through a Recaptcha validation and prevents bots from being able to buy NFTs in bulk. We also introduced a hook to <a href="https://unlock-protocol.com/blog/password-required-hook">require a password</a> when going through the checkout.</p>
<p>But we are still seeing demand for a more flexible approach, where a smart contract administrator (who is called a “lock manager” in the Unlock ecosystem) wants to only allow people in a specific allow-list, or people who own a certain amount of a specific token, or even users who have minted an NFT of a special kind to have access to mint or claim a membership.</p>
<p>Rather than build this complicated logic ourselves, we partnered with our friends at <a href="https://guild.xyz">Guild.xyz</a> to build a general-purpose Guild Hook! With the Guild Hook, a lock manager can point to any Guild they created and Guilds are extremely flexible!</p>
<p>Let’s go ahead and create an example!</p>
<h2>Guild and Unlock Protocol integration using the Guild Hook</h2>
<p>Let’s say I only want people who <a href="https://twitter.com/UnlockProtocol">follow Unlock on Twitter</a> to be able to claim a membership <a href="https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0xd36695BDF1A17BC4B0aA318d02c60F6e108CB653">from this membership contract.</a></p>
<ol>
<li>First, I will go to <a href="http://Guild.xyz">Guild.xyz</a> and create a Guild whose <strong>requirement</strong> is to follow Unlock on Twitter.</li>
</ol>
<p><img src="/images/blog/guild-hook/requirements.png" alt="Guild.xyz Requirements"></p>
<ol start="2">
<li>Then, once the <a href="https://guild.xyz/the-unlock-followers">Guild has been created</a>, I come back to the Unlock dashboard, go to the advanced settings for my lock, and select the Hooks section.</li>
</ol>
<p><img src="/images/blog/guild-hook/unlock-hook-settings.png" alt="Guild.xyz Settings"></p>
<ol start="3">
<li>I can then save the changes and my membership contract is now <strong>hooked</strong> to the Guild of the Unlock Protocol followers on Twitter!</li>
</ol>
<p>Now the requirements are set, and there is one more step to go.</p>
<p>The last step is to build a checkout URL, <a href="https://app.unlock-protocol.com/checkout?id=23d15cce-8423-4761-ba48-6dd5ab5a048c">like this one</a>, through which users are prompted to join the Guild if they are not already members. Once someone is a member of the Guild, they can mint their NFT membership!</p>
<p><img src="/images/blog/guild-hook/unlock-guild-checkout.png" alt="Guild.xyz Settings"></p>
<p>Like always, we’re excited to see what creators, conference organizers and others are doing with this! We also want to inspire developers to create more hooks that can change the behavior of the lock contract based on their own needs and requirements!</p>



![cross-chain-share.png](/images/blog/crosschain/cross-chain-share.png)

## What is cross-chain governance?

The Unlock Protocol moved its governance to a [DAO](https://docs.unlock-protocol.com/governance/unlock-dao) almost two years ago. The protocol has since grown and now supports more than 10 different chains, leading to more complex ways to enforce decisions taken by the community. When all the votes are happening on Ethereum mainnet, how can we make sure that all DAO decisions are reflected correctly across all of the chains where Unlock Protocol is supported? That’s why our team has been working a cross-chain governance toolkit, in order to maintain and upgrade the protocol in a decentralized and automated fashion.

## Life across multiple chains

Technology derived from the original Ethereum experiment has gained momentum and lead to a vast array of new chains being deployed, each with their own characteristics. Under the hood, many of these chains have added the ability to execute contract calls by following the original Ethereum Virtual Machine implementation (EVM). The EVM provides a blueprint and ensures compatibility of the code that can be deployed across different chains.

At Unlock Labs, we have long thought that we need to meet our community where they are, and that meant deploying the protocol on [multiple chains](https://docs.unlock-protocol.com/core-protocol/unlock/networks).

Our role is not to choose which chain/L2 on which developers choose to deploy their membership contracts — as an open protocol, that decision should be theirs, and that decision should be permissionless.

At the same time, it is also critical that the protocol acts the same across the board, regardless of what chain it is being run on.

## Why cross-chain governance?

While a simple upgrade or change in protocol settings on one network may require just a single call, living across 10+ disparate networks means that even a simple settings tweak quickly becomes quite a tedious process to manage and deploy. We decided to work towards the automation of a cross-chain solution for a number of reasons:

1. **Consistency**: We need to make sure that any change that happens somewhere is replicated everywhere, so the experience of using the protocol is consistent across chains.
2. **Reduce risk of deployment errors**: On each chain, the set of contracts are deployed at [different addresses](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@unlock-protocol/networks). To make all upgrades manually introduces the possibility of errors. Even if to err is human, we love to avoid it as much as we can.
3. **Transparency**: While changes in the protocol are [voted on in the Unlock DAO](https://unlock-protocol.com/guides/delegation/), the execution and enforcement of these changes is left entirely to human discretion. We pursue the goal of making Unlock a decentralised organization and therefore like to transfer that burden to auditable smart contracts.

## How it works: the Unlock Owner

Our design relies on a straightforward idea: the DAO on Ethereum mainnet is the authority that all contracts should listen to. When a proposal is executed, the DAO should send instructions across the bridge to all other instances of Unlock. To enable the cross-chain governance process, we have to pass contract calls and data across chains. For that, we rely on the [Connext Bridge](https://www.connext.network/).

A new contract called `UnlockOwner` acts as a relay in this process, receiving the calls from the DAO across the bridge (or directly on mainnet) and passing it down to the local Unlock contract. It has mainly two functions: 1) upgrade the Unlock contract (core of the protocol) and 2) change settings of the Unlock contract itself (e.g. add a new template or tweak a parameter).

In technical terms, `UnlockOwner` is deployed on each network. It owns (as in owner of an [Ownable contract](https://docs.openzeppelin.com/contracts/4.x/access-control#ownership-and-ownable)) both the Unlock contract instance and the ProxyAdmin (that controls the proxy upgrades).

![cross-chain-napkin.png](/images/blog/crosschain/cross-chain-napkin.png)

_Original sketch of how calls could circulate across the bridge and through Unlock Manager on multiple chains_

## Risks and safeguards

Automating the governance process facilitates the propagation of decisions. This also means a bad actor could introduce malicious actions that then spread faster to the entire protocol. We set up all relevant origin and destination checks within the contracts themselves, but we also took extra precautions.

To mitigate the risks of a protocol-wide attack, we set up two main tools:

1. **A safety delay**: Every contract call arriving from the DAO across the bridge will be quarantined for a duration of at least two days. That leaves some room to act if any malicious calls were to be sent. Note that this time period comes _after_ the delay introduced by the DAO itself. For that, we rely on [OpenZeppelin's Timelock contract](https://docs.openzeppelin.com/contracts/4.x/governance#timelock) that has been audited multiple times.
2. **Multisigs**: On each chain, a multisig owned by our team and trusted members of the Unlock community retains the ability to trigger actions through the `UnlockOwner` contract. We believe this is still a requirement at this stage as a safeguard. Performing a protocol-wide upgrade across chains is a radically new approach. As such processes of governance are maturing, we hope multisigs could become obsolete and we have built a way in the `UnlockOwner` to remove them. We believe this will happen in due time.

## Try it now !

As of today, the cross-chain governance process is already deployed on ETH Goerli and Polygon Mumbai testnets. We redeployed a DAO on Goerli (which acts as a "mainnet" for testnets) and are still testing how various calls behave and how our current approach could be improved.

We encourage you to check proposals on our [Unlock Test DAO](https://www.tally.xyz/gov/unlock-test-dao). Any feedback will be warmly welcome!

Below are the addresses of deployed test instances (nb. these may change over time as we redeploy the contracts).

### Goerli Contracts

- **Unlock:** [https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0x7fA9F695856269E1415b2d373b35037159E2F94C](https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0x7fA9F695856269E1415b2d373b35037159E2F94C)
- **UDT:** [https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0xaB82D702A4e0cD165072C005dc504A21c019718F#readProxyContract](https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0xaB82D702A4e0cD165072C005dc504A21c019718F#readProxyContract)
- **Gov:** [https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0xDcDE260Df00ba86889e8B112DfBe1A4945B35CA9](https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0xDcDE260Df00ba86889e8B112DfBe1A4945B35CA9)
- **Timelock:** [https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0xD7477B7c0CdA4204Cf860e4c27486061b15a5AC3](https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0xD7477B7c0CdA4204Cf860e4c27486061b15a5AC3)
- **Unlock Owner:** [https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0x6E74DC46EbF2cDB75B72Ab1dCAe3C98c7E9d28a1](https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0x6E74DC46EbF2cDB75B72Ab1dCAe3C98c7E9d28a1)

### Mumbai Contracts

- **Unlock:** [https://mumbai.polygonscan.com/address/0x8db6eE991C6C3CB2b6228b558c1b3D6EA474cB42#writeProxyContract](https://mumbai.polygonscan.com/address/0x8db6eE991C6C3CB2b6228b558c1b3D6EA474cB42#writeProxyContract)
- **Unlock Owner:** [https://mumbai.polygonscan.com/address/0xdc230F9A08918FaA5ae48B8E13647789A8B6dD46](https://mumbai.polygonscan.com/address/0x8db6eE991C6C3CB2b6228b558c1b3D6EA474cB42#writeProxyContract)

### Test DAO Dashboard

- **Tally:** [https://www.tally.xyz/gov/unlock-test-dao](https://www.tally.xyz/gov/unlock-test-dao)


This cross-chain governance design relies on a straightforward idea. The DAO on Ethereum mainnet is the authority that all contracts should listen to. When a proposal is executed, the DAO should send instructions, pass contract calls, and send data across a bridge to all other instances of the DAO on other chains.

How the Unlock DAO Implemented Cross-chain Governance

<p><img src="/images/blog/crosschain/cross-chain-share.png" alt="cross-chain-share.png"></p>
<h2>What is cross-chain governance?</h2>
<p>The Unlock Protocol moved its governance to a <a href="https://docs.unlock-protocol.com/governance/unlock-dao">DAO</a> almost two years ago. The protocol has since grown and now supports more than 10 different chains, leading to more complex ways to enforce decisions taken by the community. When all the votes are happening on Ethereum mainnet, how can we make sure that all DAO decisions are reflected correctly across all of the chains where Unlock Protocol is supported? That’s why our team has been working a cross-chain governance toolkit, in order to maintain and upgrade the protocol in a decentralized and automated fashion.</p>
<h2>Life across multiple chains</h2>
<p>Technology derived from the original Ethereum experiment has gained momentum and lead to a vast array of new chains being deployed, each with their own characteristics. Under the hood, many of these chains have added the ability to execute contract calls by following the original Ethereum Virtual Machine implementation (EVM). The EVM provides a blueprint and ensures compatibility of the code that can be deployed across different chains.</p>
<p>At Unlock Labs, we have long thought that we need to meet our community where they are, and that meant deploying the protocol on <a href="https://docs.unlock-protocol.com/core-protocol/unlock/networks">multiple chains</a>.</p>
<p>Our role is not to choose which chain/L2 on which developers choose to deploy their membership contracts — as an open protocol, that decision should be theirs, and that decision should be permissionless.</p>
<p>At the same time, it is also critical that the protocol acts the same across the board, regardless of what chain it is being run on.</p>
<h2>Why cross-chain governance?</h2>
<p>While a simple upgrade or change in protocol settings on one network may require just a single call, living across 10+ disparate networks means that even a simple settings tweak quickly becomes quite a tedious process to manage and deploy. We decided to work towards the automation of a cross-chain solution for a number of reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Consistency</strong>: We need to make sure that any change that happens somewhere is replicated everywhere, so the experience of using the protocol is consistent across chains.</li>
<li><strong>Reduce risk of deployment errors</strong>: On each chain, the set of contracts are deployed at <a href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/@unlock-protocol/networks">different addresses</a>. To make all upgrades manually introduces the possibility of errors. Even if to err is human, we love to avoid it as much as we can.</li>
<li><strong>Transparency</strong>: While changes in the protocol are <a href="https://unlock-protocol.com/guides/delegation/">voted on in the Unlock DAO</a>, the execution and enforcement of these changes is left entirely to human discretion. We pursue the goal of making Unlock a decentralised organization and therefore like to transfer that burden to auditable smart contracts.</li>
</ol>
<h2>How it works: the Unlock Owner</h2>
<p>Our design relies on a straightforward idea: the DAO on Ethereum mainnet is the authority that all contracts should listen to. When a proposal is executed, the DAO should send instructions across the bridge to all other instances of Unlock. To enable the cross-chain governance process, we have to pass contract calls and data across chains. For that, we rely on the <a href="https://www.connext.network/">Connext Bridge</a>.</p>
<p>A new contract called <code>UnlockOwner</code> acts as a relay in this process, receiving the calls from the DAO across the bridge (or directly on mainnet) and passing it down to the local Unlock contract. It has mainly two functions: 1) upgrade the Unlock contract (core of the protocol) and 2) change settings of the Unlock contract itself (e.g. add a new template or tweak a parameter).</p>
<p>In technical terms, <code>UnlockOwner</code> is deployed on each network. It owns (as in owner of an <a href="https://docs.openzeppelin.com/contracts/4.x/access-control#ownership-and-ownable">Ownable contract</a>) both the Unlock contract instance and the ProxyAdmin (that controls the proxy upgrades).</p>
<p><img src="/images/blog/crosschain/cross-chain-napkin.png" alt="cross-chain-napkin.png"></p>
<p><em>Original sketch of how calls could circulate across the bridge and through Unlock Manager on multiple chains</em></p>
<h2>Risks and safeguards</h2>
<p>Automating the governance process facilitates the propagation of decisions. This also means a bad actor could introduce malicious actions that then spread faster to the entire protocol. We set up all relevant origin and destination checks within the contracts themselves, but we also took extra precautions.</p>
<p>To mitigate the risks of a protocol-wide attack, we set up two main tools:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>A safety delay</strong>: Every contract call arriving from the DAO across the bridge will be quarantined for a duration of at least two days. That leaves some room to act if any malicious calls were to be sent. Note that this time period comes <em>after</em> the delay introduced by the DAO itself. For that, we rely on <a href="https://docs.openzeppelin.com/contracts/4.x/governance#timelock">OpenZeppelin's Timelock contract</a> that has been audited multiple times.</li>
<li><strong>Multisigs</strong>: On each chain, a multisig owned by our team and trusted members of the Unlock community retains the ability to trigger actions through the <code>UnlockOwner</code> contract. We believe this is still a requirement at this stage as a safeguard. Performing a protocol-wide upgrade across chains is a radically new approach. As such processes of governance are maturing, we hope multisigs could become obsolete and we have built a way in the <code>UnlockOwner</code> to remove them. We believe this will happen in due time.</li>
</ol>
<h2>Try it now !</h2>
<p>As of today, the cross-chain governance process is already deployed on ETH Goerli and Polygon Mumbai testnets. We redeployed a DAO on Goerli (which acts as a "mainnet" for testnets) and are still testing how various calls behave and how our current approach could be improved.</p>
<p>We encourage you to check proposals on our <a href="https://www.tally.xyz/gov/unlock-test-dao">Unlock Test DAO</a>. Any feedback will be warmly welcome!</p>
<p>Below are the addresses of deployed test instances (nb. these may change over time as we redeploy the contracts).</p>
<h3>Goerli Contracts</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Unlock:</strong> <a href="https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0x7fA9F695856269E1415b2d373b35037159E2F94C">https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0x7fA9F695856269E1415b2d373b35037159E2F94C</a></li>
<li><strong>UDT:</strong> <a href="https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0xaB82D702A4e0cD165072C005dc504A21c019718F#readProxyContract">https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0xaB82D702A4e0cD165072C005dc504A21c019718F#readProxyContract</a></li>
<li><strong>Gov:</strong> <a href="https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0xDcDE260Df00ba86889e8B112DfBe1A4945B35CA9">https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0xDcDE260Df00ba86889e8B112DfBe1A4945B35CA9</a></li>
<li><strong>Timelock:</strong> <a href="https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0xD7477B7c0CdA4204Cf860e4c27486061b15a5AC3">https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0xD7477B7c0CdA4204Cf860e4c27486061b15a5AC3</a></li>
<li><strong>Unlock Owner:</strong> <a href="https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0x6E74DC46EbF2cDB75B72Ab1dCAe3C98c7E9d28a1">https://goerli.etherscan.io/address/0x6E74DC46EbF2cDB75B72Ab1dCAe3C98c7E9d28a1</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Mumbai Contracts</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Unlock:</strong> <a href="https://mumbai.polygonscan.com/address/0x8db6eE991C6C3CB2b6228b558c1b3D6EA474cB42#writeProxyContract">https://mumbai.polygonscan.com/address/0x8db6eE991C6C3CB2b6228b558c1b3D6EA474cB42#writeProxyContract</a></li>
<li><strong>Unlock Owner:</strong> <a href="https://mumbai.polygonscan.com/address/0x8db6eE991C6C3CB2b6228b558c1b3D6EA474cB42#writeProxyContract">https://mumbai.polygonscan.com/address/0xdc230F9A08918FaA5ae48B8E13647789A8B6dD46</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Test DAO Dashboard</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Tally:</strong> <a href="https://www.tally.xyz/gov/unlock-test-dao">https://www.tally.xyz/gov/unlock-test-dao</a></li>
</ul>



Today, we’re excited to introduce a new way to purchase Unlock memberships with Stripe!

![Credit card NFT Onramp](/images/blog/credit-card-onramp.png)

Stripe [recently announced](https://stripe.com/blog/crypto-onramp) a new onramp mechanism and it is a great match for our membership contracts. You can test it today by [buying a membership on this lock](https://app.unlock-protocol.com/checkout?id=498f16e7-b9d3-4f80-93ec-74271d772b5d). (We’re happy to refund you if you ask!)

We have had [support for credit card payments](https://unlock-protocol.com/guides/enabling-credit-cards/) for a few years now. However, this legacy credit card payment implementation required lock managers (who deployed the membership contracts) to connect their smart contract(s) to Stripe’s payment gateway using Stripe Connect. This works great, and we’re keeping this option, but is limited in scope as [Stripe Connect](https://stripe.com/connect) is not available in every country or for any kind of business.

With Stripe onramp, we’re adding support for credit card payments on a lock, even if the lock manager themselves has not connected with Stripe! For now, this feature works only for locks deployed on _Polygon_ and _Ethereum Mainnet_, and only for locks priced in USDC, but soon, using our [swap and purchase](https://unlock-protocol.com/blog/swap-and-purchase) capabilities, this will be available for locks in _any_ currency, provided that there is a way to convert from USDC to that currency, and for all the networks that Stripe will add support for.

## How does it work?

First, I should mention that it works for both for users who have their own wallets, as well as for users who don’t have a wallet (using their [Unlock Account](https://docs.unlock-protocol.com/tools/sign-in-with-ethereum/unlock-accounts/)).

When the user selects the option to checkout with Stripe’s onramp, we ask them to sign two messages (these are just signatures, without any gas spent). The first message to sign is an **approval** to spend the funds they will receive from Stripe, immediately after they received them. The second one is a confirmation that they want to spend these funds for a **specific** membership contract.

These two signatures are critical for security and helps ensure the funds they receive from Stripe cannot be spent for anything else.

Once they have signed these two transactions, they will follow the Stripe checkout flow (the one that you already find on many websites around the world). At the end of it, Stripe sends [USDC](https://www.circle.com/en/usdc) to their address and Unlock Labs triggers a transaction that uses the two signatures they provided earlier to use these USDC tokens to purchase the NFT membership.

## Next Steps

Like always in the crypto space, we’re learning as we explore! The obvious next step for us is to add support for our “swap and purchase” flow. This would add support to memberships priced in **any** currency, not just USDC. The flow would be nearly identical from a user’s perspective, but instead of using the USDC to purchase the membership, our contract will instantly swap it for the right amount of tokens required to purchase the membership.

Stripe has indicated that they will add support for more chains and L2s. We will of course add support for these chains as soon as they do! Finally, Stripe has also indicated that they want to explore support for recurring purchases, which we would be thrilled to add support for, on top of our native [crypto recurring payments](https://unlock-protocol.com/guides/recurring-memberships/).


Today, we’re excited to introduce a new way to purchase Unlock memberships with Stripe!

Purchase any membership using your payment card!

Stripe Onramp Support!

<p>Today, we’re excited to introduce a new way to purchase Unlock memberships with Stripe!</p>
<p><img src="/images/blog/credit-card-onramp.png" alt="Credit card NFT Onramp"></p>
<p>Stripe <a href="https://stripe.com/blog/crypto-onramp">recently announced</a> a new onramp mechanism and it is a great match for our membership contracts. You can test it today by <a href="https://app.unlock-protocol.com/checkout?id=498f16e7-b9d3-4f80-93ec-74271d772b5d">buying a membership on this lock</a>. (We’re happy to refund you if you ask!)</p>
<p>We have had <a href="https://unlock-protocol.com/guides/enabling-credit-cards/">support for credit card payments</a> for a few years now. However, this legacy credit card payment implementation required lock managers (who deployed the membership contracts) to connect their smart contract(s) to Stripe’s payment gateway using Stripe Connect. This works great, and we’re keeping this option, but is limited in scope as <a href="https://stripe.com/connect">Stripe Connect</a> is not available in every country or for any kind of business.</p>
<p>With Stripe onramp, we’re adding support for credit card payments on a lock, even if the lock manager themselves has not connected with Stripe! For now, this feature works only for locks deployed on <em>Polygon</em> and <em>Ethereum Mainnet</em>, and only for locks priced in USDC, but soon, using our <a href="https://unlock-protocol.com/blog/swap-and-purchase">swap and purchase</a> capabilities, this will be available for locks in <em>any</em> currency, provided that there is a way to convert from USDC to that currency, and for all the networks that Stripe will add support for.</p>
<h2>How does it work?</h2>
<p>First, I should mention that it works for both for users who have their own wallets, as well as for users who don’t have a wallet (using their <a href="https://docs.unlock-protocol.com/tools/sign-in-with-ethereum/unlock-accounts/">Unlock Account</a>).</p>
<p>When the user selects the option to checkout with Stripe’s onramp, we ask them to sign two messages (these are just signatures, without any gas spent). The first message to sign is an <strong>approval</strong> to spend the funds they will receive from Stripe, immediately after they received them. The second one is a confirmation that they want to spend these funds for a <strong>specific</strong> membership contract.</p>
<p>These two signatures are critical for security and helps ensure the funds they receive from Stripe cannot be spent for anything else.</p>
<p>Once they have signed these two transactions, they will follow the Stripe checkout flow (the one that you already find on many websites around the world). At the end of it, Stripe sends <a href="https://www.circle.com/en/usdc">USDC</a> to their address and Unlock Labs triggers a transaction that uses the two signatures they provided earlier to use these USDC tokens to purchase the NFT membership.</p>
<h2>Next Steps</h2>
<p>Like always in the crypto space, we’re learning as we explore! The obvious next step for us is to add support for our “swap and purchase” flow. This would add support to memberships priced in <strong>any</strong> currency, not just USDC. The flow would be nearly identical from a user’s perspective, but instead of using the USDC to purchase the membership, our contract will instantly swap it for the right amount of tokens required to purchase the membership.</p>
<p>Stripe has indicated that they will add support for more chains and L2s. We will of course add support for these chains as soon as they do! Finally, Stripe has also indicated that they want to explore support for recurring purchases, which we would be thrilled to add support for, on top of our native <a href="https://unlock-protocol.com/guides/recurring-memberships/">crypto recurring payments</a>.</p>
