ETHGlobal runs Ethereum hackathons all around the world for people to learn and practice their Ethereum coding skills. One of their goals is to "onboard" hackers and engineers who are not yet familiar with Ethereum and don't already have a wallet or Ether. Yet, they rightfully live by their words and insist on using Ethereum powered tickets! By adding user accounts to our tickets app, Unlock is excited to deliver a great on-boarding experience! Here is how it works:

A hacker who's never used Ethereum before applied and was accepted for ETHWaterloo!
They're sent to our registration page. Note: do NOT purchase a ticket if you have not been previously approved. Your funds will be lost and you will not be able to attend.

When clicking on the registration button, they're asked to pay 20 DAI which they does not have because they does not have a wallet. But, when clicking on the Purchase button, they're asked to login or sign up.

After they created their account with email, password and credit card information, they're asked to pay with their credit card! Unlock will keep track of their unique Ethereum address.

Once they confirm their credit card payment, Unlock will then perform a meta-transaction and pay the 20 DAI on their behalf so that the NFT is then assigned to their address.

Refunding attendees

When attending an ETHGlobal hackathon, all participants are refunded: the payment is an incentive for people to show up! It's also very useful for these new-to-Ethereum users because the refund actually happens in crypto: each participants who checks in at the venue (more details soon!) will receive a 20DAI refund to their address.

Additionally, Unlock accounts can be "ejected": during that process, the user can take control of their private key, and import it in the wallet of their choice: they are now full Ethereum users!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Unlock charging me $21.40?

When paying with a credit card, our payment processor takes a fee (30cts + 2.9%) which is used to pay the credit card networks, banks and more; this accounts for $0.90. Additionally, when sending an Ethereum transaction, the sender pays a gas fee to miners in order to mine the transaction.

Can I purchase with my own Ethereum wallet?

Yes! If you go down that route, you will not pay a credit card fee, and you will have the ability to decide the gas fee you pay to miners. But, in order to do that, you need your own web3 wallet (Metamask or Opera are great choices!), you need some Ether (at least to pay gas fees) and some DAI (a USD stable coin).

Where is my ticket?

On the Ethereum blockchain! Each ticket is a Non Fungible Token linked to your unique Ethereum address and to the ETHWaterloo event lock. You can inspect them all using Etherscan. Additionally your ETHWaterloo tickets contains some unique metadata. If your crypto wallet supports the ERC721 specification (like Opera), you can even see the ticket in your wallet once it's been purchased! Otherwise you can see them all on Opensea. (Here is mine!)

How can I get a refund when I attend?

At check-in, you will be asked to show the QR code you were provided by Unlock when you staked. You can always find your QR code by logging back in to your Unlock Protocol account. Simply have your email confirmation from Unlock handy and show event organizers your QR code. Once scanned at check-in, your refund will be processed. Please note that the exact timing of when your funds will appear back in your wallet depends on the transaction speeds of the Ethereum mainnet at the time. Bottom line: if you check-in to the event prior to 10PM Friday November 8th, you'll receive your 20 DAI refund!

Can I transfer my ticket?

No. Actually, all Unlock keys (your ticket is a kind of Unlock key) are transferable, but each lock owner can set terms on how keys can be transferred. ETHGlobal charges a prohibitively expensive fee for transfers, making them economically improbable ;) Bonus point if you write the actual amount of that fee in the comments!

We're very excited to meet you in Waterloo, as our team will be there! If you've never hacked on Ethereum before, please consider applying now!