zkIgnite, Cohort 0 Retro

zkIgnite is a program aimed at helping developers to build zkApps on Mina. The first iteration, Cohort 0, launched in November 2022, with hundreds of community members coming together to support each other and build on Mina with an impressive level of talent and dedication. There was a notably high quality of submissions, demonstrating the innovative and creative thinking of our community, and we are excited to see what the future holds for these projects.

The Winners

The zkApps were assessed on the following criteria: Technical Implementation, Impact, Business Potential, and Capacity Building. A team of judges deliberated and determined the highest quality zkApps submitted. Here are the top four zkApps from Cohort 0:  

First Place:  Vale by rpanic#3328

Vale is a platform that lets you create & deploy multisig wallets with just a few clicks. They included a wide-range of features wrapped within a slick UI that signs all transactions (except for the contract deployment with Auro Wallet), and included a demo mode which interacts with the contract with signatures instead of computed proofs. 

• You can check out the live zkApp here
• Github repo (with a detailed description on the readme)

Second Place:  Coinflip by 45930#8225 & jhhb#4857

Coinflip proposes a methodology to use and trust randomness in a zkApp. The solution relies on a third party: The randomness oracle, which actually generates the random number on behalf of the player. The player must supply the oracle with the public key of some executor which will use the random number for some purpose. The oracle uses the executor’s public key to encrypt the random number. So the player does not know the value, they only know that it is a random number. The player then submits the encrypted package to the executor, which evaluates the number in a smart contract method. 

• You can check out the live zkApp here
• Github repo (with a detailed description on the readme)

Joint Third Place:  Sign in with Mina by cryptoclasses#1003
and zkApp by Gordon Freeman#4502

Cryptoclasses built a zkApp widget named “Sign in with Mina” that operates by privately authenticating users using proof of ownership. This “Sign in with Mina” widget functions on Web2 sites, creating Web2.5 without sacrificing the financial privacy of users. For example, users can prove that they own an NFT within a collection on Ethereum, but hide their Ethereum address and keep their other financial transactions private. 

• You can check out the live zkApp here
• Github repo (with a detailed description on the readme)

Gordon Freeman developed a zkApp that implements a neural net as a proof of concept. This zkApp runs prediction in circuits, allowing the input to remain private. Through this method, the prover can prove that they have drawn a certain handwritten image, which was then recognized by the neural network, without revealing the actual image itself. 

• You can check out the live zkApp here
• Github repo (with a detailed description on the readme)

Highlights

Overall, the team of judges identified 20 operating oracles and 28 high-quality zkApps as winners of the program. Each operating oracle will receive an award of 1.5K MINA, and each high-quality zkApp will receive 5K MINA, subject to certain compliance requirements.

The Foundation would like to congratulate all of the zkIgnite winners and thank everyone who participated in the program. We are inspired by the talent and dedication of our community and look forward to seeing what the future holds for your projects.

Join Cohort 1

If you missed out on the opportunity to participate in Cohort 0, we encourage you to apply for Cohort 1 and join us in co-building the future of zero knowledge. This is your chance to join a talented community of developers and build your skills and knowledge in the world of zero knowledge. 

Learn to build zkApps on Mina and potentially receive rewards and recognition for your work. We look forward to seeing your submissions and supporting you as you build your project with Mina. 

Thank you for your support and we can’t wait to see what you’ll build with us.