Last month, JSC sponsored EthTokyo Hackathon with a total prize pool of $3500. This post is the third in a three-part series where we will highlight each winning team, their winning solution, why we awarded them the respective prize, and the winning team’s feedback to JSC.
JSC sponsored the following hackathon tracks:
Compliant, Privacy-Preserving DeFi application (
Winner prize:
US$1500)
Ticketing application (
One Special Award (
MizuPass was the winner of JSC’s ticketing application, a track that placed greater emphasis on user experience and design. JSC believes that the current standard for Japan ticketing delivers a poor user experience, which is mostly due to compliance obstacles, such as ticket scalping. With JSC’s compliance suite Mizuhiki Suite, we believe a more seamless ticketing experience can be achieved in both web2 and web3.
It was important to us to see an application that felt like a “web2 experience”: something that was simple, seamless and fun to use. In other words, the user should not need to feel like they are using a web3 app, or need to know any technical terms such as “ZK proof” or “EVM address”. The MizuPass team, consisting of Raisal, Wildan, Revo and Louis, rose to the challenge, creating an application that was fast, creative, fun, and intuitive.
User Experience
The “ticketing problem” MizuPass pitched us in their demo was something that we all feel deeply in Japan. To buy a simple concert ticket, sign ups are often complicated - often requiring use of email, identification methods, multiple app downloads, and convoluted payment methods.
Many of the reasons for this level of complexity is to do with the need for compliance - in particular to prevent ticket scalping or double-spending.
Using Mizuhiki Verified ID (for Japanese residents) and ZK Passport verification for non-Japanese residents, users of MizuPass are able to buy tickets by simply connecting their verified EVM address and purchasing the tickets off the MizuPass platform. Addresses that are not verified are limited in their ability to purchase tickets.
Additionally, tickets on MizuPass had QR codes that were able to be validated without using an internet connection at concert venues. This enables users to prove they have the latest, valid non-fungible copy of the ticket. This has huge implications for allowing resales without worrying about duplicate (fake) copies of tickets, and ultimately, helps people to be able buy tickets on secondary markets without being scammed.
Technically, the offline QR code functionality was the trickiest part of the MizuPass project. Although open-source ZK circuit libraries provided the fundamental capabilities for offline verification, getting the verification latency down from 45 seconds to 6.5ms was an impressive technological feat. The MizuPass team needed to redesign the ZK circuit architecture to minimise constraints and implemented custom optimisation techniques for mobile with a lot of back-and-forth testing. For the end-user, this reduction in ticket verification latency makes this technology practical to use for events with tens of thousands of attendees.
Loyalty 
with Privacy 
In addition, MizuPass integrated ENS DIDs to create subdomains for MizuPass users, enabling event-goers to have a “social identity”. We believe that this opens up the possibility to many loyalty-based applications, which is especially attractive for Japan’s “super-fan” base.
Importantly, the integration of ENS DIDs, Mizuhiki ID and ZKPassport Verification do not reveal the personally identifiable information of MizuPass’ users.
The team’s thoughts on Mizuhiki ID
MizuPass’ integration of Mizuhiki ID was exactly what the JSC Development team was hoping to see. One of the MizuPass’ team members commented:
“Working with Mizuhiki ID was a game-changing experience that opened my eyes to what the future of on-chain DID verification should look like. The SBT approach isn’t just technically sound - it’s philosophically aligned with how digital identity should work in Web3.”
The MizuPass team mentioned that they hope to see Mizuhiki Suite implement ZK proof capabilities, allowing users to prove their verified status without revealing underlying personal data. This would be incredibly useful for age verification in ticketing. The Japan Smart Chain development team is already working on such capabilities, and will be reaching out to the MizuPass team for feedback and collaboration.
Final Comments
The MizuPass Team showed us a complete and well-designed product. It was clear the team was well organised, both in their time management and separation of duties. We later discovered that each team member was responsible for their own repository - for example, one for frontend, backend, contracts, and circuits. The team had periodic syncs to make sure they were working with the compatible code interfaces and versions, so that it was easy to glue these repos together towards the end of the hackathon/
The team was also proactive in reaching out to JSC team members to ask questions and ask for tips for integrating their app with our Mizuhiki Suite.
The MizuPass team set the gold standard for what can be achieved in as little as 48 hours when good communication and organisational skills are prioritised: technological prowess - while fundamental - is often overrated in building great crypto apps.
JSC believes that usability and compliance can and should co-exist, and that is what we are striving towards in product development. Thank you so much to the MizuPass team for an excellent submission, and we look forward to working with you in the future.
Links:
Demo: 
Pitch deck: 
