# Shipping zkPassport, Shipping Self Protocol Into Production | Marek Olszewski at Pragma Prague 2025

- Speakers: [Marek Olszewski](https://streameth.org/speakers/marek-olszewski)
- Channel: [ETHGlobal](https://streameth.org/ethglobal)
- Date: 2025-10-09
- Duration: 26:46
- Topics: Self Protocol, Marek Olszewski, zkPassport, decentralized identity, ZKP, zero-knowledge proofs, biometric passport, NFC verification, Sybil resistance, DeFi security, OFAC compliance, privacy-preserving identity, Web3 authentication, Merkle trees, on-chain attestations, Celo, Ethereum, smart contracts, trusted execution environments, Groth16, R1CS, ZK circuits, identity verification, anti-Sybil, AI vs human detection, multi-sig wallets, hackathon, Pragma Prague 2025
- Watch: https://streameth.org/watch/yt-2_YYB5FI7vM
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_YYB5FI7vM

## Description

Marek Olszewski, co-founder of Celo and creator of Self Protocol, presents a deep dive into zkPassport and Self Protocol at Pragma Prague 2025. Learn how this decentralized identity solution leverages biometric passports, zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), and blockchain to verify identity without compromising privacy.

Discover how Self Protocol tackles Sybil resistance, prevents bad actors in DeFi, and distinguishes humans from AI—all while maintaining full decentralization. From NFC passport scanning to on-chain ZK attestations, this talk covers the technical architecture, challenges in production, and real-world applications for Web3 identity.

00:00 - Introduction to Self Protocol by Marek Olszewski
00:44 - Self Protocol Launch at ETH Denver Recap
01:27 - Solving Web3’s Biggest Problems: Sybil Resistance
02:03 - Preventing Bad Actors in DeFi with On-Chain Identity
02:43 - Proving You’re Human in an AI-Driven World
03:48 - Interactive Game: Guess the Country!
04:58 - Why Existing Identity Solutions Fall Short
06:00 - Centralized vs. Decentralized Identity Tradeoffs
06:36 - Why Passports Are Ideal for Decentralized Identity
07:50 - Biometric Passports & NFC Chip Security
08:32 - How Countries Authenticate Passports On-Chain
09:46 - Using ZK Proofs for Privacy-Preserving Verification
10:23 - Proving Citizenship Without Revealing Country
10:58 - Age Verification & OFAC Compliance with ZKPs
12:01 - Self Protocol’s Two-Step Onboarding Flow
12:39 - Scanning Your Passport & NFC Verification
13:14 - Generating ZK Proofs for On-Chain Registration
14:01 - How Self Protocol’s Merkle Tree Works
14:39 - Nullifiers & Commitments for Anti-Sybil
15:56 - Privacy: Hiding Data from Issuing Countries
17:17 - Demo: Proving Attributes to dApps with ZK
18:49 - Technical Deep Dive: ZKP Circuit Design
19:24 - Merkle Exclusion Proofs for OFAC Checks
20:09 - How Self Protocol Protects User Privacy
20:59 - Mobile App & Secure Secret Backup
21:40 - Offloading ZKP Generation to Trusted Hardware
22:59 - Challenges: Choosing a Proving System (R1CS vs. Groth16)
23:38 - Handling 5GB Proving Keys & Ceremony Complexity
24:47 - Why Off-the-Shelf ZK Tools Failed
25:20 - Can AI Help Write ZK Circuits? (Spoiler: Not Yet)
26:02 - Hackathon Use Cases: DeFi, Smart Wallets, Memecoins
26:34 - Closing Remarks & Self Protocol Documentation

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🇨🇿 *Pragma Prague*
Pragma Prague 2025 was held on May 29th at Holešovice Market in Prague, Czech Republic and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. This event was in collaboration with ETH Prague. Watch the full Pragma Prague YouTube Playlist here: 

ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. 

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✅ Follow Marek Olszewski
X: https://x.com/marek_

✅ Follow Self
X: https://x.com/SelfProtocol

✅ Follow Kartik Talwar
X: https://x.com/TheRealKartik

✅ Follow ETHGlobal
X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​
Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal
Website: https://ethglobal.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA 

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