Self Protocol Workshop I Ayman Mohammed

Sun, Nov 2, 2025, 12:00 AM

Ayman Mohammed’s workshop introduces Self Protocol, a decentralized identity solution that eliminates the need for traditional KYC by enabling users to verify personal attributes without exposing sensitive data. Instead of sending full identity documents to third parties, users register once using passports, Aadhaar, or biometric IDs, generating a unique nullifier to ensure civil resistance and privacy. The system uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs)—specifically Groth16 and Circom—to verify attributes like age, nationality, or OFAC compliance, allowing users to disclose only what’s necessary. Self’s registration process anchors identities in an onchain Merkle tree, ensuring anonymity and preventing duplicate sign-ups while maintaining verifiability. During the session, Ayman demonstrates Self’s SDK and QR code verification flow, where users scan a QR to selectively prove claims (e.g., “over 18” or “not from the U.S.”) via the Self mobile app. Developers can integrate this using the onchain SDK, writing custom smart contracts that inherit from SelfVerificationRoot and define hooks for proof verification. Ayman emphasizes onchain verification as the most trustless option, avoiding backend censorship risks. The session concludes with new SDK features like programmatic config creation, scope handling improvements, and simplified contract deployment. Self’s hackathon bounties prioritize onchain integrations with higher rewards to encourage developers to build privacy-preserving verification systems for decentralized apps. 00:02 – Introduction to Self Protocol and session overview 00:29 – Problems with current KYC systems and data security risks 00:54 – Why Self eliminates unnecessary KYC through selective disclosure 01:19 – How Self uses passports as trusted, machine-readable identifiers 02:08 – Nullifiers and civil resistance via identity-based proofs 02:43 – Selective disclosure of personal attributes for privacy 03:03 – Custom claims: age verification and OFAC exclusion checks 03:56 – Aadhaar and biometric ID support for broader global coverage 04:26 – Two-step process: registration and disclosure explained 05:10 – How registration ensures anonymity and prevents duplicate identities 05:41 – Role of trusted execution environments (TEEs) in proof generation 06:14 – Overview of ZK proof stack (Groth16 + Circom) 06:42 – Developer integration using QR codes and SDKs 07:04 – Onchain vs. offchain verification and trust assumptions 07:35 – Hackathon bounties and prize structure for Self integrations 08:14 – Live demo setup: QR-based disclosure of age and country attributes 09:23 – Using the Self app to scan and verify attributes in real time 09:56 – Explanation of Self app builder config and parameters 10:31 – Verification process walkthrough with test network 11:09 – Smart contract example: extending SelfVerificationRoot 11:53 – How to override hooks for proof verification and event logging 12:36 – Matching frontend and contract verification configs 12:56 – Contract deployment setup and configuration example 13:26 – Repository overview: frontend QR code + Solidity contracts 13:55 – Handling multiple ID formats and disclosure data differences 14:21 – Specification nuances: passport vs. Aadhaar data formats 15:13 – New SDK improvements: programmatic config setup and scope handling 16:01 – How the latest update simplifies verification configuration 16:20 – Final notes, Q&A, and booth invitation _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇮🇳 *ETHGlobal New Delhi* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New Delhi, a 3-day hackathon held September 19-21 at the India International Convention & Expo Centre, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal New Delhi 2025 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh7zCFW3hBqatZ18rQaYeEJL _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Self* X: https://x.com/SelfProtocol ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city