zkVerify blog

Verified Hacker House: zkVerify Lands in New Delhi

a robot is standing in front of a map of india .
zkVerify
zkVerify

Announcement

The zkVerify Foundation, in partnership with Horizen Labs, is excited to announce our Verified Hacker House in New Delhi, India, from September 22nd to 29th, 2025, with our Verified Hackathon taking place from September 22nd to 25th!

Participants will receive accommodation, daily meals, and access to exclusive workshops led by zkVerify, Horizen, and partners to be announced.

This event builds on the success of our previous online and in-person hackathons and workshops, which brought together hundreds of developers and dozens of projects, including at our Verified Hacker House in Ho Chi Minh.

We’re inviting developers with experience in privacy, ZK proofs, and Web3 hackathons to join us in New Delhi, build impactful projects, and showcase how zkVerify enables scalable, cost-efficient proof verification.

Basic Hackathon Timeline

  • Sept 21 – Organizer check-in
  • Sept 22 – Hacker check-in (09:00); Workshops & Presentations (10:00–18:00); Hackathon begins (12:00)
  • Sept 25 – Hackathon ends (18:00); Project presentations (18:00–19:00)
  • Sept 29 – Winners announced (20:00); Hacker check-out

Prize Descriptions

Total Bounty: $5,000 (sponsored by zkVerify & Horizen)

🏆 Combined Bounty (zkVerify + Horizen)

  • 1st Prize: $1,500
  • 2nd Prize: $1,000

💠 Horizen Bounty

  • 1st Prize: $1,000
  • 2nd Prize: $750

🔐 zkVerify Bounty

  • 1st Prize: $750

Prize award notes:

  • Prizes will be awarded in USDC (or native tokens, in the case of sponsor prizes).
  • Prizes are awarded to unique projects meeting minimum requirements.
  • Sponsor prizes can be combined with zkVerify prizes.
  • KYC verification required for prize eligibility.

Why Use zkVerify?

  • Support for many proof types: STARKs, Noir, RiscZero, Plonky2, SP1, UltraHonk, and more.
  • Cost Reduction: zkVerify reduces verification costs by up to 90% compared to Ethereum.
  • Speed: A dedicated blockchain for proof verification enables faster results and better UX.
  • Innovation: Build in finance, gaming, identity, AI, and privacy — all powered by ZK proofs.

Who Should Participate?

  • Indie developers and students exploring ZK and privacy tech.
  • Experienced builders from past hackathons and hacker houses.
  • Alumni from zkVerify’s online hackathons.

Whether you’re new to ZK or already deep in the ecosystem, this Hacker House provides the resources, mentorship, and community to take your project to the next level.

Purpose

2025 is a pivotal year for ZK proofs as they move from research to mainstream adoption. The challenge has always been high costs and slow verification on existing chains — zkVerify solves this by providing a blockchain purpose-built for ZK verification.

By hosting the Verified Hacker House: New Delhi, zkVerify and Horizen aim to:

  • Build a core group of 100+ developers engaged with zkVerify.
  • Prototype new applications with cutting-edge proof systems.
  • Create technical content and case studies for the ecosystem.
  • Identify high-quality teams for grants and incubation.

Application Scenarios for ZK Proofs

As with previous hackathons, zkVerify supports diverse use cases across Web2 and Web3:

  1. AI & ML Privacy – training data validation, model provenance, inference proofs.
  2. Gaming & Entertainment – provably fair randomness and mobile ZK-powered games.
  3. Decentralized Trust – supply chain transparency, financial proof-of-reserve.
  4. Regulatory-Compliant Privacy – private DeFi, stablecoin payments, DAO voting.
  5. Decentralized Science (DeSci) – private data sharing, verifiable research, IP protection.

How to Participate

  • Apply: Google Form (Devfolio link coming soon).
  • Join Workshops: Learn zkVerify’s tech stack and partner tools.
  • Form Teams: Up to 3 hackers per team.
  • Hack & Submit: Build your project and submit on Devfolio by Sept 25, 18:00 IST.
  • Demo & Present: Showcase your project to judges (3–5 minutes per team).

How zkVerify Supports This Hackathon

  • Expert Mentorship: Guidance from zkVerify, Horizen, and partner engineers.
  • Community: Active Discord/Telegram channels for collaboration.
  • Resources: Tutorials, GitHub repos, and zkVerifyJS library.
  • Ecosystem Partners: To Be Announced

Technical Stack

  • zkVerify Blockchain (Substrate-based) with verifier pallets for fast, low-cost verification.
  • Horizen L3: Our privacy first EVM L3 based on op-enclave with 10sec block finality powered by Base.
  • Proof Aggregation: Verified proofs are batched and bridged to EVM testnets (EDUChain, Apechain Curtis, Arbitrum Sepolia).
  • zkVerifyJS: JavaScript library (NPM) for easy integration.
  • Supported Apps: Smart contracts, DeFi, privacy dApps, private messaging, voting, and gaming.

Rules for Hackathon

  • Projects must be new (forks allowed if zkVerify is integrated).
  • Teams: max 3 participants.
  • Submit code via Devfolio + public GitHub repo.
  • Include a README with setup instructions, use case, and team info.
  • Judging Criteria:
    • Functionality (25%)
    • Innovation & Creativity (25%)
    • Technical Complexity (20%)
    • Usability & UX (10%)
    • Team Collaboration & Presentation (10%)

Resource Links

Terms of Participation

(Eligibility, registration, IP rights, liability, confidentiality, dispute resolution — same as Vietnam blog.)

KYC Notice & Requirements

All prize winners must complete KYC verification within 10 days. Participants on sanctions lists or in restricted jurisdictions are ineligible.

Code of Conduct

We are committed to a safe, respectful, and harassment-free environment. Please request a “NO PHOTO” sticker if you prefer not to be photographed. Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated.

Emergency numbers in India:

  • 112 – Emergency helpline
  • 100 – Police
  • 101 – Fire & Rescue
  • 102 – Ambulance