In recent months, we have been collaborating with the skilled group at ether.cards to provide an NFT-based on-chain ticketing solution for the Ethereum community in preparation for Devcon5.
This initiative will unfold in two segments, comprising a raffle and an auction, with proceeds going to the Devcon Scholars Program in the upcoming days. We are allocating 100 tickets to the raffle and 50 to the auction this year, with intentions to broaden the range of on-chain ticketing choices in the future.
The raffle is set to commence at 5:00pm GMT on August 22. The links for both the raffle and the auction will be available at https://ethercards.devcon.org once the sale is initiated.
Provably Fair Sale
Raffle: August 22-24
The provably fair sale will operate similarly to a raffle: Anyone can submit a transaction at any moment during the two-day event. At the conclusion of the 48-hour period, the system will disclose those eligible to claim their tickets.
To deter individuals from submitting multiple transactions to heighten their chances, 2% of every non-winning transaction will be retained. This is intended to motivate those with greater resources to opt for the auction instead. In a future post, we will detail a method for the community to contribute to deciding how best to utilize these proceeds for the benefit of the Ethereum ecosystem.
Non-winning transactions, minus the 2% “sybil-resistance fee,” will be reimbursed following the conclusion of the sale.
Ticket Auction
Bidding: Aug. 27-29 (Reveal: Aug. 30 – Sep. 2)
The auction is designed after the ENS domain registration silent auction model. Bids are presented anonymously over a 48-hour timeframe and must be disclosed once the bidding phase ends. We adopted this structure to mitigate potential bidding conflicts. Once the reveal period concludes, any undisclosed bids will be forfeited.
This year, our aim was to develop a varied set of systems to enhance resilience in the ticketing procedure and showcase the capabilities of Ethereum, along with open-source community initiatives. This also serves as an experiment to measure participation levels when the approach necessitates direct engagement with on-chain processes, compared to one that allows users to utilize fiat payments and exchange addresses. We are eager to explore these two on-chain methods as a part of this diversification.
Following these two sales, a final chance to acquire tickets will arise in the form of an appeals round, where any unclaimed builder, student, and sponsor tickets will be redistributed through an online application process. We cannot yet forecast the number that will be available for appeals, and they will not be distributed until about a month prior to the conference, so secure a ticket in the raffle or auction if you can!
