Highlights from the Singapore Builder House

The last Builder House of 2023 took place in Singapore last week with keynotes, panels, and workshops focused on the present and future of Sui. zkLogin, a new Sui primitive that allows users to create accounts using Web2 credentials, was the highlight of the event with its potential to drive mass Web3 adoption.

In addition to the presentations and announcements, registrants for the liquid staking hackathon met with judges to discuss their projects, and applicants for developer and education grants met with Sui Foundation staff for project feedback. Of course, there was plenty of time for fun and networking as well as there were over 650 people in attendance over the two day event.

zkLogin makes Web3 accessible

Adeniyi Abiodun, Mysten Labs' Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, presented a massive opportunity for users and enterprises with zkLogin. Native to Sui, this new primitive is set to be a game-changer for onboarding new users to Web3. zkLogin removes the friction experienced today during account creation by allowing people to use credentials from popular services such as Google, Twitch, and Microsoft. It eliminates the need to create new credentials and memorize a mnemonic or seed phrase. Simply input a Web2 username and password and get a unique Sui wallet for the app incorporating zkLogin. Zero-knowledge proofs keep the login credentials secure from the chain and chain activity private from the credentialing network.

Adeniyi compared the number of active Web3 wallets, which sits at less than 100 million, to Web2 accounts, which number in the billions, to highlight the size of the gap and the potential simple sign-on primitives such as zkLogin have to usher in a new wave of users.

“Complexity is the killer of adoption. The ultimate killer dApp is accessibility.” - Adeniyi Abiodun

Developers interested in integrating zkLogin should check out the SDK and docs to get started.

Looking at the big Web3 picture

On the first day of programming, participants listened to several panels focused on what is next for Web3, particularly in gaming and DeFi.

Ben Charbit from Life Beyond and Jin Lee from NHN joined Jameel Khalfan of Mysten Labs to discuss the draw of Web3 for games. Digital property rights create loyalty and engagement from players, a distinct differentiator from Web2-only games, and has inspired more traditional gaming studios to integrate Web3 technology. Given this push away from play-to-earn gaming, it was agreed that simpler onboarding, such as that available through zkLogin, is necessary for games to find wider audiences.

Mysten Labs' Alonso de Gotari chatted with Ray Pan from GSR and Mike Cahill from Duoro Labs about the next wave of decentralized finance. DeFi is home to technical and business innovation, but still remains a niche product compared to traditional finance. Ray discussed the need for builders to think about the role of market making in their projects. In addition, he mentioned that the development team should work to ensure the process of integration is smooth, including stable APIs and engineers available for support. Mike shared his desire to see more DEXes as leading markets for perpetual derivatives and the movement of products from the decentralized world on chain.

Voices of the Sui community

A wide variety of apps and projects from the Sui community were present at Builder House. Whether collaborating in the developer zone, participating in technical workshops led by the Sui Foundation Developer Relations team, or chatting at a networking event, everyone enjoyed the opportunity to connect and learn from one another.

A few community projects took the main stage to share more about their work.

• Cynthia Qu interviewed Josh Tobkin from SupraOracles, a pioneering cross-chain communication and oracle solution. Having integrated with most DeFi projects on Sui, he discussed the desire to not only offer reliable and secure oracles for the apps, but also to help educate the wider community about Sui.
  
• Streamflow, a product that helps organizations manage team finances on-chain, announced their launch on Sui with a keynote from the Builder House stage. They offer automated token vesting schedules, token locks, staking, and airdrops, all with a goal of helping projects succeed with their whole token lifecycle.

A vision for Web3 and Sui

During a Founders AMA, Adeniyi joined Sui Foundation Managing Director Greg Siourounis on stage to share their candid thoughts on what’s next for blockchain and Sui. They emphasized the key to success going forward is to serve consumer needs with differentiated products that compete with Web2. By solving real problems through ownership, and removing unnecessary friction in the user experience, adoption can accelerate and break out of its current nice state. As Adeniyi put it, product teams like Mysten Labs should aim to bring empathy back to the center of the development process.

A heartfelt thank you

Builder House Singapore could not have been the rousing success it was without our generous sponsors. Their support of and commitment to the Sui community is unparalleled and greatly appreciated.

Thank you to our Global sponsor Jump, Platinum sponsors GSR and Alibaba Cloud, and Gold sponsors angelhack and HyperBC.

And of course, thank you to all who were able to join us at this, and every, Builder House in 2023. It has been a tremendous year for the Sui community and we look forward to welcoming everyone to many more events in 2024.