Hey everyone,
During this year, Waku contributors attended a series of events to introduce Waku and its benefits to the greater Web3 space including ETHRome hackathon in October and ETHGlobal Istanbul hackathon in November. In this post, we’re highlighting the winning projects that won the Waku bounties. A big thank you to all the amazing hackers who built on Waku - your creativity was inspiring.
ETHRome (6-8 Oct, 2023)
All teams leveraged js-waku - our dapp-focused javascript SDK and light protocols to access the Waku network. They also incorporated encryption into their solutions to strengthen users privacy and security while transporting data over Waku.
Third place goes to… Team MySecretAudit!
MySecretAudit used Waku to enable responsible disclosures in SmartContracts. This is one of the most novel, purposeful implementations we’ve seen for Waku - kudos!
GitHub - Feka7/my-secret-audit
MySecretAudit - ETHRome @ TAIKAI - Hackathon Platform
And in second place… Team Quo-Roma!
Quo-Roma integrated Waku into their DAO platform to facilitate chat and comment on proposals. The level of project completion was impressive! The UI was intuitive and the Waku integration was done to a very high standard.
GitHub - martorian/quo-roma: Web3 productivity and messaging platform
Quo-Roma - ETHRome @ TAIKAI - Hackathon Platform
And the champions in first place are… Team Beccamose!
Beccamose used Waku to store and communicate the coordinates of wallets in their location-sharing app. This novel use case represents the first location sdk built on Waku! They achieved extraordinary scoring on their submission - congratulations to the well-deserving winners 
GitHub - mattiapomelli/beccamose
Beccamose - ETHRome @ TAIKAI - Hackathon Platform
ETHGlobal Istanbul (17-19 Nov, 2023)
Best overall use of Waku
PePay: A peer-to-peer mobile payments app inspired by their vision of a world without payment-related middlemen. This was the most complete solution delivered, with an exciting use case - kudos!
GitHub - jonovdm/pepay
PePay | ETHGlobal
Grassroots: An encrypted climate change whistle-blower app that lets you post with credibility. They had a great UI for this excellent public goods project.
GitHub - refi-istanbul/grassroots
Grassroots | ETHGlobal
Best network state goods using Waku
zkHub: A privacy-focused social NFT community app where owners can see all essential information about their NFT collections in one platform while retaining their privacy. The user interface was seamless and the team showed initiative by stopping by the Waku booth to ask questions.
GitHub - BilkentCrypto/istanmeow: Web3 Community Management Protocol
zkHub | ETHGlobal
Most creative use of Waku
Smart NeSt web3-IoT: Internet of Things smart home infrastructure for network states and self-organized communities. The solo hacker invested his time building the Waku binaries for Raspberry Pi - impressive!
GitHub - JustAnotherDevv/SMART-NeSt: SMART NeSt - IoT smart home infrastructure for self-organized communities like Network States
Smart NeSt web3-IoT | ETHGlobal
Cat Cha Chat: A web3 messenger blending secure, private communication with multi-chain flexibility. The team’s presentation blew us away, and we loved their concept of widgets.
GitHub - social-bureau/ethglobal-istanbul-fe
Cat cha chat | ETHGlobal
Best privacy-focused project using Waku
Safety First: Helps victims of natural disasters restore hope, empower lives, and ensure resilience. This was an excellent social good project with a really interesting use of Waku.
GitHub - RegisGraptin/ETH-Global-Istanbul
Safety First | ETHGlobal
Coincidence: Developed a peer-to-peer matchmaking platform designed to connect individuals based on shared interests, passions, and collaborative projects. They delivered a great UI, and we loved that it could be used for finding team mates during hackathons!
GitHub - orpheuslummis/coincidence-ethglobal2023istanbul: Meet friends from specific interests through the privacy-preserving P2P Coincidence network.
Coincidence | ETHGlobal
Best game or marketplace using Waku
Go Nouns: Built a verifiable ZK based Treasure Hunt game that brings people together in the pursuit of hidden treasures. The experience was completely gamified - nice work!
GitHub - Koushith/ZuckHunt: GoNouns Zero Knowledge Treasure Hunt with AR NFT Minting
Go Nouns 🤌 | ETHGlobal
Vapor: On-chain game lobby with p2p chat & settings negotiation, reusable by any web2 or web3 game. The strategic utilisation of Waku as a decentralized state channel showcased an impressive and thoughtful approach.
GitHub - 0xFableOrg/vapor: Onchain game lobby with p2p communication
https://ethglobal.com/showcase/vapor-w01fq
Waku is sponsoring one more hackathon before the year ends at ETHIndia from 8-10 Dec, 2023. If you’re interested to learn more about Waku, go to docs.waku.org or join the Waku community discord.waku.org.