What is a Hackathon?

Hackathon, hack day, hackfest, or codefest, is a new term spread among hackers. A hackathon is an event where computer programmers and other software development professionals, including graphic designers, UI/UX designers, and project managers, gather together to work closely on a software project.

The essence of a hackathon is the collaborative writing of programs and applications, often lasting for a few days to a week. Hackathons are not as simple as writing some disposable projects. The essence of a hackathon is that many people get together within a specific period of time to do what they want to do in the way they want - there are almost no restrictions or directions in the entire programming process.

Benefits of Blockchain Hackathons

The crypto world’s foundation is blockchain. This peer-to-peer network system uses technologies such as cryptography and consensus mechanisms to establish and store a huge chain of transaction data. It is also a decentralized digital transaction ledger, a growing list of digital records that will be retained for a long time and kept secure through encryption algorithms and consensus mechanisms.

Blockchain ledger data is distributed across a network of computers. Users can interact directly with stored data in real-time without intermediaries (middlemen or distributors) verifying transactions. The technology provides parties in the blockchain with an independent, tamper-proof, and transparent platform to store, transmit and process sensitive information. Therefore, theoretically speaking, blockchain hackathons are a significant subfield within the broader hackathon landscape.

Similar to common hackathons, blockchain hackathons are also planned by relevant companies or organizations, especially major public chains and blockchain infrastructure, attracting developers, including capital companies and enthusiasts in the industry, to participate. It can be said that everyone involved in blockchain hackathons stands to gain valuable experiences and insights.

Organizers

Organizers of blockchain hackathons are generally public chain foundations, infrastructure projects, funds, and incubators in the industry. It often involves a main organizer collaborating with multiple projects, such as the Ethereum Foundation, Solana Foundation, CoinDesk, Gitcoin, Wanxiang Blockchain, and other enterprises, organizations, and projects.

For organizers, hosting a hackathon offers several benefits:

• Improve Brand Image: Hackathons are serious and high-profile offline events. Through hackathons, organizers are expected to get more attention from potential customers. In addition, media coverage will further increase the influence of the company.
• Obtain product feedback: Hackathon organizers usually provide their own products to participants for free trial. This trial process allows organizers to receive the most direct feedback on their products.
• Acquire innovation faster: Compared with the traditional innovation model, hackathons bring together a group of creative developers. During the hackathon, companies can also see product innovations and solutions to problems, accelerating the innovation process and serving as a catalyst for organizers’ own innovative efforts.

Developers

For developers, participating in hackathons also offers many benefits:

• Technology Improvement: By solving real-world problems and challenges, developers can improve their programming and blockchain technology capabilities.
• Network Expansion: Hackathons are a great opportunity for developers to engage with other technical experts, fostering connections within the industry.
• Career Development: Demonstrating their technology and solutions may attract the attention of potential employers or headhunters.
• Innovative Practice: They can try novel ideas and experimental techniques.
• Teamwork: Learning to cooperate and communicate in a team environment is important for their professional growth.

Investors and Venture Capitalists

Investors typically participate in hackathon events as sponsors and spectators, deriving the following main benefits:

• Discover talent: Find teams and individuals with high potential.
• Trend Insights: Observe the latest developments in blockchain technology and applications.
• Early-stage investment: Make early-stage investment before the project matures.
• Market dynamics understanding: Gain a deeper understanding of market demand and user preferences.
• Networking: Connect with other investors and entrepreneurs within the industry.

Finally, through hackathons, the blockchain community and industry can promote technological development through competition and collaboration. In the process of jointly addressing industry issues, it propels the formation of standards and best practices. At the same time, offline events can enhance the connection between blockchain enthusiasts and experts, encourage innovative thinking and the generation of new solutions, and improve public awareness and understanding of blockchain technology.

General Process of a Hackathon

A hackathon typically involves the following stages:

Preparation and Promotion

• Team building: Establish the organizing team, including the main organizers, partners, sponsors, etc.
• Topic Setting: Determine the theme of the hackathon, such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, etc.
• Publicity and promotion: Promote the event through social media, professional communities, universities, and other channels.
• Registration: Participants register to participate through the website or other platforms.

Opening Ceremony and Team Formation

• Opening Ceremony: The organizer introduces the event process, rules and goals.
• Lectures and seminars: Invite experts to explain relevant technologies or give motivational speeches.
• Team Formation: Individual participants form teams based on interests and skills.

Programming and Development

• Ideation and Planning: Teams decide on the project and create a development plan.
• Programming and Development: Team members collaborate to write code and develop prototypes or solutions.
• Mentor consultation: Sometimes an expert or mentor will provide technical guidance and advice.

Showcasing Results and Evaluation

• Project Showcase: Teams present their projects or solutions.
• Evaluation Process: An expert panel evaluates projects based on criteria such as creativity, practicality, technical difficulty, etc.
• Q&A and Defense: The expert panel will ask questions about the project, and the team members will answer the questions.

Awards Ceremony and Closing

• Awards Ceremony: Announce the winning team and present awards.
• Networking: Participants can network with other participants and the judging panel.
• Closing Ceremony: Officially conclude the event, expressing gratitude to participants, sponsors, and organizers.

Follow-up

• Media Coverage: Event results and highlights may be featured in the media.
• Follow-up support: For potential projects, organizers or sponsors may provide further support or incubation.

The entire process usually lasts 24-48 hours, but may vary depending on the size and nature of the specific event.

Four Famous Crypto Hackathon Organizers

Different hackathons have different themes and times, so it is difficult to judge which one is the best, but some gain higher recognition. Here are a few organizers known for high participation and notable projects. Stay updated on their websites and media for the latest hackathon events.

ETHGlobal Hackathons

This is a long-term hackathon event organized by ETHGlobal. Users can view the latest upcoming hackathons on its official website. Most of the hackathons held by ETHGlobal are about the Ethereum ecosystem, covering various fields such as DeFi, NFTs and infrastructure. As shown in the figure below, they will also hold offline hackathons in locations like London and Sydney.

Source: https://ethglobal.com/events/hackathons

Due to Ethereum’s leadership position in Web3, projects participating in ETHGlobal’s hackathons garner significant attention. ETHGlobal is supported by L4, SV Angel and the Ethereum Foundation. Having held 62 related hackathon competitions, they hosted 19 events in 2023.

DoraHacks

DoraHacks is a world-renowned hackathon organizer and one of the most dynamic multi-chain Web3 developer platforms. With a global perspective, DoraHacks creates a thriving hacking community and provides developers around the world with a crypto-native toolkit to collaborate and fund their ideas and BUIDL through hackathons, bounties, grants, donation DAOs, and public interest staking. The DoraHacks community has supported more than 4,000 projects, with more than $30 million in grants and other contributions from supporters around the world.

Source: https://dorahacks.io/hackathon

In DoraHacks, you can find various ongoing hackathon activities, and you can click [BUIDLS] to submit your own ideas for implementation. Its major advantage lies in the diversity and quantity of hackathons available.

Gitcoin DAO

As detailed in the article “All you need to know about Gitcoin (GTC),” Gitcoin is a platform for supporting public goods, where projects can raise funds through Gitcoin DAO. This is similar to participating in a hackathon, except that the time and the form of receiving bonuses are different. In Gitcoin’s official funding rounds, projects must spend time and effort uploading their products to attract more donations. Gitcoin also supports projects and other organizers to organize donation pools, such as the Uniswap Arbtrium Grant Program shown in the image below.

Source: Gitcoin Grants

Solana Network

Solana is a high-performance blockchain protocol designed to provide scalable, user-friendly applications to the world. It is very developer-friendly. Its hackathon is mainly conducted online, covering all aspects of the Solana ecosystem, such as DeFi, dApp, GameFi, Middleware, etc. As of February 4, the hackathons have witnessed the active participation of 48,000 developers, resulting in the creation of over 3,000 projects. These projects have collectively raised an impressive total of 600 million USD in subsequent funding. Well-known projects like “Stepn,” a fitness-related initiative allowing users to earn money while running, and the DeFi application “Mango” have originated from the Solana hackathon ecosystem.

Source: https://solana.com/zh/hackathon

Other Crypto Hackathon Organizers

Referencing ETHGLOBAL and Solana mentioned earlier, we can find that public chains are enthusiastic supporters of hackathons, because the applications and technologies produced during hackathons can directly promote ecosystem innovation, fostering overall prosperity. For example, Stepn, a project that gained popularity during the Solana Hackathon, brought a significant influx of new users to the Solana platform. Other public chains, such as Avalanche, Ton Blockchain, Polygon, and other Layer1 and Layer2 public chains, also hold corresponding hackathons. If you are interested in a specific blockchain, you can directly follow their social media channels to get the latest updates on hackathon events.

In addition to public chains, another key organizer not mentioned above is infrastructure service providers and DeFi. A notable example is ChainLink, which organized a Spring Hackathon in April 2023 and distributed a total prize pool of $450,000. Subsequently, in July 2023, they hosted a Fall Hackathon (online), attracting nearly a thousand developers and awarding $350,000 in prizes. A prerequisite for participation in these hackathons is the use of ChainLink services in the development process.

Some DeFi projects also hold corresponding hackathons, such as the DeFi Kitchen virtual event and hackathon launched by SushiSwap on March 9, 2023. Overall, the organizers of these hackathons are typically foundational participants within the industry.

Conclusion

Even for ordinary individuals, participating in and watching hackathons helps them gain insights into the latest industry innovations and updated trends. The trends of blockchain hackathons represent the efforts of outstanding developers in the industry. Tracking outstanding projects from various hackathons also facilitates the discovery of early narratives.

In general, hackathons have introduced a new source of innovation to the industry, benefiting all participants involved. The future will see an increase in hackathons, bringing forth more innovative technologies and applications.