A New Trend in the IT Space: Blockchain Hackathons

Information technology – what’s that about? Most often, it’s about finding solutions to complex and extraordinary tasks. As developers and programmers note, anything can be implemented if:

• the idea is relevant;
• there is a good team that shares the point of view of the leader;
• the leader is not afraid to take risks, and the team is quick to learn.

But in any, even the most successful company, there might be situations when the project freezes, the team is out of ideas, and the work process stands still. Then the company needs a “shake-up”, the so-called “adrenaline shot”. In the IT field, such events are called "hackathons" ("hacker" + "marathon"). These are special forums for developers that allow specialists to solve complex problems together in a short time.

More about traditional hackathons

Hackathons, or “hacker marathons,” are competitions for IT professionals. Teams, in a short time period, must provide the customer with a prototype of a new product (for example, a mobile application or a web service), or a way to solve a technological problem that the customer has encountered.

The average duration of hackathons is from several hours to a week. They first appeared in the early 2000s in the famous Silicon Valley and gained popularity when IT specialists working in this format began to quickly resolve cases that were impossible to crack (as it seemed before).

Participants noted the high productivity of this method. Both young startups and huge corporations like Microsoft, Google and Facebook really like such events, as they can be used to attract new valuable stuff, solve a specific business problem, implement new ideas and find a promising project for an investment.

Features of blockchain hackathons

In the modern Web3 space, a big part of IT developments have something to do with blockchain technology. Specialists are faced with tasks related to simplifying the existence of a new decentralized Internet environment. Therefore, companies have recently become more and more interested in holding blockchain hackathons.

New tools. Unlike traditional hackathons, where creators strive hard for fresh ideas for startups, here the focus of programmers' attention is shifting to the search for new tools. Their main tasks include developing and correcting codes, monitoring the execution of smart contracts, etc.

New developers. Blockchain hackathons often reveal new faces to the IT world. For a blockchain developer, this is the best way to make yourself known and to get acquainted with investors, exchange experience with colleagues, acquire useful contacts and earn money. Prizes. In case of a victory at the hackathon, the team receives valuable prizes.

The most notorious blockchain hackathons of 2022

1. Solana Riptide Hackathon

   Hackathon of the Solana (SOL) project, the main competitor of Ethereum (ETH). IT companies came here in search of new promising projects in the areas of Web3, DeFi, DAO, as well as payments and games. Specialists got the opportunity to start cooperating with Solana, find an investor, get support and just chat with each other. The prize fund was $5 million. The winner received $65,000 to implement his project and access to a larger conference next year. For Solana (SOL), this was the fifth event in this format.

   
   

2. The blockchain hackathon of the Stellar project helped promote the NFT sphere. It brought together developers who wanted to create and promote their unique NFTs based on the JavaScript programming language. All participants of the hackathon received a personal NFT as a token of their presence on the forum, and the winner received $10,000 in XLM, native tokens of the Stellar blockchain.

   
   

3. A blockchain event with free access for everyone interested in the IPFS communication protocol: students, young professionals, professors, investors. Interplanetary File System (IPFS) is a protocol and peer-to-peer network for storing and exchanging data in a distributed file system. Participants were united by the idea of creating the IPFS Metaverse, which allowed storing files independent of the blockchain. The system is still very young and holds great prospects for development.

   
   

4. This event was a great opportunity for developers, entrepreneurs and graphic designers to get to know each other, team up and build a blockchain-based smart contract or application across 4 main areas – Web3, DeFi, GameFi and NFT.

   
   

5. An event that combined conferences, discussions, and seminars related to the Polkadot blockchain system. The main problem that Polkadot sought to solve is related to “blockchain interoperability”. Developers claim that the widespread distribution of the blockchain remains impossible, since large systems like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana do not interact with each other. Polkadot offered its own ecosystem that allowed participating blockchains to freely, quickly and securely exchange their data.

The popularization of blockchain hackathons made it possible to attract the attention of more people to the IT field and the Web3 space. Such events are mutually beneficial for both organizers and participants: some attract new minds to their companies and launch unique projects, while others receive support for their ideas, funding, a team of like-minded people and the opportunity to implement their potential.

Have you ever participated in hackathons? How was it? Let me know in the comments!