The Next Top Blockchain Startup Competition

GDA Group brings together 50+ years of combined capital markets and financial technology experience and consists of a vertically integrated ecosystem of companies that partner with institutional capital and disruptive technology markets, specializing in the digital asset class.

Aimed at discovering and nurturing emerging talents in the blockchain technology sphere. It is open to a global audience of entrepreneurs, developers, and innovators. The competition is structured to foster innovation through mentorship, education, and competition, bridging the gap between innovative concepts and market-ready blockchain solutions.

Requirements

MANDATORY SUBMISSIONS

All participants are expected to adhere to the following submission requirements before the designated deadlines:

  • A Litepaper: Your litepaper should include an introduction, market analysis, project description, technical architecture, features, token information (if applicable), business model, user acquisition strategy, team details, and a comprehensive roadmap.

  • Project Introduction Video: Submit a concise video, no more than 5 minutes in length, introducing your project, its unique use case, and its functionality.

  • Category Requirement Compliance: Please address all requirements for your target prize category. For any queries, refer to the discussion in the Discord categories channel.

  • English Language Submissions: All submissions, including all written documents and presentation videos, must be in English.

Make sure that your project meets these requirements to be considered for judging. Your innovative solutions and rigorous research are what will make this hackathon truly impactful.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$273,000 in prizes
Interoperability with Coinweb
Cryptocurrency logo
2 winners

Develop decentralized applications that function smoothly across multiple blockchains, leveraging Coinweb’s advanced features like reactive smart contracts and blockchain routing. Aim to create scalable, efficient, and resilient applications.

- 1st place: $35,000 in Tokens + Mentorship with GDA Capital + Introduction to Launchpads

- 2nd place: $15,000 in Tokens + Mentorship with GDA Capital + Introduction to Launchpads

20% unlock for competition winner
20% unlock for Proof of Concept (PoC)
20% unlock for Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
40% unlock for full release
12-month vesting schedule

Awesome ICP
Cryptocurrency logo
2 winners

Unlock the power of ICP to build fully on-chain, cross-chain applications with advanced canister smart contracts for AI, data computation, and seamless blockchain integration.

- 2 prizes of $5,000 USD in ICP Developer Grants each will be distributed among the top teams and projects, with $2500 USD given immediately and the remaining $2500 USD dependent on achieving milestones.

Proof Of Green Energy (POGE) with SolarX
Cryptocurrency logo
2 winners

Leverage the Proof of Green Energy (PoGE) consensus mechanism and utilize SXCH tokens to create sustainable energy solutions/applications.

Milestone 1 Prize

- 1st Place: $5,000 in either SXCH or Solar X miners + Mentorship with GDA Capital + Introduction to
Launchpads

- 2nd Place: $2,500 in either SXCH or Solar X miners + Mentorship with GDA Capital + Introduction to
Launchpads

Mileston 2 Prize (see rules)

- 1st Place: $5,000 in Solar X tokens or miners + $10,000 in marketing to app users +
$20,000 Waived listing fee on the Solar X Launchpad.

- 2nd Place: $5,000 in Solar X tokens or miners + $10,000 in marketing to app users +
$10,000 Waived listing fee on the Solar X Launchpad.

Both winners will receive strategic mentorship, with both winners also gaining market entry support and introduction, and potential listing on the SolarX launchpad.

-Please see the rules for full details

Decentralized Cybersecurity ( DePIN ) with Naoris
Cryptocurrency logo
2 winners

Design solutions to protect IoT networks by enabling each device to be proactively part of a secure, global decentralized network, and create potential use cases that solve real-world problems.

Milestone 1 Prize

- 1st place: $10,000 in tokens in form of SAFT + Mentorship with GDA Capital + Introduction to Launchpads

- 2nd place: $5,000 in tokens in form of SAFT + Mentorship with GDA Capital + Introduction to Launchpads

Mileston 2 Prize (see rules)

- 1st place: $10,000 in tokens + Mentorship with GDA Capital + Introduction to Launchpads

- 2nd place: $5,000 in tokens + Mentorship with GDA Capital + Introduction to Launchpads

Mileston 3 Prize (see rules)

- 1st place: $10,000 in tokens + Mentorship with GDA Capital + Introduction to Launchpads

- 2nd place: $5,000 in tokens + Mentorship with GDA Capital + Introduction to Launchpads

Gaming with Moxy
Cryptocurrency logo
1 winner

Create innovative and versatile applications using the Moxy Forge SDK, focusing on enhancing eSports integration across multiple platforms.

- 1st place: $6,500 in tokens + Strategic mentorship for entering the market with GDA.Capital + Intro to Launchpads
- 2nd place: $3,500 in tokens + Chat with Gaming Expert

AI for web3 with Llama Launchpad
Cryptocurrency logo
3 winners

- winner project gets: $40,000 listing Fee Discount

Llama Launchpad will help bring your project to market without any retainer, providing access to thousands of private and retail investors focusing on AI and Web3 investments.

ERC-7621 with Alvara (DeFi)
Cryptocurrency logo
2 winners

Milestone 1 Prize

• 1st place: $7,000 in Alvara tokens via SAFT, with initial release after a 6-month cliff (April 1st) upon meeting defined KPIs + Strategic mentorship for market entry with GDA Capital + Collaboration with Alvara to define use cases + Introduction to Launchpads

• 2nd place: $3,000 in Alvara tokens via SAFT, with initial release after a 6-month cliff (April 1st) upon meeting defined KPIs + Collaboration with Alvara to define use cases

Milestone 2 Prize (January 1st - March 31st)

• 1st place: $10,000 in Alvara tokens via SAFT, distributed through a 12-month vesting schedule starting April 1st, with token releases tied to milestone-specific KPIs + Strategic mentorship for market entry with GDA Capital + Collaboration with Alvara to define use cases + Introduction to Launchpads

Milestone 3 Prize (April 1st - June 30th)

• 1st place: $15,000 in Alvara tokens via SAFT, distributed through a 12-month vesting schedule starting October 1st, with token releases tied to milestone-specific KPIs + Strategic mentorship for market entry with GDA Capital + Collaboration with Alvara to define use cases + Introduction to Launchpads

Secure and Reactive Web3 Apps with Linera
3 winners

Create a user experience that is both real-time and secure using Linera's innovative microchains, a new type of user-centric blockspace.

With Linera, users can store assets and app data in their own chains, ensuring fast finality and data replication. The platform supports cross-chain messaging, multi-user chains, and local composability, providing a robust programming model for developers.

Prizes:

1) $3,000 USD for Best Demo for Edge AI (your own or a variation on generative NFT)

2) $3,000 USD for Best UI for DeFi demo app (your own or the existing AMM or orderbook app)

3) $3,000 USD for the Best UI for Onchain Game (your own or a variation on Hex game)

Code will need to be made available under Apache license

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

David Carvalho

David Carvalho
CEO / Naoris

Michael Gord

Michael Gord
CEO / GDA Capital

Joaquim Miro

Joaquim Miro
Partner / GDA Capital

Toby Gilbert

Toby Gilbert
CEO / Coinweb

Erick Pinos

Erick Pinos
Ecosystem Lead / Nibiru Chain

Khalid Mazouz

Khalid Mazouz
VC / M55 Capital

Glenn Grant

Glenn Grant
CEO / SolarX

Dominic Ryder

Dominic Ryder
Co-founder / Alvara Protocol

Patrick Bouffartigue

Patrick Bouffartigue
Web3 VC / 50 Partners

Callum Mitchell-Clark

Callum Mitchell-Clark
Co-founder / Alvara Protocol

Maurice Ng

Maurice Ng
Former Gate CIO

 Aashna

Aashna
Engineering Manager / Robinhood

Patrick Soh

Patrick Soh
Co-Founder / Coinseeker.co

Samuel Thomas

Samuel Thomas
Venture Capital

Antonio Gomes

Antonio Gomes
Capital Market Architect / GDA Capital

Siddharth Parakh

Siddharth Parakh
Sr Engineering Manager / Medable Inc

Ajeet Khurana

Ajeet Khurana
Founder / Reflexical

Stephen Yang

Stephen Yang
Founder & CEO / Web3 Ventures

Samiksha Makhijanil

Samiksha Makhijanil
Senior Product Designer / Circle

Dmitrii Slabko

Dmitrii Slabko
Senior Software Engineer / Microsoft

Ivan V. Ivanov

Ivan V. Ivanov
Founding Partner & CEO / UVECON.VC, WOW Summit

Kathy Tong

Kathy Tong
Web3 Venture / Decasonic

Akhil Mittal

Akhil Mittal
Senior Manager / Synopsys

Shinya Yamamoto, Ph.D.

Shinya Yamamoto, Ph.D.
Entrepreneur & Angel investor

Mathieu Baudet

Mathieu Baudet
Founder / Linera

Shawn Tan

Shawn Tan
General Partner / TRIVE Digital

Jong-Chan Chung

Jong-Chan Chung
Founder / Sojuvest

Ali Ramadan

Ali Ramadan
Angel Investor / Ex Incubator and Accelerator

Michael Karpov

Michael Karpov
RND Manager

Julien Passagne

Julien Passagne
Venture Capitalist / CV VC

Lohith Kumar Paripati

Lohith Kumar Paripati
Product Manager

Judging Criteria

  • Originality & Creativity
    How novel and innovative is the idea? Does it set out to do something completely different or at least improve existing models?
  • Technicality & Design
    What is the tech like? Does it have comprehensive and efficient features? Is the code understandable and usable by others? Is it designed to scale?
  • Business Model & Feasibility
    What is the value proposition and how does it set out to differentiate itself? How will it capture value, new users and/or generate revenue? Is the project positioned to succeed?
  • Usability
    What is the user experience like? Is it clean and intuitive? How will you implement UX/UI?
  • Practicality & Use Case
    Is this something people would actually use and want? Will the idea have an impact on people, revolutionize some aspect of human life, or disrupt the status quo?
  • Contribution to the Global Blockchain Ecosystem
    How does your idea increase global blockchain adoption, value for its users, and innovation in the field of Open Source technology? Does it welcome new users and help existing users?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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Hackathon sponsors

Hackathon Powered By
Host Partners
Academic Partners
Launchpad Partners
Lead Marketing Partners
Community Partners
Mentors & Judges from
VC Partners

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