The wait is over! It’s the moment to reveal the winners of the BTCFi Summer Hackathon 2024, a 12-week hackathon featuring 8 challenge tracks to drive innovation in the Bitcoin economy. The BTCfi summer hackathon was a showcase of innovative solutions for integrating Bitcoin into the decentralized finance (DeFi) space and strengthening the Core ecosystem.
The competition this summer was nothing short of extraordinary! From a pool of 74 initial submissions advancing through rigorous evaluations, 10 projects moved to the final demo round, where they showcased their innovative solutions, competing for a slice of a $250,000 prize pool. Following further intensive evaluation, the top 3 winners emerged as the standout innovators in this competition.
And the Top 3 Winners are …
The top three contenders have been awarded a total of $30,000 in cash prizes, complemented by rewards from the Core Starter Kit with a potential value of $220,000. This package includes a suite of resources and tools designed to accelerate the growth and success of these innovative projects.
Without further delay, here are the top three winners:
1st Place
Prize: $15,000
Project Name: Rune Bridge
Hackathon Track: CoreBTC Innovations
RuneBridge is an innovative, permissionless platform that connects the Bitcoin and Core ecosystems. This bridge enables the effortless transfer of Bitcoin Runes to the Core blockchain, opening up extensive possibilities for decentralized finance (DeFi) and other cutting-edge applications.
2nd Place
Prize: $10,000
Project Name: OnchainVampireSurvivors
Hackathon Track: GameFi Applications on Core
OnchainVampireSurvivors is an immersive time survival game infused with roguelite elements and in-game transactions. Set in a relentless world teeming with monsters and devoid of escape routes, players must endure as long as possible until their inevitable demise. Each run allows players to collect gold, which can be used to purchase upgrades and enhance the chances of the next survivor, creating a challenging and continuously evolving gameplay experience.
3rd Place
Prize: $5,000
Project Name: b14g Network
Hackathon Track: BTCFi Ecosystem Expansion
b14g aims to further enhance the security and decentralization of Core blockchain by addressing potential vulnerabilities through the implementation of Observer Nodes and Merge Staking. This proposal seeks to strengthen the security of Core's Non-Custodial BTC staking and enhance the utility of both BTC and CORE tokens within the Core ecosystem.
Congratulations to all the winners and the top 10 projects. These initiatives are setting new benchmarks in Bitcoin's DeFi integration, pushing the limits of innovation, and redefining the future of Core and Bitcoin within decentralized finance.
A sincere thanks to all the participants and heartfelt gratitude to the esteemed sponsors, judging panels and partners for the BTCfi Summer Hackathon 2024: NLX, Halborn, TokenSoft, Verichains, Request Finance. Their support was vital in making this hackathon a success.
Opportunities Along With Cash Prize
In addition to their prize money, winners will receive the Core Starter Kit, having a potential value of $220,000. This comprehensive package includes cloud credits, cutting-edge development tools, discounts to infrastructure providers, and exclusive mentorship opportunities. Winners will also be featured in the BTCfi ecosystem newsletter, gain access to valuable DeFi partnerships, and become eligible for specialized airdrops focused on DeFi development.
Core Starter Program
Conclusion
The BTCFi Summer Hackathon has been a spectacular display of innovation and creativity, underscoring Core’s transformative potential in reshaping the BTCfi landscape and broadening Bitcoin's utility within decentralized finance. As the ecosystem progresses, it heralds even greater opportunities to elevate Bitcoin's role in DeFi.
Gratitude extends to all who have been part of this remarkable journey. Stay tuned for future updates and prepare for the next wave of innovative developments.
About Core
Core serves as the Proof of Stake layer for Bitcoin as the first enabler of Non-Custodial Bitcoin Staking, which secures a fully EVM-compatible BTCfi ecosystem. Since April 2024, over 5,200 BTC valued at more than $330 million have been staked with Core, enhancing Bitcoin’s utility and security. Core is the most Bitcoin-aligned EVM blockchain with ~50% of Bitcoin mining hash power contributing to the network’s security. This breakthrough has amassed millions of Core adopters - over 20M unique addresses, 283M+ transactions, and over 300M TVL since its mainnet launch in January 2023.