The world’s first Bitcoin SV (BSV) hackathon has come to a close, and it was a resounding success. Thirty six submissions made it across the finish line, and now the developers wait to see who the judges will chose to move on.

In total, 216 eager coders signed up to participate in the event. Of that number, 122 were to compete as individuals, and another 94 joined together to form 42 teams. They worked on their projects for 48 hours, starting at 12pm GMT+1 on Saturday, May 4 and ending at 12pm Monday, May 6 GMT+1. Of those entrants, 100 joined the Hackathon Telegram channel, of which many acted as representative of their teams.

The goal of the hackathon was broad enough to inspire creativity, but had a specific goal in mind. At the start of the event, the participants were told in a Telegram group to work on a project that would foster better onboarding, not just in end-users, but also for developers, in interacting with the BSV blockchain. Their entry should demonstrate that it was an application that provided fresh new ideas towards those two aspects of adoption, while maintaining the ability to scale, a key focus of BSV.

As the event kicked off, the mood was positive and supportive, as it typically is within the BSV community. The entrants encouraged each other, providing assistance when others got stuck with their code, and generally encouraging the entire group towards their solutions. Ted Rivera, one of the entrants, said of the atmosphere, “It was a very nurturing and educational environment where all worked hard to help others find solutions. Felt more like one big workshop.”

The biggest obstacle wasn’t in beating others towards the prize, but in achieving something within the time constraints of the event. One developer said, “The competition between participants was relevant. But the most important competition was amongst oneself: pushing oneself beyond the limits of attainable when the event started.”

It can be a grind to develop for 48 hours straight, and every little bit helped spur them towards their goals. A participant going by the name Van Gogh said:

“I was also at that point where there were like 20 hours left I was completely spent and ready to just submit what I had. Then one of Jimmy’s videos would come on and I was like dammmmn! he’s talking directly to the hundred of us, I can still smash out some code for this API part lol”

The sense of achievement at the end was real. 36 submissions got across the finish line with a working application in total. Another entrant named Attila said of the feeling:

“It was a refreshing experience to meet and organize with other builders in this space. I am impressed with how many different people worked well together. It’s going to be amazing to see what everyone has created. There are many thoughtful and talented developers in the competition that makes it suspenseful and exciting.”

The next step is the top three finalists will be chosen by a panel of judges, and a representative from each will be flown to Toronto, Canada for the CoinGeek Toronto scaling conference. There, an expanded group of judges and the live audience will combine to vote on the winner.

First place brings home a whopping 250 BSV, a great start towards funding a new project. Second and third place will win 100 BSV and 50 BSV respectively, making for 400 BSV in total being granted to the finalists.

It doesn’t end there though. After presenting their work and the prizes are awarded, plenty of entrepreneurial types, including the Bitcoin Association, will be at the conference, considering the contestants’ projects for potential investment.

If you want to be part of the live audience that helps decide the final winner of this contest, register to join the CoinGeek Toronto scaling conference. If you haven’t signed up already, you can save money on your registration by using Bitcoin SV via Coingate.

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