Polkadot and the Web3 Foundation's official Twitter account summarized the recently concluded Polkadot Builder Hackathon during a live stream yesterday!
I’ve summarized all the highlights from this live stream for everyone; feel free to check it out:
1. This is the largest hackathon in Polkadot's history.
Over 2,000 participants, about 230 submitted projects.
A 6-week online competition + over 50 offline events worldwide.
Completely community-led, driven by Events Bounty + the Web3 Foundation.
2. Specifically designed to attract "new developers."
Out of 2,800 registrants, 1,700 are encountering blockchain for the first time.
They experienced the Polkadot SDK, wallets, documentation, and toolchain in real scenarios.
All user feedback will be compiled for the core development team to improve.
3. Three main tracks were designed this time, aiming to create "truly usable products," including:
Building chains based on the Polkadot SDK / writing pallets.
Constructing user-facing applications on existing chains.
"Cutting-edge technology" experiments, such as ZK, innovations in underlying infrastructure, etc.
4. The live stream specifically highlighted several key award-winning projects:
Chopdot: On-chain AA split bill app (like Web2 split bill applications, but supports DOT/USDC, on-chain transparency).
IVF & Inklings: ZK + ink! verifier automatic generation tool & ink! developer learning platform.
Agora: An off-chain computing marketplace parallel chain deployed on Paseo, using XCM, worker reputation systems, and penalty mechanisms.
5. Judging rules:
12 judges, each project evaluated independently at least 3 times.
Evaluation criteria: runnable demo, code quality, innovation, relevance to Polkadot, fit with the track.
An obvious pattern: almost all winners are team projects, not individual entrants.
6. Why is this hackathon important?
It demonstrates that the Polkadot ecosystem can conduct global events without a central coordinator.
It marks a starting point for Polkadot's transition from years of "laying the foundation" to entering the "product era."
It brought large-scale real user testing, which is crucial for improving the development experience.
7. What’s next?
The next hackathon is scheduled for: Q1 2026.
Theme: Developing applications based on Polkadot Hub, which may include:
Smart contracts + XCM
Proof of Personhood (PoP)
Native capabilities like governance, staking primitives, etc.
If you want to join Polkadot's next hackathon: Follow Polkadot and the Web3 Foundation, bookmark the DevPost page, and start getting hands-on with the Polkadot SDK now!
