I’ve been staking and poking around Vanar since the AI stack went live on Jan 19, and honestly, the thing that’s got me most excited right now is their global hackathon series kicking off in Q1 2026. It’s not just another “build something, win prizes” event—these are targeted at pushing AI-powered dApps hard, with real incentives and follow-on support for winners. I signed up for the first regional one (focused on agent-driven DeFi and AI-curated marketplaces) last week, and even though it’s early days, the vibe already feels different from the usual crypto hackathons I’ve done.
Why this stands out to me: Vanar isn’t throwing generic prizes and calling it a day. From what I’ve seen in their announcements and dev Discord, they’re tying it directly to the live Neutron/Kayon tools—encouraging builders to use Seeds for persistent memory, Kayon for reasoning, and soon Axon/Flows for automation. I spent a couple evenings messing with a simple prototype: an agent that monitors a small tokenized pool, uses Kayon to assess risk based on on-chain data, and auto-adjusts exposure if things look sketchy. The compression works ridiculously well—I fed it a chunky dataset of transaction history, it shrunk it into a Seed, and the agent queried it without any lag or crazy fees. Felt like cheating compared to other chains where you’d either pay a fortune or lose context after one tx.
The hackathon format seems built for real traction too. They’re doing multiple waves across regions (starting with Asia and MENA, I think), with mentors from their team and partners like NVIDIA for graphics/AI acceleration. Winners get not just cash/ $VANRY but incubation support—access to grants, marketing help, and potential listings or integrations into VGN/Virtua. That’s huge because most hackathons end with a demo and then crickets. Here, it looks like they want to onboard serious projects that stick around.
Personal motivation: I’m not a pro dev by any stretch—I code enough to tinker with agents and test stuff—but Vanar’s low barriers make it doable. 3-second blocks, fees under a cent, EVM compatibility so I can borrow from Ethereum tools, and the docs are actually clear (rare in Web3). Last night I ran a quick test in their testnet playground: built a basic AI curator for a mock NFT marketplace that pulls user prefs from Seeds and suggests drops. It reasoned over history without forgetting, and the whole thing cost pennies. If I polish it for the hackathon, it could actually get eyes from brands already in Virtua.
Broader picture for the ecosystem: this series builds on 2025’s wins (like the 30k-player game integrations and hackathons that spawned real dApps). It’s part of pulling in devs who want to build in the “Intelligence Economy”—where AI isn’t bolted on but core. With premium subs for advanced Neutron/Kayon rolling out Q1 (paid in $VANRY), more activity here means more gas burns and utility demand. Price still consolidating around $0.007, market cap low ~$20M-ish, so if a few solid winners ship and gain traction, it could spark organic growth without relying on pure hype.
I’ve done a few hackathons before—won a small prize on another chain once—but they often felt disconnected from the project’s main path. Vanar’s feels aligned: use their actual stack, solve problems they care about (gaming economies, brand personalization, compliant PayFi), and get real help after. Makes me want to push harder on my entry.
If you’re a builder or even just curious, check the dev portal or their Twitter for sign-ups. Anyone else jumping in? What kind of AI dApp are you thinking of building, or have you seen any early prototypes from the community?