Innovation is key to the further advancement of modern technology. And with blockchain emerging as the next big thing since the Internet comes the need to build platforms on it that would serve to improve existing systems and processes, as well as create entirely new and cutting-edge applications that would usher the world into the next generation. Because blockchain is still a relatively new technology, its widespread adoption is still being hindered by doubts about its capabilities and reluctance to change from the more traditional technology.
Allaying these doubts through the actual demonstration of the real value of blockchain, as well as educating the public and creating awareness about its powerful capabilities are the primary reasons why the BSV Hackathon was launched by Bitcoin Association, a Switzerland-based global industry organization that aims to promote the adoption of the BSV blockchain, in 2019. The BSV Hackathon is essentially a competition for developers to build platforms on the BSV blockchain within a specific theme set by the organizers.
“We modeled our first event on best practice that we’d seen for hackathon competitions in other spaces. What put us ahead right from the start though was our relationship with nChain, which gave us the advantage of access to their team of experts. The first event was very much a learning experience. It took place over 48 hours and I enjoyed the buzz of running the event on such a tight schedule. The participants were all connected via Telegram groups so they could ask questions,” Raylene Wilson, Bitcoin Association technical program manager and the mastermind behind the BSV Hackathon, said during an interview.
From the original short-term coding period, it has been extended due to the success of the third hackathon, which ran for eight weeks. The ongoing 4th BSV Hackathon is now being held virtually from June 14 to July 26, 2021, with the theme of “peer-to-peer applications,” which denotes any kind of direct interaction between members on the BSV network, not limited to payments. Registration for the competition will remain open until the end of the six-week coding period. A whopping $100,000 prize pool will be awarded to winners, with the first place getting $50,000 and the second and third place winners receiving $30,000 and $20,000, respectively.
“We’re extremely excited for the start of the 4th edition of our BSV Hackathon today, which will challenge participants to leverage the unique peer-to-peer functionalities of the BSV blockchain and the massive scaling capabilities it facilitates. Previous iterations of the competition have seen the launch of innovative new applications and services for the BSV network, including those who have gone on to receive venture investment and become fully-fledged businesses. I anticipate that this edition will be no different and look forward to seeing the high-quality entries we’ve come to expect from entrants in our BSV Hackathons,” Bitcoin Association Founding President Jimmy Nguyen commented during the start of the current coding period.
As part of the application they are developing, participants are also required to utilize the recently released SPV Channels service and interact with the BSV network via the Merchant API (mAPI). After the coding period, three finalists will be chosen to present their projects live at the next CoinGeek Conference in October. All parties interested—whether individuals or teams—are encouraged to join.
“BSV Hackathons showcase to developers that irrespective of where you stand politically or whether you care about Bitcoin as the future of money or a massively scaling enterprise platform, this is a cool place to play. This is fun and exciting, and it is definitely a new frontier,” Wilson said.
She is a content writer & editor for more than 12 years. She usually writes about technology news, country news, arts & science, travel & automobiles. She used to test the product and write reviews for popular magazines.
