The Bitcoin Games is a virtual hackathon designed to incubate the next evolution of the BTC community. This competition will precede the Bitcoin 2019 conference on June 25 and 26 in San Francisco, where the winners will be invited to present their projects on stage to the greater Bitcoin attendees from around the world.

Uniquely designed to engage both technical and creative minds alike, the Bitcoin Games will bring together the most inquisitive minds, thoughtful intellects and imaginative spirits to propel Bitcoin into its next decade of innovation. In addition to a Lightning Hack and the first-ever Liquid Hack targeting Layer 2 development, the Bitcoin Games will include a first-ever Growth Hack, giving multimedia creatives the chance to lend their skillset to Bitcoin’s future.

By engaging people with diverse backgrounds and uniting them to create something new, the Bitcoin Games will catalyze the next wave of creators and entrepreneurs to engage with Bitcoin — the digital future of value. We'll also be giving tickets to our Bitcoin 2019 event to each individual, or indvidual members of a team, that submits a project meeting the submission requirements.

Categories

Partcipants will be asked to submit to one of the following "Hack" categories:
 
Lightning Hack

The Lightning Network has proven to be one of the greatest innovations in the cryptocurrency space in general and a critical second layer solution for Bitcoin in particular. In essence, it has helped scale Bitcoin without the need to bloat the network on a base layer.

The Lightning Hack is intended to stimulate growth and adoption of the Lightning Network by mobilizing developers of all types to innovate on top of this technology. Participants will be asked to showcase the power of instant, free transactions and help motivate the future of the Lightning Network by continuing to build upon its existing implementations. Visit our Resources page for links to documentation and resources, and join the #lightning-hack channel in the Bitcoin Games Slack.  

 
Liquid Hack

Liquid is an inter-exchange settlement network linking together cryptocurrency exchanges and institutions around the world, enabling faster, more private Bitcoin transactions and the issuance of digital assets.

The Liquid Network gives developers the chance to familiarize themselves with the powerful features Liquid has to offer, while supporting user adoption with the development of Liquid-based applications. From new smart contract-based Bitcoin derivatives to asset swap platforms, the sky's the limit with solutions contestants can build. Visit our Resources tab for links to documentation and resources, and join the #liquid-hack channel in the Bitcoin Games Slack.

 
Growth Hack

Focusing on media and content creation, the Growth Hack asks participants to create the most compelling video commercial to encompass the entire Bitcoin community and beyond. Participants will produce a television-style commercial 30 to 60 seconds in length, that demonstrates the value and appeal of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin itself has developed a core counter culture, but the utility of Bitcoin reaches far beyond its relatively tight-knit community. Contestants will be challenged to channel the unique Bitcoin ethos, while making its value proposition more relatable to the masses. Join the #growth-hack channel in the Bitcoin Games Slack.

Eligibility

Individuals who are at least the age of majority where they reside as of the time of entry are eligible to submit a project. Individual, Team, and Organization submissions will be accepted for each Hack category. 

 

Requirements

Main Requirements Create or build a project across one (or more) of the following categories:

i) Lightning Hack

ii) Liquid Hack

iii) Growth Hack

Submit the following assets:

  • Video. (hosted on Vimeo or YouTube). Developers participating in the Lightning or Liquid Hacks will submit a visual demo video, including a step-by-step tutorial, of their working project around 2 minutes in length. Contestants participating in the Growth Hack should submit a 30 - 60 second commercial for bitcoin also available in English. All videos should be available in English. 
  • Any Documentation & Submission Form
  • Access. A way to access your codebase, as well as your working project where applicable. 

All materials muist be submitted on the Devpost website before June 9th, 2019 at 11:45pm CDT. For a complete list of requirements, see Bitcoin Games Official Rules. 

 

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$32,000 in prizes

Proof of Work

All eligible participants that submit projects meeting the submission requirements will receive a free ticket to Bitcoin 2019.

Liquid Hack First Prize (sponsored by Blockstream)

• $3500 USD paid in Bitcoin
• Continued mentorship on the submitted or other related projects using Blockstream
technology (4 hours)
• Product showcase on Blockstream's blog and social media
• Blockstream hats, hoodies and stickers for each team member
• Up to $1500 reimbursement of team travel expenses for first-prize winners to Bitcoin 2019 (where applicable) *can be applied to only to flight/hotel/per diem costs associated with round-trip travel to event

Liquid Hack Second Prize (sponsored by Blockstream)

• $1500 USD paid in Bitcoin
• Blockstream hats, hoodies and stickers for each team member

Lightning Hack First Prize

• $3000 USD paid in Bitcoin
• Promotion on Bitcoin Magazine and Twitter account
• Project featured at Bitcoin 2019
• Up to $1500 reimbursement of team travel expenses for first-prize winners to Bitcoin
2019 (where applicable) *can be applied to only to flight/hotel/per diem costs
associated with round-trip travel to event

Sponsored by Fulgur Ventures, OpenNode, Radar, Blockstack, and Sparkswap

Lightning Hack Second Prize

• $2000 USD paid in Bitcoin
• Prize money in USD paid in Bitcoin
• Promotion on Bitcoin Magazine and Twitter account

Sponsored by Fulgur Ventures, OpenNode, Radar, Blockstack, and Sparkswap

Lightning Hack Third Prize

• $1000 USD paid in Bitcoin

Sponsored by Fulgur Ventures, OpenNode, Radar, Blockstack, and Sparkswap

Lightning Hack Bonus Prize by Blockstack (10)

$500 USD in Bitcoin will be awarded to all submissions whose app successfully registers for Blockstack's App Mining program. To be eligible for App Mining, an app needs to fill out this submission form http://app.co/submit (1) use Blockstack authentication at a minimum, (2) be publicly accessible/anyone can try the app, (3) use https and be hosted at a dedicated URL (not a netlify or similar url), and (4) must function/allow a user to do something after logging in.

Lightning Hack Bonus Prize by Radar

• $1000 USD paid in Bitcoin

This prize will be awarded by the Radar team to the highest scoring eligible project submission using Lightning technology whose application is noncustodial and tools that run on self-hosted nodes. Opting in for this prize does not exclude you from Lighting Hack Grand Prizes.

Lightning Hack Bonus Prize by OpenNode

• $1000 USD paid in Bitcoin

This prize will be awarded by the OpenNode team to the highest scoring eligible project submission using Lightning technology and the OpenNode API. Opting in for this prize does not exclude you from Lighting Hack Grand Prizes.

Lightning Hack Bonus Prize by Sparkswap

• $1000 USD paid in Bitcoin

This prize will be awarded by the Sparkswap team to the highest scoring eligible project submission using Lightning technology and the Sparkswap Broker API. Opting in for this prize does not exclude you from Lighting Hack Grand Prizes.

Growth Hack First Prize

• $5000 USD paid in Bitcoin
• Promotion on Bitcoin Magazine and Twitter account
• Project featured at Bitcoin 2019
• Up to $1500 reimbursement of team travel expenses to Bitcoin 2019 (where applicable) *can be applied to only to flight/hotel/per diem costs associated with round-trip travel to event

Growth Hack Second Prize

• $3000 USD paid in Bitcoin
• Promotion on Bitcoin Magazine and Twitter account

Growth Hack Third Prize

• $2000 USD paid in Bitcoin

All Winners (sponsored by Cobo)

All first and second prize winners will receive a customized Cobo Vault (retail $479 USD) or Cobo Tablet (retail $49 USD) engraved with the Bitcoin Games logo. Additional prize winners will receive a tablet where supplies permit.

All Winners (9)

All winners will receive a print edition of the newest Bitcoin Magazine issue.

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

How to enter

  1. Register for the hackathon on Devpost.
  2. Determine which "hack" you'll be participating in, and find a teammate (optional) by reaching out to other developers on the Participants tab or in the #team channel of the Bitcoin Games Slack.
  3. Join the Bitcoin Games Slack channel and use the "Jump To" search bar to join the channel corresponding to the "Hack" category you're competing in.
  4. Review the Resources tab to help you get started.
  5. Create and publish your project.
  6. Provide access to your project to Devpost by including the URL to your codebase or YouTube/Vimeo where your project is housed, and any operational instructions on your submission form. Be sure to indicate which “Hack” you’re submitting your project to. 
  7. Submit your project on bitcoingames2019.devpost.com BEFORE June 9th @ 11:45pm CDT!

Remember to make sure your submission is made available to the public upon submission under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. 

 

Judges

Christian Decker - Lightning

Christian Decker - Lightning
Core Tech Engineer at Blockstream

Oleg Mikhalsky - Lightning

Oleg Mikhalsky - Lightning
Fulgur Ventures

Brandon Curtis - Lightning

Brandon Curtis - Lightning
Director of R&D at Radar

Xan Ditcoff - Lightning

Xan Ditcoff - Lightning
Production Partner at Blockstack

Rui Gomes - Lightning

Rui Gomes - Lightning
Lead Software Engineer at OpenNode

Trey Griffith - Lightning

Trey Griffith - Lightning
CEO at Sparkswap

Samson Mow - Liquid

Samson Mow - Liquid
CSO at Blockstream

Lawrence Nahum - Liquid

Lawrence Nahum - Liquid
Chief Architect at Blockstream

Andrew Poelstra - Liquid

Andrew Poelstra - Liquid
Director of Research at Blockstream

MORE COMING SOON

MORE COMING SOON
Qualified panels of expert judges for each "hack" category

Pat Riley

Pat Riley

Andrew Fleming

Andrew Fleming

Judging Criteria

  • Applicability & Impact
    Including the clarity and relevance of the use case, the opportunity/problem addressed, and the project’s potential. Does the application make bitcoin more user friendly and approachable? Can the application make bitcoin go viral or much easier to use?
  • Quality of the Idea
    Including originality and creativity of the idea. How unique is the application? Did you think outside the box?
  • Product & Polish
    Including user experience, design, implementation and performance as expected. Does it provide a good experience to the user? How does UX feel or the UI look?
  • Technical Design & Implementation (technical hacks only)
    Including architecture of the solution, functional robustness, stability of the implementation and overall execution. Did the team create a functional product, and how functional is the product?
  • Quality of the Submission Package
    Including quality of the video (demo or commercial), PowerPoint, or any other materials submitted to Devpost.

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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Hackathon sponsors

LIQUID HACK SPONSORED BY
LIGHTNING HACK SPONSORED BY
General Sponsors

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