4th Bitcoin SV Hackathon begins today with peer-to-peer applications the focus and USD $100,000 up for grabs

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ZUG, Switzerland – June 14, 2021 – Bitcoin Association, the Switzerland-based global industry organisation that works to advance business with the BSV blockchain, today announces that the coding round for the 4th Bitcoin SV Hackathon has officially commenced, with the competition period open until July 26. The theme for this iteration of the competition is ‘peer-to-peer applications’, with a USD $100,000 (payable in BSV) prize pool staked for the winners.

One of the premier events in Bitcoin Association’s developer education programme, Bitcoin SV Hackathons are global coding competitions designed to challenge developers to both learn about the technical power of Bitcoin’s original protocol and innovate on the fly. Within a set time period, participants – either as individuals or as part of a team – are tasked with developing an application on the BSV blockchain within the parameters of an overarching theme announced at the start of the competition.

The theme for this iteration of the competition is ‘peer-to-peer’ applications – not just payments, but any type of application that involves direct interaction between participants on the Bitcoin network. Entrants are tasked with leveraging the recently released SPV Channels service as part of their application to facilitate communication across the network, as well as interacting with the Bitcoin network directly via the Merchant API (mAPI).

Following the success of the 3rd Bitcoin SV Hackathon, which extended the coding phase of the competition from 48 hours to 8 weeks and resulted in a record number of both participants and entries – with 418 people from 75 countries taking part and 42 final projects submitted for judging – this edition will once again feature an extended coding period. The coding phase of the competition will commence on June 14 and last until July 26.

At the end of the coding period, three finalists will be selected by a panel of expert judges. One representative from each of the three finalists will be flown to present their submission live for final judging at the CoinGeek Conference expected in October 2021 (applicable travel rules and restrictions at the time permitting). The finalists will compete for a share of a USD $100,000 prize pool payable in BSV – $50,000 for 1st place, $30,000 for 2nd, and $20,000 for 3rd.

As in previous competitions, the 4th Bitcoin SV Hackathon is run by Bitcoin Association in partnership with leading enterprise blockchain research & development firm nChain, with sponsorship provided by digital currency conglomerate CoinGeek.

Entrants will be provided with access to a digital platform designed to facilitate collaboration between team members, as well as experts from nChain and even fellow competitors who will be available to provide advice throughout the competition period.

Registration is free and open now at bsvhackathon.net

Speaking on today’s announcement, Bitcoin Association Founding President Jimmy Nguyen, commented:

‘We’re extremely excited for the start of the 4th edition of our Bitcoin SV 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 Bitcoin SV Hackathons.’

Also commenting, nChain CTO Steve Shadders, said:

‘This month’s release of SPV Channels CE v1.1.0 introduced a crucial new service to the Bitcoin SV network and an integral component to the massive scaling vision that underpins the BSV blockchain. With this edition of the Hackathon, we’re putting that new ability front and centre, tasking our entrants with finding unique and innovative ways to utilise that service and deliver on the true peer-to-peer vision for Bitcoin. I’ve always said that our role was to provide the infrastructure and for the ecosystem to find ways to leverage that – and with $100,000 staked for the winners of this competition, we’re literally putting our money where our mouth is. I’m excited to see the different approaches that our Hackathon participants are sure to take during the competition and the final entries that emerge as a result.’

Media Contact

Alex Speirs
Head of Communications
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About Bitcoin Association

Bitcoin Association is the Switzerland-based global industry organization that works to advance business on the Bitcoin SV blockchain. It brings together essential components of the Bitcoin SV ecosystem – enterprises, start-up ventures, developers, merchants, exchanges, service providers, blockchain transaction processors (miners), and others – working alongside them, as well as in a representative capacity, to drive further use of the Bitcoin SV blockchain and uptake of the BSV digital currency.

The Association works to build a regulation-friendly ecosystem that fosters lawful conduct while facilitating innovation using all aspects of Bitcoin technology. More than a digital currency and blockchain, Bitcoin is also a network protocol; just like Internet protocol, it is the foundational rule set for an entire data network. The Association supports use of the original Bitcoin protocol to operate the world’s single blockchain on Bitcoin SV.