The Blockspace Synergy — 3-day Hackathon Berlin
Web3 Summit hackathon is back with $96,784 USD in prizes with Polkadot, Web3 Foundation, Hyperbridge, ink! Alliance, Kusama and Superteam DE.
A 72-hour, round-the-clock hackathon at the historic Funkhaus venue, welcoming all skill levels and builders from every vertical.
New developer and marketing prizes — in synergy.
Ship it, don’t shelf it.
Build your prototype in 3 days and get mentor support to help you reach your next milestone post-hackathon.
A 3-day chain-agnostic Web3 hackathon during the Web3 Summit where ecosystems unite and ideas converge to build Web3 together.
Full IRL mentoring by experienced DevRel
"The Blockspäti" experience, with breakfast, lunch vouchers & dinner
24-hour access to the hackerspace over three days (you can camp here!)
Free Web3 Summit ticket and conference access
Fair competition: beginners compete with beginners, pros with pros
Help finding your team and brainstorming support
Nintendo 64 gaming area
Customise your own merch station
AGENDA
Polkadot Main Track: $20,000 total for projects submitting milestone 1 and detailed plan for milestone 2 (4 winners × $5,000 each) (*)
Marketing bounty: $10,000 in prizes for the best pitch & go-to market potential
Partner bounties: Stack additional prizes on top by integrating partner technologies. Confirmed partners: ink! with $10k in bounties, Hyperbridge with $5k in bounties, UX Bounty with $7.5k in bounties, and Solana with $2.5k in bounties
Maximum Synergy: Win both main tracks + multiple bounties by bridging ecosystems
(*) main track submissions must at least be building on Polkadot in their milestone 2 plans.
Kusama Main Track: 10500 DOT (~$40,745)
50% unlocked after milestone 1 and 50% locked for 1 year
🔐 Zero-Knowledge and Advanced Cryptography (
Interesting uses of ZK technology, projects using ZKPs, projects implementing cryptographic primitives, projects using cryptographic primitives in interesting ways
Example projects: Making a game using zero-knowledge technology, restructuring a program to be more privacy-oriented,
👤 Proof-of-personhood
Using or developing proof of personhood mechanism or other decentralized identity experiments
Example projects: Generating a proof-of-personhood system based on something unique about a person, implementing proof-of-personhood into voting, a DAO or real-world activity
🎨 Art and Social Experiments
The broadest term of art - images, music, or something which makes people think. Social experiments - anything which allows people to interact in an interesting way using blockchain technology.
Example projects: a “real-life” blockchain like Kappa Sigma Mu, generative art based on recent block hashes or user activity, games which involve provable real-life activity
For each of the three categories:
🥇 2000 DOT (1,000 DOT upfront and 1,000 locked DOT upon completion of milestone 2)
🥈 1000 DOT (500 DOT upfront and 500 locked DOT upon completion of milestone 2)
🥉 500 DOT (250 DOT upfront and 250 locked DOT upon completion of milestone 2)
For all Main Track submissions
Form diverse teams and build your prototype during the hackathon (Milestone 1)
Submit your development and delivery plan for Milestone 2
Win = get $2,500 of your prize immediately
Access weekly mentor support & office hours organized by WebZero within the 30 days post-hackathon
Complete Milestone 2 and get the remaining $2,500
For any Partner bounties or Marketing bounty submissions you will need to meet their submission requirements. Each will have their own prizes that you are free to accumulate by building projects that integrate all of them.
Choose from our curated idea pool (TBA on day 1) or bring your own ideas. Here are a few to take inspiration from:
Interoperability & Bridges: Connect ecosystems, enable collaboration
Unified Developer Tools: SDKs that work everywhere, testing across chains
Community Infrastructure: DAOs, governance, coordination tools
Cross-chain DeFi: Liquidity that flows between ecosystems
Shared Identity & Privacy: Solutions that transcend single chains
Multi-ecosystem Apps: Products that unite communities
🎯 ENSURING FAIR PLAY
🟢 Beginner: Compete with other beginners, judged on progress & go to market strategy (guaranteed win for beginners if you meet the requirements)
🔴 Advanced: Show your technical chops, solve complex problems, judged on progress & technical feasibility.
SUPPORTED BY OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS
HACK AT THE ICONIC RECORDING STUDIO OF EAST BERLIN
FAQ
Q: Who can participate?
A: Anyone interested in Web3, all areas of expertise are eligible for a prize including Marketers, Designers, UX, Product and Non-Technical Roles - half the prize pool is reserved for beginner teams and the other half for advanced teams.
At least one team member needs to be at the hackathon in person.
Q: What time does the hackathon run?
A: The hackathon will kick off at 10am Wednesday 16th at the Funkhaus "Hackerspace" and run until 5pm Friday. First GitHub commits authorized from 2PM on Wednesday, after team formation. Submissions are due 1pm on Friday.
Q: How does the prize system work?
A: Win 50% immediately, then get mentor support for 30 days to complete your next milestone and earn the remaining 50% once it is approved by your projects dedicated curators.
Q: What are the prize categories?
A: Main track ($20K for 4 winning teams - 2 reserved for beginner teams - at $5K each), Marketing track ($5K), and $50k in Partner bounties with Kusama, Hyperbridge, ink! Alliance, Polkadot UX Bounty & Solana Germany. You can win prizes from multiple prize categories.
Q: What should I build?
A: Focus on connecting ecosystems - interoperability tools, cross-chain DeFi, unified developer tools, or multi-ecosystem apps. If you're looking for inspiration, we will publish ideas the day of the hackathon.
Q: What's included?
A: Breakfast, lunch vouchers, and dinner at The Blockspäti mentoring from sponsor DevRels, team formation help, entertainment, and networking events. Hacker merch and access to the Web3 Summit.
Please note that if you do not attend Day 1 of the hackathon, your Web3 Summit ticket will be cancelled.
Q: Is there accommodation?
A: Camping on-site is available on the evenings of the 16th & 17th. We will provide limited tents and sleeping bags. There are daily showers from 8:30am. Bring your toiletries!
Q: Are there scholarships?
A: Applications for scholarships are now closed.
Q: Do I need a team?
A: No - there are team formation activities to help you find collaborators during the event. You can also enter with an existing team, just as long as you have a representative at the hack.