Bitcoin and blockchain hackathon events are becoming more and more common as of late, which can only indicate a growing interest in digital currency technology. Singapore recently held its very first Blockchain Hackathon, which was sponsored by IBM and DBS Bank. And there was also strong support from Singapore’s Coin Republic and Neuroware.
Three Winners Announced
The main objective of holding a hackathon is to spur development, bring new ideas to the table and get a fresh perspective on everything blockchain-related. After all, there are tons of smart people and aspiring developers out there who are waiting for a chance to showcase their next revolutionary idea.
That being said, the Singapore Blockchain Hackathon focused on two challenges for the participants to work around. Competing teams either had to come up with an idea to make banking in the developed world easier and more enjoyable, or they could choose the other option, and come up with a hack to help the unbanked/underbanked gain greater access to financial services.
It goes without saying that neither option is an easy task, which is exactly the objective of such a hackathon. Participants have to think outside of the box in order to come up with creative and simple solutions to these problems. As odd as it may sound, not all of the participants were versed in Bitcoin or blockchain technology per sé, but that did not prevent them from coming up with unique ideas.
NuBank, one of the hackathon participants, managed to score a second place finish after coming up with a way to connect financial institutions with people living in remote or underdeveloped regions. Blockchain technology allows us to accomplish many feats, and this is just a prime example of what the technology is capable of.
On the other hand, there was a neat project developed by BlockIntel, which allowed them to finish third. Their team came up with a program to visualize the blockchain, and implement KYC controls in order to identify suspicious transactions. Such a tool could prove to be very powerful in the future, and offers a great way to explain the blockchain’s “open ledger” aspect.
The “winner” of this Blockchain Hackathon was Omnichain however, a platform that allows anyone in the world to invest in emerging market businesses. Securing first place netted Omnichain with a US$11,300 prize. With over 70 participants for this event, there was great interest from people all over the world.
“Considering this was the first time a bank has ever so publicly backed blockchain technology it’s difficult to imagine how it could have gone better. DBS were very well organized and made every effort to understand the technology and work with the developers. All teams got to keep the IP for their ideas, and DBS could be working with some in the future to see how they can support them. Startupbootcamp also provided a great venue and did a fantastic job on organizing the hack and looking after everyone involved.” – Adam Giles, Co-founder and CEO of Neuroware told DigitalMoneyTimes.
Source: Startup Bootcamp
Images courtesy of Shutterstock
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