SINGAPORE—Year-to-date, the price of Bitcoin is down more than 50%, leaving investors, stockholders, and curious onlookers alike wondering if cryptocurrency, or the blockchain altogether, are dead... However, consider NFT.NYC, a four-day extravaganza dedicated to blockchain-based technologies or global restaurant chains using NFTs as a form of membership. Hackathon, an eight-day competition designed to uncover top talent that will revolutionize the next wave of technological innovation, would also combat that “blockchain is dead” mindset.
Designed to showcase blockchain technology as an unprecedented tool for future education, the event was hosted by Morpheus Labs—a leader in Blockchain-Platform-as-a-Service (BPaaS)—and the Blockchain Association of Singapore. Pei-Han Chuang, the CEO of Morpheus Labs, said in a press release that Hackathon “gives budding and experienced blockchain developers—and even those with no blockchain experience—a stage to hone and show their skills.” Thus, anyone and everyone could apply for the free event, although it was designed to target potential within innovators, engineers, creatives, data geeks, and startup experts.
There were more than 2,000 participants split into teams, each challenged with either creating a DAO, dApp, or an NFT- or metaverse-based application.Photo: Courtesy of Morpheus Labs
There were more than 2,000 participants, and following a kickoff that spanned July 20 and 21 at the 22,000-square-foot HUONE Singapore, a team-matching event took place on the 22nd, and the competition commenced the following day.
With 24 hours on the clock, teams were then challenged with creating software solutions for one of four tasks. Groups could choose to design a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that fosters innovation and promotes a creator economy; to build a decentralized application (dApp) that delivers a cross-chain Web3 experience; to create the next generation of experiences by connecting NFT- or metaverse-based applications with real-life brands and businesses; or to build a dApp that addresses one out of the 17 goals in the United Nations’ list of Sustainable Development Goals.
Once the clock struck 11:59 p.m. on July 24, submissions were handed over to the judging panel, which consisted of eight prominent figures in Web3 and tech—including World Blockchain Centre founder Rico Pang, fintech director Dr. Seh Huankiat, the owner of digital transformation company S2Bconnected, Jana Bulkin, and more.
The submissions (which you can view here) consisted of a pet-centered NFT project dubbed “Metapaws” designed to feed real animals. So-called “Metapaw” holders fed their virtual animals the cryptocurrency Ethereum (ETH), which was then used to fund initiatives and beneficiaries that feed the mouths of real-life animals. Another team built Healthify, a decentralized healthcare management system that encrypts data, utilizes face-scan authentication, and makes NFTs representative of a patient’s health information.
Winners were announced at a full-day conference at Singaporean nightclub ZOUK. First place took home a cash prize equivalent to $15,000 USD, while second and third place won $12,000 and $9,000, respectively, plus other tech-forward prizes.
First place took home a cash prize equivalent to $15,000 USD, while second and third place won $12,000 and $9,000, respectively, plus other tech-forward prizes.Photo: Courtesy of Morpheus Labs
What is Web3 and why should we care? The goal of decentralization is to achieve a more fair service where giants are overthrown in favor of autonomy (sorry, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta). What is blockchain technology? Each transaction is considered a “block” of data. When more than one purchase takes place, the sequence of blocks forms a “chain” of data. These blockchains are also decentralized, allowing these data ledgers to be viewed by anyone, anywhere. What is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO)? What is a decentralized application (dApp)? Want to learn more about NFTs? |
