On November 16, 2024, the 2024 Polkadot Hackathon (Bangkok) hosted by OneBlock+ came to a successful conclusion. The competition attracted 342 developers from 40+ countries, forming 126 participating teams . After layers of selection, 70 projects passed the preliminary review, 27 projects were shortlisted for the final Demo Day, and finally 12 outstanding projects stood out in the four major tracks.

After the competition, OneBlock+ conducted an in-depth interview with the finalist teams to listen to their unique insights into the Polkadot ecosystem, project vision, and feelings about the hackathon . In addition, they also shared valuable advice for future developers. Why did they choose the Polkadot ecosystem? What exclusive advice do they have for future developers?

👉Interview video collection: https://space.bilibili.com/1650224419/lists/4314237?type=season

Ecological advantages: Why choose Polkadot?

Technical architecture and interoperability advantages

Minh, a member of the NFT ticketing platform Bookadot team, made an in-depth analysis of the three core reasons for choosing Polkadot. First, Polkadot 's excellent interoperability allows them to seamlessly integrate the ticketing system with other parachains, allowing users to pay for tickets with different tokens. At the same time, through the connection with the parachain, it can also provide decentralized storage to ensure greater transparency. Secondly, as Polkadot develops into an ecosystem with multiple parachains, its excellent scalability and customizability allow the team to build a blockchain that fully meets their needs, such as optimizing smart contracts for ticket minting or auction processing. Third, the decentralized identity system can not only implement secure user identity authentication and effectively prevent fraud, but also prevent resellers from dominating the primary market.

On the technical architecture level, Kaichao from the Keyring team pointed out: " Polkadot SDK and Substrate significantly lower the threshold for building blockchains . By integrating the EVM pallet, Substrate-based blockchains can easily achieve EVM compatibility. This feature allows our products to easily integrate Substrate-based blockchains. In addition, the flexibility of Substrate is also impressive, and developers can add additional modules to the runtime according to their needs."

Ecosystem and community value

Steve from Polka Ads shared his observations from the community perspective: "Polkado's biggest advantage is that it has an extremely active ecosystem , where community members interact frequently and help each other. More importantly, the Polkadot ecosystem provides a wealth of integration possibilities . Whether it is the convenient use of smart contracts or NFT solutions like Unique Network, Polkadot has excellent ecosystem partners. It can be said that all Web3 application scenarios you can think of can find support in the Polkadot ecosystem. "

As a PBA alumnus, Issa, the head of the Gust team , said that choosing Polkadot was a natural decision. He particularly emphasized Polkadot's support for developers in terms of security , especially when building L1, security measures must be put first. In addition, usability is equally important: "It is difficult for us to build a perfect chain at the beginning, so upgradeability provides operating space for the maturity of the ecosystem, allowing us to continuously optimize terminal types."

The openness of technological innovation and ecological governance is also a highlight of Polkadot. Sheetal from the Neja team praised Polkadot's technological innovation ability: "Polkadot's technology is amazing, it is always full of vitality and constantly innovates. What's more valuable is that Polkadot is very open and transparent in ecological governance , and community members can actively participate in the making of every decision."

Hackathon experience: a feast of innovation and communication

First Polkadot Hackathon Experience

For Juan, a first-time hackathon member of the Murmur team , it was an unforgettable experience: "This was my first time participating in a hackathon, and although I can't compare it to other hackathons, I really liked the overall planning of this event. In particular, the pre-demo session and project briefing session were very helpful for the participants. I sincerely recommend everyone to try participating in the hackathon. Even if you don't win in the end, it's still a wonderful journey. It motivates us to focus on creation within a limited time, and I hope to encourage more people to take up such challenges. "

As a newcomer to the Polkadot ecosystem, Treap from No Sandwitch Swap shared his surprise: "Although I only came into contact with the Polkadot ecosystem at the end of October and was unable to attend the early seminars, the enthusiasm of the Polkadot ecosystem staff and community members was impressive . When we arrived in Bangkok, we found that the event far exceeded our expectations - exquisite meals, a friendly atmosphere, and participating teams from various countries. Being able to communicate with teams from other countries and gaining their recognition of our projects are invaluable experiences."

A veteran hackathon participant’s perspective

Issa from the Gust team , a veteran who participated in the OneBlock+ hackathon for the second time, gave constructive suggestions for the event: "The Polkadot hackathon was very well planned and managed. I especially hope to see more workshops in the future because it is really helpful . When we have the opportunity to communicate with senior people in the ecosystem, we can not only gain valuable technical insights, but also learn about project marketing and other aspects , such as how to gradually develop from a startup project to building a complete community. These workshops are particularly important for the development of new projects."

For Jason from Zk-omni , participating in the competition is no longer just for winning awards, but for promoting modular blockchain solutions. He shared his change in mentality: "We have indeed won many honors - Near Avalance Hackathon Champion, Hashkey kaito Hackathon Third Prize, and 2022 Polkadot Hackathon Champion . But now we are no longer obsessed with winning awards, but hope to promote modular blockchain solutions. I think it is important to keep the original intention and focus on doing the right thing for Web3 , and other benefits will naturally follow."

Sheetal from Neja's team shared her insights on growth: "In the hackathon, I saw many people building exciting projects, which inspired me to create more possibilities. When I encounter interesting developer ideas, I will take the initiative to keep in touch, hoping to contribute my own ideas. My biggest gain is to realize that it is necessary to bring products or ideas to market as quickly as possible and drive continuous iteration through feedback. "

Future plans of the team

Product and technology optimization

Mario, founder of Softlaw , admitted: "We built all the systems from scratch in just three or four weeks, which was a lot of work. So after the hackathon, the team took a short break. Now we are back to work, and the first task is to improve the front-end interface, because a good user experience is the key to the success of the product. After completing this step, we will continue to optimize the back-end architecture."

Christian from dAppForge revealed the team’s technical plan: “We will continue to improve product performance and plan to strengthen Solidity support. Considering that Polkadot will launch Plaza in 2025, an important upgrade that can deploy EVM contracts directly on Polkadot, we hope to provide Solidity developers with a more convenient development experience. "

Ecosystem expansion and community building

Juan from Murmur highlighted the team’s future plans for community building and revealed their expansion strategy: “ Community building is one of our key focuses . We plan to attract more development teams to use our product because we believe in the practical value of this tool. We will first focus on the Polkadot ecosystem and then gradually expand to other ecosystems. We think this is a great tool to attract new users.”

Jonathan from zklogin gave a detailed introduction to the project progress and expressed the vision for future cooperation: "During the hackathon, we have completed the core coding work and the minimum viable product. Next, we will focus on improving the user experience, especially improving the security of the system . After the product is perfected, we hope to have in-depth communication and technical integration with projects such as Acala and Bifrost."

Bookadot’s Minh shared specific development plans: “We are currently focusing on upgrading the user interface and adding new features such as the auction market. Looking ahead to 2025, we plan to make major technical upgrades with the help of Polkadot SDK . In terms of marketing, we take a slow and steady approach, currently focusing on interacting with target user groups and regularly updating event content and project progress.”

Pavel from the Sandglass team took a more open cooperation strategy: "As a technology-focused development team, we are looking for startups or existing projects within the Polkadot ecosystem that are interested in secure and anonymous transactions . Our solutions are highly adaptable and can be adjusted to different needs."

Message to the future: Advice for developers

Join the hackathon and quickly get growth opportunities

Moven from the Cyferio Hub team shared the team's touching moment: "One of our team members participated in the first Polkadot Hackathon and returned to the competition after many years. Although the theme is different, he can still feel its unique charm. When the news that Cyferio hub won the first prize was heard, the whole team was unbelievable and excited. This is the charm of the hackathon - you have ideas, you have the opportunity to try, and there are professional judges to evaluate whether your ideas are feasible and whether the market recognizes them . And there are rewards for outstanding performance. This is a great opportunity to test ideas in a short period of time. I suggest that developers with ideas do not hesitate to join . The hackathon has multiple tracks, whether it is DeFi, infrastructure, or more cutting-edge fields, you can find a suitable direction."

Kaichao from the Keyring team emphasized the key role of developers in the blockchain field: "For blockchain or Web3, developers are absolutely core. Although continuous development is a long journey, hackathons provide an important platform to showcase ideas. By building a minimum viable product to showcase your demo, you can quickly get early feedback on the product and meet potential team members or investors. "

Minh from Bookadot concluded: "It was truly an incredible experience. The judges' feedback was invaluable to us. We have participated in other hackathons before, but rarely have we received such detailed suggestions for project improvement. My advice to the next participants is to prepare your technology well, register as early as possible, and make the most of every workshop opportunity ."

Focus and differentiation: the key to standing out

Ann from Art3mis Oracle provides practical advice for developers: "In the field of technology, it is crucial to find your own expertise. There are already many general products on the market. If you want to stand out in competitions such as hackathons, you must find a direction that you are good at and passionate about, and it is not limited to the technical level . When you show your work, let everyone really feel the unique characteristics of your product."

Pavel of Sandglass stressed the importance of focusing on the product: "We love participating in hackathons and enjoy the process of getting involved in different projects. For us, the focus is not on winning awards, but on providing code solutions that can be used by other projects. We suggest that project parties can pay attention to our products and code, and maybe find solutions that are useful to them and become an important part of their products."

Conclusion: Innovation never stops

The 2024 Polkadot Hackathon is not only a technical competition, but also a grand event for ecological co-construction. From the sharing of the participating teams, we can see the vigorous vitality of the Polkadot ecosystem: the open and inclusive technical architecture, the active and mutually supportive developer community, and the clear and predictable technical vision are attracting innovative forces from all over the world . The contestants mentioned that while pursuing technological breakthroughs, it is more important to keep the original intention and contribute to the future of Web3. Behind every project, there is a group of passionate builders who use code and creativity to depict a new picture of the decentralized world. As the Polkadot ecosystem matures, this hackathon that brings together the wisdom of global developers will undoubtedly inject new vitality and possibilities into the next stage of Polkadot's development. Let us look forward to these innovative projects blooming in the future and bringing more world-changing power to Web3.