Blockchain hackathon comes to Ireland
Mon 19 Oct 2015
Chainsmiths, a Dublin-based crypto-currency consulting organisation, is planning on hosting the Blockchain Hackathon next month. Attendees will be given just 50 hours to build a product with a team, competing for Euro 10,000 in prize money.
Sponsored by Fidelity Investments and Deloitte, the hackathon is an opportunity for 150 coders interested in sharing ideas and networking to build something from scratch over the course of a single weekend. On the Friday evening, attendees will pitch their ideas, and vote for their favourites. Teams will be formed around the top 25 ideas, as decided by the voting process. Participants will build all weekend, in time to present the completed project by Sunday afternoon. The teams will own the final product, although they will be encouraged to open source while still retaining their rights. Competitors will also have the opportunity to speak with mentors and to attend specialised sponsor workshops over the course of the weekend.
The purpose of the event, aside from providing a massive networking opportunity for talented individuals with an interest in crypto-currency, is to help to legitimise blockchain and cryptocurrency in the minds of the public, particularly Irish businesses and the Irish government. Kevin Loaec, MD of Chainsmiths, told Silicon Republic, “Most people look at blockchain as something ‘dodgy’, but what I want to show is this is not the case.”
While Bitcoin has received the largest share of publicity in the crypto-currency world, the Blockchain Hackathon is open to any blockchain, and will provide mentors to work with most types, including Ethereum. It is also open to all programming languages, and all topics, without restriction to finance or commercial ideas; and they welcome programmers at all levels of proficiency.
The Blockchain Hackathon will be held November 6-8 at the DCU Innovation Campus in Dublin, Ireland. Tickets are available through the event website at blockchain-hackathon.com
