Join the Renaissance hackathon by Solana Foundation and compete for a share of $1M in prizes. Six major tracks include DeFi & Payments, Gaming, and more.

Solana Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the Solana network and its ecosystem, has officially announced the commencement of Renaissance, a global hackathon designed to bring together talented individuals and builders passionate about Web3. This event offers participants a chance to collaborate, engage, and compete for a share of an impressive $1 million prize pool.

The Renaissance hackathon, scheduled to run from March 4 to April 8, 2024, is open for registrations through Colosseum, an organization committed to attracting, accelerating, and investing in the Solana ecosystem, as highlighted in the Solana Foundation’s press release.

Colosseum provides a platform for participants to create builder profiles, connect with potential team members, brainstorm ideas, explore competition tracks, and vie for a share of the $1 million prize pool and pre-seed funding, as outlined in the press release.

The hackathon, organized by the Solana Foundation, features six major tracks, namely “DeFi & Payments,” “Consumer Apps,” “DePIN,” “Gaming,” “DAOs & Startup Communities,” and “Infrastructure.” Each track offers the opportunity for participants to compete for a share of the prize pool, and the Grand Champion Award, sponsored by Symmetry, includes a $50,000 USDC cash prize along with three tickets to Breakpoint 2024, the Solana Foundation’s annual conference.

Across the six tracks, including Consumer Apps, DeFi & Payments, DePIN, Gaming, Infrastructure, and DAOs & Startup Communities, top projects stand a chance to win prizes ranging from $5,000 to $30,000 USDC.

In addition to track-specific awards, the hackathon will also recognize outstanding projects with three special prizes:

  • The University Award: A $10,000 USDC prize for the best student team.
  • The Public Goods Award: A $10,000 USDC prize for the team creating open-source technology with the most significant benefit to the entire Solana ecosystem.
  • The Climate Award: A $5,000 USDC prize for the project promoting the most impactful green and climate-friendly solution.

All winning teams will be eligible to apply for Colosseum’s Accelerator Program, providing an opportunity to secure $250,000 in pre-seed capital to further develop their projects.

Executive Director of the Solana Foundation, Dan Albert, underscored the importance of hackathons in fostering the growth of the Solana network, stating, “Hackathons play a critical role in continued growth on the Solana network by fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration. These events empower builders to create meaningful solutions that will revolutionize industries, solve real-world problems, and develop practical applications that are only possible on Solana.”

“We are thrilled to administer the next Solana Foundation hackathon on Colosseum,” said Matty Taylor, Cofounder at Colosseum. “Following the success of Hyperdrive, there has been a lot of momentum among the Solana builder community. We are glad to be able to support them in the most critical steps of their journeys. We look forward to working alongside the Solana Foundation and many others in the Solana ecosystem to continue fostering experimentation, startup innovation, and real-world problem-solving.”

The hackathon has already garnered substantial interest, with over 2,000 builders from 92 countries creating profiles on Colosseum within a month of its launch. The previous Solana Foundation hackathon, Hyperdrive, witnessed the participation of over 7,000 individuals who developed more than 900 projects.