Hackathons

A builder sprint designed for teams that want to ship real work.

The 2026 hackathon is built around real output, hands-on support, and momentum that continues after demo day.

Core Tracks

Public tracks should be broad enough to stay useful and specific enough to shape submissions.

These tracks give teams a clear sense of what ETH Canal wants to encourage without boxing the program into short-lived categories.

Reliability, core primitives, and upgrades that improve the Ethereum builder stack.

Auditable improvements, better guardrails, and operational quality that holds up after the demo.

Tools, workflows, and teaching surfaces that make the ecosystem easier to enter and contribute to.

Projects that connect Ethereum infrastructure to practical local needs without collapsing into generic fintech theater.

Participation Model

The more clearly the process is framed, the easier it is for teams, mentors, and judges to move with confidence.

Kickoff
Program framing
Teams align on tracks, judge expectations, and the difference between a concept deck and a credible submission.
During the sprint
Mentor checkpoints
Mentors provide architecture feedback and technical unblock support. Sponsors can back tracks, but public rules stay uniform.
Submission
Structured demo output
Each team submits a repository, short demo, scope summary, dependency list, and a candid implementation status.
After judging
Follow-on paths
Promising teams move into incubator support, partner intros, grants, or contributor pipelines.

Submission Expectations

Teams should know what to submit and how quality will be judged before they write the first line of code.