Dive into the Polkadot ecosystem and learn how to build a blockchain

Welcome to the Polkadot Buildathon: India! This India-focused hackathon is a 9-week online event that provides great opportunities to learn how to build a blockchain, join a talented, global community and show off your talent as a developer! Stand a chance to win from a pool of $14,000!

Getting started

Follow the checklist below to get started:

1. Join the Polkadot Discord
2. Join the hackathon kickoff call
3. Dive into the hackathon guide
4. Read the official rules

What is Polkadot?

Polkadot is an advanced sharded, multichain network founded by Dr. Gavin Wood, the co-founder and former chief technology officer of Ethereum and creator of the Solidity programming language. Polkadot is built using Substrate, a blockchain-building framework that makes it easy to create a blockchain optimized for any use case.

• Watch Dr. Gavin Wood tell the Polkadot story
• Watch the Polkadot basics video
• Watch the Introduction to Substrate
• Explore the Substrate Developer Hub

The hackathon

In recognition of India’s reputation at the forefront of software development, Polkadot Buildathon: India aims to support the development of a thriving blockchain ecosystem on the continent.

Ideation and Building phase

• The ideation phase: Start diving into the ecosystem and submit an idea of what you would like to build in the next phase.
• The building phase: Once admitted into the building phase, you can start working on your project and compete for the grand prize.

What can you build?

• Build a Blockchain: Choose to build your own blockchain with pre-configured functionalities, made simple with Substrate.
• Open Hack: Choose to build any sort of developer tooling, visualisation or other kinds of applications for the Polkadot ecosystem.

Timeline

• Ideation phase start: 30th Mar
• Kick-off Meetup: 9th Apr
• Exploring Ideas and the Polkadot Ecosystem Meetup: tbd
• Idea submission deadline: 24th Apr
• Building phase start: 26th Apr
• Substrate workshop 1: 30th Apr
• Substrate workshop 2: 14th May
• Project submission deadline: 30th May
• Judging: 31st May – 6th Jun
• Demo day: 11th Jun

Developer Support and Resources

We've put together a detailed guide to help you get started. It contains the information needed about the hackathon as well as some useful ideas and technical resources.

Join the Polkadot Discord for technical support, team formation inquiries or any questions you might have.

Submission requirements

Read the official hackathon rules for additional details.

• If you are "Building a Blockchain", your submission must be one of the following formats:
  • Live running site or running chain and provide an endpoint, if you are running a Substrate chain (highly recommended)
  • Docker image (highly recommended)
  • Linux executable (discouraged)
  • Code with detailed build instructions (strongly discouraged)
• If starting from a fresh Substrate project, use the latest version. If building on existing work, participants are permitted to use another version.
• Create a video that includes footage clearly explaining your submission’s features and functionality through a comprehensive demonstration.
• Include in your submission’s readme file a) the project title, b) project description (minimum 150 words) and c) indicate which category you're participating in
• Provide a way to access the project for judging and testing by including a link to a public repo
• Must have an open source licence
• Must use or be made for the Polkadot/Kusama/Substrate ecosystem

If entering with a project that existed prior to the start of the Submission Period, you will be required to explain how the submission has been updated during the Submission Period. Judging will only take into account the parts of the project that have been updated during the Submission Period. Clearly describe in the submission’s readme file and video what parts of the project were updated and which not.