Block.one, publisher of the EOSIO blockchain protocol, is halfway through the grand finale of its EOS Global Hackathon series in Cape Town this week, with its EOS Venture Capital (EOS VC) business unit set to award $500 000 to one winning team on Friday (7 December).
The event is the finale of the EOS Global Hackathon series, which has been held in five continents around the world this year, and has involved a total of 1 724 participants, which will see a total of $1,5-millionin prize money awarded.
A total of 19 teams from the previous EOS hackathons are competing this week, with three African teams – all from Kenya – joining as finalists from the Block.one Africa virtual hackathon held last month.
The grand finale involves an incubation week, an intensive seven-day program in which finalists attend expert talks and sessions to learn more about important business and blockchain topics.
The event will culminate in a Demo Day where finalists will showcase blockchain-based applications they have been working on and compete for the grand prize.
A panel of international judges, including global technology and blockchain leaders, will select the winner.
The winning project will be chosen based on the following criteria: whether it has a sustainable business model that can grow with outside investment; if it has a market large enough to succeed; the feasibility of its use as a scalable blockchain business; the quality of the presentation pitch and demo and its real-world application and the ability to solve an existing problem.
“We believe blockchain will redefine the Internet and society,” says Block.One president Rob Jesudason. “EOSIO will ease the path to adoption of blockchain technology by creating a system that makes doing business more safe, secure and transparent. The potential to change existing centralised models of commerce and communication is exponential.”