ETHGlobal is the dense web3 room
ETHGlobal says it has brought 70,000+ developers into web3. Its event model is built around sponsor bounties, showcase projects, finalist packs, wallet verification, and a community that expects builders to touch real protocols.
HackMoney 2026 shows how prize structure works. Finalist perks included 1000 USDC per finalist team member and $500 flight reimbursement, while sponsors listed their own bounties, qualification requirements, and demo expectations. You win by matching the track, not by saying web3 loudly.
DoraHacks is BUIDL-first
DoraHacks says it is the home for BUIDLs, and its BUIDL page listed 39,576 BUIDLs, $94.5M funded, and 340,808 active builders in the 2026 check. Its hackathon explorer showed 808 hackathons, including virtual, regional, chain-specific, AI, RWA, DeFi, and legal-tech events.
That makes DoraHacks useful when your project needs to live after judging. A BUIDL profile can become a grant, community vote, or ecosystem artifact. The tradeoff is noise: all communities can create and run hackathons there, so you still need to inspect each event's rules and prize path.
The best web3 demos touch the chain
JudgeBuddy, an ETHGlobal project, framed the problem as hackathon judging chaos and prize trust. Its project page says prize pools lock onchain in escrow on Hedera when the hackathon starts, builders can verify funds before coding, and payouts execute after winners are selected with human approval.
That is the right instinct for web3 hackathons. A wallet connect button is not enough. Judges want to see why the chain matters: escrow, audit trail, tokenized payout, settlement, identity, interoperability, or verifiable execution.
Agentic web3 is a real track now
ETHGlobal Agentic Ethereum finalist projects show the pattern. Shaman was an onchain automation platform where AI-enhanced agents execute TypeScript workflows through secure workers, IPFS storage, and Arbitrum testnet deployment. Crocodile used Hyperlane to sync supply-chain batch events from connected chains onto a base chain, with AI chat for supply-chain insights.
DoraHacks has current examples too. Casper Agentic Buildathon 2026 is virtual, lists a $150,000 prize pool, requires GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket plus demo video, and shows BUIDLs such as CSPR-Sentinel, CSPR Guardian, CasperFlow Agent, and Casper Invoice Agent. The theme is not web3 plus AI as a slide. It is agents acting with onchain proof.
Read qualification requirements like contracts
HackMoney sponsor tracks are specific. Yellow Network asked teams to use the Yellow SDK or Nitrolite protocol, demo off-chain transaction logic, show settlement, include a 2 to 3 minute demo video, submit under the Yellow track, and include a repo link. Uniswap v4 tracks asked for functional code evidence, repo, README, demo link or setup instructions, and a max 3-minute demo video.
If a bounty says deploy to Arbitrum Sepolia, use AgentKit, integrate a specific SDK, or link transaction IDs, do that first. A polished frontend cannot replace the required onchain artifact.
Prize trust is part of the due diligence
Web3 hackathons can list big pools, but the payout path varies. ETHGlobal publishes sponsor bounty requirements and finalist perks. DoraHacks cards show prize pools and statuses, but the R1 competitor check marked verification as unclear from public listing data.
Before spending a weekend, check the sponsor, chain, deadline, judging criteria, repo visibility, KYC or eligibility rules, and payout medium. Stablecoins are not the same as credits. Credits are not the same as cash. A finalist pack is not the same as a guaranteed bounty.
< read by a human · updated as things change >
browse hackathons