Aligned Builders Hackathon: Judging Criteria and Submission Instructions

The inaugural Aligned Builders Hackathon is in its closing stretch, with over 250 hackers actively collaborating and innovating within our community. Over the last four weeks we have watched these projects come together and we’re eager to see what our participants will deliver.

This hackathon is the first phase of our wider mainnet incentives program, which is designed to reward developers, partners, and users based on their engagement and contribution to the Aligned ecosystem. We’re seeking the most well-executed projects that showcase Aligned’s capabilities and have the potential to attract and engage users.

The submission deadline is Monday October 28th at 23:59 PDT (UTC-7). All submissions must be made through https://alignedhackathon.devfolio.co/. 

Hackathon Prizes

Up to $50,000 USD in prizes is available and will be distributed as follows:

• 1st Place: $15,000
• 2nd Place: $10,000
• 5x Runner-Up Prizes: $5,000 each

In addition to these prizes, Aligned may provide additional financial grants, logistical support, and partnership assistance for projects that show strong potential to move into production. Note that the total prize amount may not be distributed if the submitted projects do not meet the required criteria.

We are committed to supporting successful teams in their mainnet launch and to helping them grow alongside our developer community.

Judging Panel

We’re thrilled to have an esteemed panel of guest judges who will help us evaluate the projects and determine the winners of our first online hackathon. Our judges are industry leaders with deep expertise in both the Ethereum and ZK ecosystems:

• Vanishree Rao (Founder, Fermah)
• Nader Dabit (Director of Developer Relations, EigenLayer)
• Austin Griffith (Founder, BuidlGuidl)
• DC Builder (Research Engineer, World)

Their experience and insight will help us identify projects that not only meet the technical requirements but also have the potential for lasting impact in the space.

Judging criteria and project requirements

This is a product-focused hackathon, with an emphasis on creating usable, functional projects that can make an impact. 

Judges will be reviewing submissions asynchronously. Submissions, especially documentation, must be clear enough to explain the project without being able to present it.

We require a clear README.md file in the project repository as well as a recorded video presentation explaining and demonstrating the project. This must give an overview of:

• What you built
• What you have achieved so far
• What else needs to be added to make the project production-ready

Feel free to include anything else that lets the judges fully understand the state of your project. Failure to do so may result in the judge marking your project as incomplete.

Submissions must use Aligned to verify ZK proofs on Ethereum’s Holesky testnet, and will be judged based on several key criteria:

• Technical Implementation
  • Does the code work? 
  • Is it well-documented and reliable?
• Innovation and Impact
  • Does the project showcase a novel use of ZK?
  • Is it solving an important problem or poised to draw in users?
• Design and User Experience
  • Is the project intuitive, accessible, and user-friendly?
• Readiness
  • How developed is the project?
  • Is there a roadmap for taking it into production?
• Community Contributions
  • Has the team actively contributed to the developer community by sharing resources, advice, or support for other participants?

Additional project requirements

Projects must also fulfill the following requirements:

• Execution: Projects must compile and execute successfully. Incomplete submissions will not qualify.
• Open Source License: Submissions must use an open-source license (MIT, Apache 2, or GNU GPL).
• Documentation: A README.md file should be included with:
  • A project description and rationale.
  • Background information on the team members.
  • An overview of the challenges faced during development and key design considerations.
  • Deployment and execution instructions.
  • A project roadmap.
• Additional Materials: Submissions must include a GitHub repository (with the README.MD described) as well as a video presentation and demo. The video needs to be linked from a valid Loom, Youtube, or Vimeo url.

Submission Deadline

Projects must be submitted through https://alignedhackathon.devfolio.co/.
The submission deadline is 23:59 PDT (UTC-7) on October 28th, 2024. Make sure your project meets the minimal requirements, as incomplete submissions will not qualify.

We’re incredibly excited to see the final submissions and look forward to working closely with the winners as they prepare for their next steps, including potential mainnet launches and ongoing collaborations with the Aligned community.

If you have any questions or need further clarifications, please feel free to reach out to our team via the hackathon telegram group.

Stay tuned:  🐦 Twitter | 🗨️ Telegram | 👾 Discord | 🌐 Website | 📝 Manifesto