DMCC, Bybit conclud 2nd edition of 'Web3' hackathon

DMCC, the international business district that drives the flow of global trade through Dubai, and the global crypto exchange Bybit, have concluded the second edition of the Middle East’s largest Web3 hackathon focused on pioneering the latest innovations in Web3.

With an increased prize pool of US$160,000, the event saw 15 of the world’s most innovative Web3 startups compete to develop creative technical solutions to a range of challenges at the cutting edge of the sector, including tokenisation, AI, Web3 infrastructure, zero-knowledge protocols, digital identity and DePIN (decentralised physical infrastructure networks).

The 15 projects were carefully curated to promote real-world industry solutions, encouraging tangible, practical applications that create meaningful impact. Judges evaluated each project based on creativity, technical implementation, practicality, business potential and impact, focusing on how effectively each project addressed genuine challenges.

The five winners recognised for their technical prowess: KelpMe, a blockchain-based solution addressing private key loss and misdirected transactions with a recovery mechanism; Trepa, a Telegram app leveraging the TON blockchain for secure, low-cost prediction pools; Mavryk Network, a Layer 1 blockchain revolutionising asset tokenisation and DeFi applications; Hive, a compute-sharing platform harnessing home GPUs to democratise tech access; and Poppin, a browser extension transforming webpages into social hubs for real-time interactions.

Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMCC, said, “By pioneering new solutions in tokenisation, AI, and zero-knowledge protocols, the DMCC-Bybit hackathon continues to show why Dubai remains at the forefront of Web3 innovation. With an expanded competition of 15 global start-ups and an increased prize pool of US$160,000, we are attracting the world’s best talent to Dubai to encourage practical applications and create meaningful impact.”

Ben Zhou, Co-founder and CEO of Bybit, stated, “It is safe to say there is such an abundance of Web3 talent here in Dubai. The fierce competition displayed a clear ethos of innovation, so we are proud to work with DMCC to advance Web3 globally. We look forward to seeing all of today’s competitors make their mark on the world of Web3.”

With over 600 members, the DMCC Crypto Centre is a comprehensive ecosystem for companies that develop Web3 technologies, and associated value-added services. Providing everything that crypto businesses and entrepreneurs need to set up and scale their operations, it has become the largest concentration of crypto and Web3 firms in the region.