A Year of Hackathons: Over 700 Projects Developed on a Single Blockchain in 2025

In 2025, Algorand engaged in a series of hackathons that led to the creation of over 700 real-world projects. These events provided a unique opportunity for developers to showcase their skills, engage with the Algorand blockchain, and experiment with various technologies like AI and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Key Takeaways

Algorand hosted multiple hackathons throughout 2025, resulting in more than 700 project submissions.
The hackathons included various themes, focusing on AI, DeFi, and user-friendly development environments.
Developers used widely-known programming languages, making the blockchain accessible to many.
Each event created a collaborative space for innovation, revealing Algorand's strengths as a blockchain.

A year of hackathons: Over 700 projects built in 2025 on a single blockchain

Hackathons as a Reflection of Ecosystem Trends

Hackathons serve as a vital heartbeat in the blockchain industry, providing an environment where developers, tools, and creativity converge. These events compress extensive timeframes into a short period, showcasing the strengths and challenges within a development environment. Observations about trends—such as preferred tools, common challenges, and efficient workflows—can become apparent during these concentrated periods of activity.

To facilitate developer experience, blockchain projects often organize hackathons, allowing real-time engagement and assessment of ideas moving into implementation. In 2025, layer-1 blockchain Algorand took the lead by hosting multiple hackathons around the globe.

A Marathon of Hackathons

The year’s series of hackathons began in May with the Bolt.new Hackathon, held in partnership with Algorand. This event attracted over 125,000 participants eager to create various products. Algorand played a significant role by making its blockchain accessible to developers who could work with familiar programming languages such as Python and TypeScript, avoiding the learning curve associated with blockchain-specific languages.

The response was tremendous, with more than 500 teams entering the competition, exploring different ideas and testing the limits of what could be built on Algorand. Ultimately, the top spot went to StartSnap.fun, which won $25,000.

In September, an exciting lineup of events continued with the Berlin Hackathon themed "AI Meets Blockchain," which Algorand co-hosted with AI Agents Berlin and 42 Berlin Blockchain. Over two days, developers tested how artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies could merge. The winners included BeautySunsent, LogicEnv, and Octopus, alongside several special mentions for innovative uses of AI and blockchain utilities.

The same month featured another hackathon at Harvard, co-hosted with EasyA, a Web3 education platform. Nearly 300 attendees developed over 45 projects, focusing primarily on young users' needs. Projects recognized included ClearSpend, Mesyk, and MetaCampus.

The momentum continued in India with the Bengaluru Hackathon, where 140 developers submitted 45 projects focusing on AI and payment innovations. A few weeks later in Istanbul, Algorand collaborated again with Rise In, drawing 80 participants and resulting in 25 projects ranging from consumer applications to open innovation solutions.

The series wrapped up in London on October 18-19, gathering 250 participants who competed across both coding and no-code tracks. A noteworthy 68 projects were submitted, highlighting initiatives like an Asset Protection-as-a-Service protocol and an AI marketplace.

A Flourishing Ecosystem for Developers

The culmination of these hackathons resulted in over 700 project submissions on Algorand, spread across various sectors including AI, DeFi, payments, and the developer experience itself. Participants interacted with Algorand's tools under tight deadlines, showing the blockchain's advantages in practice.

Overall, the series of events reinforced that Algorand’s emphasis on speed, low fees, and support for multiple programming languages has fostered an appealing development environment. The outcomes demonstrated that the developer experience remained steady and reliable, regardless of how differently each team chose to build their projects.