API3 is thrilled to have partnered with Banco Hipotecario de El Salvador, Open Bank Project, Tropykus and Qredo to host the Bitcoin Bankathon, El Salvador’s first state-backed Bitcoin hackathon. The Bankathon brought together hundreds of developers who designed solutions to further the financial empowerment of Salvadorans. Participants at the hackathon leveraged API3’s Airnode first-party oracles to innovate, build and bring the benefits of Bitcoin to the El Salvadoran community.
This historic event was the first ever Bitcoin Banking hackathon -– the first among many to come. In addition to welcoming over 325 developers participating in the event, many of them Salvadorans, we were excited to bring together top El Salvadoran government officials and API3 community members who all share the common interest of democratizing finance and working collaboratively to create novel solutions.
The hackathon featured 8 winners for the 5 different award categories:
Best Overall Products: BitFunding & Growr On-chain
Best Uses of Off-Chain Data: Cardinal & Blockchain Carbon Registry
Best use of Advanced Technology: PISTO.NET
Most Visionary Concepts: Tlanetia & Chimera
Social Media Hero: JV Social Media
The winners of API3’s prize category, the Best Uses of Off-Chain Data, both created innovative solutions to different issues related to Bitcoin. The Blockchain Carbon Registry addressed environmental concerns by designing a blockchain protocol that would reduce global emissions. The solution allows organizations and governments to monitor company emission trading schemes to ensure they meet their emission goals. Importantly, the Blockchain Carbon Registry would keep off-chain sensitive data safe while remaining a cost effective alternative to current models, such as the European Emission Trading Scheme.
Cardinal identified another problem that small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) face: difficulties in streamlining their payment processes. Cardinal’s proposal outlines that entrepreneurs in small businesses often find themselves using their personal money to pay for business-related expenses, and that employees in medium-sized businesses have a disorganized system for their expenses. Through Cardinal, businesses can open virtual bank accounts connected to a debit card and smart contract. The user sends funds to the smart contract, which can only execute a payment request if there are sufficient funds. Once a transaction is completed, the equivalent amount is transferred to the bank in Bitcoin, providing a liquidity pool for the card network to approve the transaction.
The impressive solutions that were designed by participants are a testament to the innovation Bitcoin and blockchain have the potential to fuel. These are resources that are important to tap into in order to increase financial stability, inclusion and empowerment globally. The terrain in El Salvador is open for a whirlwind of exciting new use cases and protocols that will advance financial security in the country, and soon other countries will follow suit.
The Bitcoin Bankathon will be remembered as a historic event in the years to come as more and more countries adopt Bitcoin as a currency, and more and more hackathons emerge to promote exciting solutions to empower citizens there. The first Bitcoin Bankathon’s success is promising for the hackathon’s future.
Finally, we’d like to extend a warm thank you to all of our partners, El Salvador and everyone who participated in the event. We couldn’t be more proud of the teams and the incredible solutions they designed to empower El Salvadoran citizens.
