You can ship a surprising amount of the future in 36 hours.
That spirit is exactly why we launched the first Algorand Hackathon Showcase (“Showcase”). We wanted to create a place where builders from this year’s major hackathons could return and show what they created, how far they’ve taken it, and where they want it to go next.
If you’re a developer wondering whether the Algorand Foundation actually supports new builders beyond the hype of a single weekend, the Showcase gives you a clear yes. This ecosystem lifts people up.
Why we created the Hackathon Showcase
Algorand participated in six hackathons this year, from Bolt.new’s Largest Online Hackathon to several boots-on-the-ground, in-person events around the world. As those events unfolded, the teams genuinely inspired us, shipping impressive prototypes in a matter of hours, generating huge momentum and creative energy. It made us realize that hackathons don’t need to be the finish line. They can be the starting point for a much longer arc of support and visibility.
That realization became the spark for this Showcase. We want builders who choose Algorand to feel seen, supported, and connected, long after the weekend ends. The Showcase gives early teams a platform to share their story, meet collaborators, attract early users, and get on the radar of mentors and VCs who are actively watching the ecosystem. It’s one more way to carry that hackathon momentum forward and help real projects take shape.
This first Showcase brought together teams from last year’s Change the Game Hackathon, the EasyA Harvard Hackathon, and the EasyA London Hackathon. Each project came from a completely different angle, yet every team shared a similar mindset. They refused to let their idea die in a GitHub repo, and they kept building.
The projects
Ferrous
Ferrous focuses on a painfully real problem faced by millions of people: local currency often has no path to global opportunities. In Nigeria, for example, people cannot easily take Naira and invest in tokenized real estate or global yield strategies.
Ferrous solves that by turning local money into global investing opportunities. Users deposit fiat, and Ferrous handles the conversion and uses Algorand-based platforms like Lofty AI and Tinyman in the background. The result is simple. Local residents can invest globally without touching a crypto exchange or understanding blockchain jargon.
Ferrous’ north star is very clear. Make global investing feel as simple as using a banking app.
MetaCampus
MetaCampus brings innovation to learning verification. Instead of putting diplomas on-chain, MetaCampus records the learning itself. A student can request verification for a specific course or skill, and the institution approves it.
In this way, a user's learning journey becomes a verifiable on-chain record. The hope is that one day, employers will get insights into what a user actually learned rather than guessing based on a course title. As the founder said, “What people really want to know is what you’re capable of, not just what’s printed on a diploma.”
MetaCampus is an innovation focused on modernizing and bringing more transparency to the educational credentials verification system.
Diiisco
At first glance, Diiisco’s decentralized LLM inference network looks like science fiction. With Diiisco, everyday computers can answer AI prompts for users around the world. Instead of shipping prompts to giant data centers, Diiisco lets people run models locally and earn for their compute. The Algorand blockchain verifies the work and handles the payments. Diiisco is like an early blueprint for decentralized access to AI.
Their tagline is perfect. “Chat locally. Earn globally. Powered by Algorand.”
Fun fact: Diiisco’s team named their first Jetson device “Jorin”, in honour of our very own DevRel Jorrin, who supported them during the hackathon.
ClearSpend
ClearSpend is building a teen spending and financial literacy app that helps parents guide their teens with better money habits. Teens make purchases, the system analyzes whether those purchases are allowed, and positive behavior contributes to a proprietary on-chain credit score.
The platform is half financial tool, half education platform. Teens can even explore Algorand DeFi in a controlled, parent-approved way.
The team clearly captured their vision when they said, “We’re not just building an app. We’re replacing how teens access finance globally.”
Cryptic Gate
Cryptic Gate tackles a problem no crypto investor likes to think about, but that everyone should prepare for. What happens to your crypto if something happens to you? Investors’ heirs risk losing substantial value if investors neither share their keys nor set up a recovery plan.
Cryptic Gate lets investors define inheritance and recovery logic with pre-signed transactions so your assets can still be accessed without ever storing your keys on another service. No custody. No stored secrets. No single point of failure.
One Cryptic Gate team member described it perfectly. “Security is not an afterthought. It is the foundational thought.”
What the Showcase means for new builders
The biggest takeaway from this Showcase was how far a project can go once the hackathon ends. These teams kept building. They improved their prototypes, clarified their stories, and found real traction.
Algorand works best when people feel like they can ask questions, hit roadblocks, get support, and keep moving. The developer ecosystem is growing quickly, and the Showcase helps prove that you’re entering a community that wants you to succeed.
Our first Showcase marks the beginning of a recurring pipeline. As more hackathons roll out next year, we will continue to host Showcases to support winning projects, giving builders meaningful visibility long after the sprint is over.
Do you want to be in the next showcase?
Are you ready to start building? The path is simple. AlgoKit makes it easy to spin up a project in minutes.
Reach out on Discord whenever you get stuck or want feedback. Our DevRel team lives there, and we genuinely want to see you ship. To keep an eye on upcoming hackathons, follow us on X and bookmark our hackathon events page.
A single weekend can completely change the trajectory of your project. You just need to take the first step. Your idea does not need to be perfect. It just needs momentum. And when you start moving, we’ll be right there with you.
Learn more
For startups: Algorand supports builders with startup accelerators for every stage.
Algorand hackathons 2025: A year of innovation, code, and blockchain breakthroughs.
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