Pi Network Announces Q1 2023 Hackathon Winners, Celebrating over 6,700 Participants and Hundreds of Projects From Around the World

Over the course of two months, the Pi Core team alongside tens of thousands of Pioneers reviewed over 360 eligible projects designed to build the Pi ecosystem

PALO ALTO, Calif., April 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pi Network, a community of tens of millions of humans mining Pi cryptocurrency to use and build the Web3 app ecosystem, today announced the winners of its 2023 Q1 Hackathon.

Spanning from January 9 to March 5, the 2023 Hackathon saw more than 360 official entries, with hundreds more pouring in postdeadline—totaling to nearly 600 project submissions from over 6700 participants. With a goal of ramping up developer efforts and creating real-world utilities for the Pi cryptocurrency through the Pi ecosystem in its Enclosed Mainnet period, the Hackathon brought Pioneers (developers and non developers alike) together to build and review useful apps for real-world use.

Nine Hackathon winning projects* were selected including, the overall winner with three runner-up winners, four theme category winners, and one winner of the VC judging round. The members of these projects represent over 11 countries across four continents.

Polls for Pi, a Web3.0 polling app that pays Pioneers in Pi for participating in the polls, was selected for the top prize. The app's simplicity, user-friendly design, and clear utility for the Pi cryptocurrency all contributed to its win, as did its participation in the PiOS program, making its code available for further use by other teams within the Pi ecosystem. 

Three runner-up winners are: Coinskro, an escrow system and disputes resolution mechanism to enable secure and trusted P2P bartering of Pi; Piketplace, a project to facilitate transactions of goods for Pi and enable Pioneers to pay each other in Pi for the courier services; and Connect Social, a social media app enabling formation of subcommunities and Pi tipping for content.

Four additional teams won theme category awards for social media, games, consumer utility and open innovation, while one team, ExplorePi, a Pi Mainnet block explorer with interactive graphs, was chosen for winning a separate VC Judging round. Nine other teams with a variety of use cases received honorable mentions in recognition of their contribution to the Pi ecosystem.

"As part of our unwavering commitment to fostering utility-driven growth during the Enclosed Network period of Mainnet, Pioneers and skilled developers were challenged to build the next generation of innovative applications with a strong focus on utility and innovation," said Dr. Chengdiao Fan, Founder and Head of Product at Pi Network. "The Pi Core team was encouraged by not only the hundreds of submitted projects—including apps for social media, marketplaces, block explorers, games, and more—but also the tens of thousands of Pioneers who helped review each and every submission. This hackathon was a good reminder of what we know to be true: building the Pi ecosystem will take the entire community's participation."

At the debut of the hackathon, Pi also unveiled its Pi Open Source (PiOS) license program. The PiOS License allows Pi community developers to create and use open-source applications and tools within the Pi Ecosystem. Hackathon participants were encouraged to contribute to the code repository and make their work available for use by others in the Pi Ecosystem. Seven of the teams who won or received honorable mentions licensed their code with the PiOS program.

Pi Network's hackathons are driven by a shared vision of fostering community development and nurturing a robust utilities-based ecosystem. These hackathons provide a platform for the creative minds, skilled hands, and go-getters in the community to come together and ideate on various themes and to build cutting-edge apps on the Pi platform.

Pi also announced the winner of its grant following the Fall 2022 college hackathon events held at Berkeley, Harvard, and Cornell: Destig Femme, the all-female hackathon team from Boston University, will be awarded a milestone-driven grant to further build their Web3 Pi app which promotes a safe space for women to discuss subjects including menstruation, contraception, abortion and other stigmatized topics in society. Two other runner up college teams have also been selected for a milestone-based grant to build their Web3 Pi apps.

For a full list of Q1 2023 Hackathon winners, please visit: https://minepi.com/blog/hackathon-winners-2023

*DISCLOSURE: To receive the prizes and awards specified in the Hackathon terms and conditions, winning teams, and each of their team members, are required to have adhered to all terms and conditions of the Hackathon, and must successfully complete Pi's KYC verification process prior to receiving any form of award from the Pi Core Team. In the event that a winning team, or one or more team members, fail to adhere to the terms and conditions, or do not successfully complete Pi's KYC verification process, they will not be eligible to receive the applicable award, and will be disqualified as a winning team for the Hackathon.

ABOUT PI NETWORK
Pi Network is a community of tens of millions of humans mining Pi cryptocurrency to use and build the Web3 app ecosystem. Founded in 2018 by a team of early innovators in blockchain and social computing, with PhDs from Stanford University, Pi Network is a utilities-based ecosystem for third-party apps on a mobile web platform, with widespread (rather than concentrated) token distribution. The blockchain platform offers a mobile-first mining approach, with low financial cost and a light environmental footprint within the crypto space.

SOURCE Pi Network