The Intersect Makeathon + Hackathon is now concluded. Launched to celebrate the debut of Intersect the Network, powered by stc Bahrain and Avalanche, the 30-day virtual event aimed to showcase the innovative potential of Web3 by bringing together participants from Bahrain, the GCC, and beyond. The goal was to provide an inclusive platform that welcomed not only coders but also creators and artists from diverse backgrounds. With four main tracks—two coding and two non-coding—along with two bonus tracks, the hackathon ensured there was something for everyone. The event was a resounding success, attracting over 33,000 website visitors and generating more than 3 million engagements across social media platforms. A total of 114 participants from around the world registered, and after 30 days of intense creativity and building, 64 unique projects were submitted, reflecting the high level of interest and innovation sparked by the hackathon.
‘Intersect’ represents a key milestone in stc Bahrain’s Web3 journey and its partnership with Avalanche. Since its establishment in 2010, stc Bahrain, a leading digital enabler, has brought millions of people online. As an innovator, stc Bahrain now aims to bring people on chain through initiatives like the Web3 Launchpad which seeks to bring new Web3 protocols to Bahrain via the Qala’a Path and Pearling Path programs, positioning the country as a leader in the Web3 space. This aligns with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 initiative, which seeks to establish Bahrain as a technological hub both regionally and globally. These efforts have already gained significant recognition, with stc Bahrain receiving two prestigious awards for the Web3 Launchpad: the Best Telecom Infrastructure Innovation Award at the Gulf Business Awards and the Technology Excellence Award at the Middle East Awards Ceremony. These accolades further highlight stc Bahrain’s commitment to driving innovation in the telecom and Web3 sectors.
This first makeathon + hackathon is just the beginning of a series of exciting events, with even bigger opportunities for builders and innovators on the horizon.
Each track within the hackathon featured unique challenges, designed to push participants’ creativity and technical abilities. The no-code Design Your Wallet Track challenged participants to create visually appealing skins and outer boxes for the OneKey Classic hardware wallet. The Design Your Wallet Bonus Track extended this challenge by inviting participants to design an additional Lionscraft-branded outer box and wallet skin. The Design Your Profile Track encouraged participants to create unique, on-chain profile pictures that represented their personal identities, cultures, and stories. Shortlisted collections will be featured on Joepegs, the leading NFT marketplace on Avalanche. Additionally, the Aleph Zero Bonus Track offered participants the chance to submit an extra profile picture collection, with the winning collection set to be featured on Aleph Zero's newly launched EVM L2 Marketplace. The Gaming, Music & Media Track asked participants to push the boundaries of digital entertainment through Web3. They were tasked with developing applications related to gaming, music, and visual storytelling, with an essential focus on integrating tokenization into their projects. The Security & Interoperability Track focused on the theme of “Secure Connections, Smooth Interactions,” challenging participants to build solutions that enhance on-chain interaction while ensuring user safety. This track also encouraged the development of solutions promoting interoperability across blockchain networks and solutions around telecommunication use cases.
A total of 13 winners were selected across all six tracks, showcasing a wide range of talent and innovation. You can view the full list of winners here. Winning projects can also be viewed on the DoraHacks page or on the Intersect website. Track winners were selected by an esteemed and diverse panel of 16 judges from 15 different countries. Their expertise and dedication were instrumental in ensuring that the most deserving projects were recognized and rewarded.
The hackathon’s prize pool included over $100,000 in cash and other rewards such as Nirvana Cloud nodes for one year, OneKey hardware wallets, tickets to the Avalanche Summit in Argentina and Chainlink SmartCon’24 in Hong Kong, Avacloud memberships, and more. Over 250,000 PEARL tokens were also distributed to winners and participants. In addition to the main competition, the event featured PEARL Mini-Quests on the Intersect & Avalanche Galxe page, where over 1,000 participants played 2,285 games for a chance to win prizes like 999 Club Avvy domain addresses, PEARL tokens, and AVAX tokens.
The success of the Intersect Makeathon + Hackathon was only made possible by the support of sponsors, leading Web3 players such as Avalanche, Nirvana Labs, Chainlink, K3 Labs, Aleph Zero, Avvy Domains, 3NUM, Lionscraft, OneKey, and Candide Labs. Their contributions were crucial to the hackathon's success, providing participants with the resources, tools, and prizes needed to push the boundaries of Web3 innovation.
stc Bahrain, through its ‘Intersect’ platform, is committed to supporting builders and the broader Web3 community beyond the hackathon. Selected projects are eligible for mainnet deployment and potential grant opportunities, with PEARL tokens available to help kickstart building journeys. Interested participants and builders can fill out this form. Additionally, the Intersect Ambassador Program is now open for applications, offering Web3 enthusiasts the opportunity to represent Intersect at events, conferences, and seminars, while collaborating with industry leaders like stc Bahrain and Avalanche.
A huge thank you to everyone who supported the event. Stay tuned for updates on upcoming events, hackathons, and videos.