Singapore Blockchain Innovation Program launches hackathon to accelerate blockchain adoption

The Singapore Blockchain Innovation Program (SBIP), an initiative supported by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) to excite growth opportunities for Singapore’s blockchain innovation landscape, has announced the launch of the Singapore Blockchain Innovation Challenge 2022.

Since its establishment in 2020, SBIP, which is anchored at the National University of Singapore (NUS) School of Computing, has enabled decentralization and data mutability, while improving the security and transparency of blockchain technology. Entrusted with accelerating blockchain adoption in the country, SBIP works to make Singapore a trusted digital economy and prepares for the next phase of digital development.

The Singapore Blockchain Innovation Challenge 2022 aims to unleash innovation and creativity to redefine Web3.0 by testing and challenging the next generation of blockchain leaders. The hackathon is organized to encourage the use of blockchain technology in industries beyond finance and help Singaporean businesses be globally connected and competitive.

Themed “Web3.0: The Next Vision of the Internet”, the hackathon tests participants’ proposed Web3.0 solutions with blockchain as the underlying technology stack. Applications are now open until 9 January 2023, and the awards will be presented at the closing ceremony on 13 January 2023.

“Web3.0, also known as the third generation of the Internet, is widely touted as the next great technological advance. It will have a major impact on decentralized applications through the use of blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and empower more intelligent and adaptive applications, says Professor Ooi Beng Chin, program manager at SBIP. “Although Web3.0 is still in its infancy, there is potential to innovate and create solutions and methods to define and develop the technology.”

The launch of the Singapore Blockchain Innovation Challenge 2022 – sponsored by Bybit, Moledao and Beosin – featured panel discussions and seminars with expert speakers from renowned institutions such as Dfinity Foundation, UKISS Technology, Phala Network and Mercedes-Benz Singapore. The panel discussions and seminars covered all things Web3.0 including topics such as how Web3.0 can and will be used and used in real businesses; dApps; security in Web3.0; decentralized cloud and blockchain; and the impact of a post-quantum world on the blockchain.

The Singapore Blockchain Innovation Challenge 2022 is open to students, professionals and businesses across the country to bring their blockchain innovation to life.

Three finalists will be selected respectively from the enterprise track (for companies/SMBs) and the enthusiast track (for students/professionals) based on originality, business value and relevance, innovation and creativity, operational feasibility and scalability and quality of pitch delivery. These finalists will present their solutions at the closing ceremony, and the jury will evaluate them on two additional criteria, technical competence and user experience.

The total prize pool of S$80,000 ($58,279) will be divided among the six winners based on their overall performance. Corporate Track winners will also be awarded SBIP membership, giving them access to seminars and workshops, technical support and shared testbed notes.
In addition, SBIP has partnered with IMDA and SG Women in Tech to provide special awards to promising female participants to encourage more Singaporean women to pursue tech entrepreneurship.

In the Singapore Blockchain Innovation Challenge 2021, PIEChain and Automata won first and second prizes respectively for the Enthusiast Track. The judges were impressed by the creativity and applicability of PIEChain’s end-to-end solution to improve DeFi interoperability through cross-chain flash loans. Automata, on the other hand, presented a trustless cross-chain service to migrate NFTs to low-cost blockchains. Last year’s winners have used their triumph as a springboard to further success, as they continue to develop their solutions further to become major players in blockchain technology.

“We are implementing a general-purpose cross-chain token bridge that uses PIEChain’s Kafka backend to relay information about token transfers between chains. We are still working on PIEChain from a research perspective, with a commercial application perhaps in the future,” shared Dr Daniel Reijsbergen, member of PIEChain team and senior researcher at SUTD. “As a researcher, I think the hackathon provides a good opportunity and incentive to put ideas into practice and compare the results with the results of other teams.”

Dr Ho Nhut Minh from Automata decided to join the SBIP team as a fellow after the team’s second place finish. “I have learned a lot about recent trends and developments in blockchain through the hackathon. The two-week adventure had encouraged me to become a blockchain researcher with a focus on security and interoperability,” said Dr Minh. “Currently, I am working on one of the key projects in SBIP, called Verazt, which aims to develop technologies for smart contract verification.”

This year, participants will have a chance to showcase their blockchain knowledge and expertise at the Singapore Blockchain Innovation Challenge and accelerate the growth and development of their solutions. Interested participants can register their teams for the challenge before 9 January 2023 here.