Mode DeFi Degen Hackathon

December 5th, 2023

Web3 is teeming with an abundance of talent and creativity. The goal of the Mode DeFi Degen Hackathon is to bring it all to the surface and reward it. From experienced developers to newcomers and everyone in between; Mode is eager to witness the creative powers of builders in action.

You can sign up for the hackathon here:

If you have ever deployed to ETH mainnet or EVM chains you can deploy to Mode quickly and easily. Mode is an EVM compatible L2 powered by Optimism.

The Mode Degen hackathon is all about pushing the boundaries of experimental DeFi. Take a new idea from product to mainnet deployment with support from the Mode team. Winners will receive prizes, NFTs, grants and support to scale their project on Mode and across Optimism’s Superchain.

WHEN DOES THIS START AND END?

Submissions: December 5th, 2023 @12pm - December 22nd, 2023 @12pm

Judging: December 22nd, 2023 @5pm - December 29th, 2023 @5pm

Winners Announced - January 2nd, 2024 @11am

(Times are al in GMT+1)

WHAT SHOULD YOU BUILD?

You’re the degen, build something you’d actually want to use! Leverage your creativity to its fullest extent to create all the apps needed for a thriving DeFi ecosystem; DEXs, bridges, launchpads, lending and borrowing platforms, aggregators of any kind, stablecoins, distribution or payment dApps, anything you can think - so think outside the box!

The main goal here is to take advantage of Mode's unique qualities and special features, such as the SFS (for more details on SFS here). We encourage you to build on top of it, exploit it as much as you can, and generate that sweet sweet revenue from the activity your Dapp brings onchain.

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

$15,000 in prizes (paid in cryptocurrency)

Every Winning Team will get support from Mode to build and launch their project on mainnet with a range of growth, audit and other grants.

$5000 (paid in USDC) + 1 Mlady Malenciaga NFT + Co-marketing campaing with Mode

Gigabrainz - 2nd Prize for the most innovative and creative project.

$2,500 (paid in USDC) + 1 CryptoDickButt

Degen Charmer - 3rd Prize for the project with the highest transaction throughput.

$1500 (paid in USDC) + 1 Lobster NFT

Most Degen - For the most degen project with the best design.

$2000 (paid in USDC) + 1 CryptoDickButt

Best Stablecoin - This is for the best stablecoin deployed on Mode.

$1000 (Paid in UST)

Best Exchange - For the best exchange.

$1000 (Paid in FTT)

Go Fork Yourself - For the best fork project deployed on Mode.

$2000 (Paid in USDC)

Wildcard - You’ll never guess what's coming :)

WHO IS JUDGING THIS THING?

James Ross - Founder @ Mode

Michael Vander Meiden - Optimism Grants Council

Caleb Shack - VC at BigBrain Holdings

Smit - Head of DeFi at OP Labs

Jack Niewold - DeFi Researcher

CryptoDog - Legendary trader and investor

Camilla Russo - Chiefess at @DefiantNews

Garlam Won - Founder of Momentum6

LITO.ETH - Founder cryptotesters, Growth at Socket

WHAT’S THE JUDGING CRITERIA?

Use of the SFS - The project correctly exploits the benefits of the SFS (Sequencer fee sharing) in a creative and innovative manner. To what extent the solution utilizes the SFS in new and unique ways.

Potential Impact - The project allows for high transaction throughput on Mode or can help the Network grow providing a benefit for all it's users. How potentially impactful is the project for Mode and it's users.

Innovation and Creativity - Creativity and originality of the idea

Implementation of The Idea - How well the idea was executed by the team

Presentation - How well the project and the idea is presented with a working product, good documentation and short but complete demo. Extra points for sick designs!