TRUSTCHAIN Hackathon
TRUSTCHAIN Hackathon: Building a Human-Centered, Trustworthy, and Sustainable Decentralized Internet
The TRUSTCHAIN Hackathon is now open for applications! Taking place online from 17 to 25 November 2025, this pan-European event invites developers, startups, researchers, and SMEs to build innovative digital solutions that champion privacy, sustainability, interoperability, and trust in the next-generation internet.
The TRUSTCHAIN Hackathon aims to showcase and extend the impact of the TRUSTCHAIN ecosystem by fostering the development of innovative, decentralized solutions focused on real-world problems. Participants will build upon the technological foundations of TRUSTCHAIN-funded projects to create interoperable, scalable, and human-centric digital applications that serve European citizens.
Tracks & Prizes
The hackathon features two competitive tracks:
- Track 1: Internal – TRUSTCHAIN Teams
- Track 2: External – Open to New Applicants
Prize Structure for Each Track:
- 1st Place: €3,000
- 2nd Place: €2,000
- 3rd Place: €1,000
Hackathon Themes & Focus Areas
Participants are encouraged to build solutions using at least two TRUSTCHAIN-funded projects. Innovations should target one or more of the following areas:
1. Digital Identity & Privacy
- Cross-domain digital ID systems (“TrustChain Passport”)
- Personal dashboards for data access logs & revocation
- Digital wallets combining identity and digital assets
- GDPR/eIDAS plugins for SMEs
2. Interoperability & Integration
- Cross-chain modules (e.g., Ethereum, Polkadot)
- Wallet interoperability tools
- FIWARE-compatible plugins for smart SLAs
3. Sustainability, Inclusivity & Transparency
- Blockchain energy tracking dashboards (“Chain-o-meter”)
- Privacy-preserving supply chain trackers
- Tools designed for marginalized communities
4. Decentralized Marketplaces & Incentives
- Marketplaces with verifiable credentials and portable reputations
- Tokenized carbon credits and incentive models
- Smart contract-based revenue sharing
5. Web3 & Gaming
- Gasless dApps for mainstream adoption
Educational mini-games rewarding civic participation
Web3 anti-scam and auto-recovery tools
Application Domains
Solutions can span across industries, such as:
- Healthcare: Secure health data with user consent
- Supply Chain: Transparent, tamper-proof product tracking
- Public Services: Decentralized voting, citizenship tools
- Finance: Privacy-focused DeFi & decentralized credit scoring
- Mobility: Secure vehicle data markets and autonomous service coordination
How to Apply?
Applications will be accepted only via F6S platform and submitted before 13 November, 12:00 PM [noon] CET/Brussels time
Eligibility
Only applicants legally established/resident in any of the following countries (hereafter collectively identified as the “Eligible Countries”) are eligible:
- The Member States (MS) of the European Union (EU), including their outermost regions.
- The Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) linked to the Member States[1];
- Horizon Europe associated countries, as described in the Reference Documents and the List of Participating Countries in Horizon Europe according to the latest list published by the European Commission.
Additional rules apply. All applicants must:
- Hold a valid EU VAT number
- Applicants must form teams (no individual participants alone) such as:
- SME
- SME + Individual
- SME + SME
- SME + Academic/ Research entity
- Academy/ Research entity
Past and current participants of NGI TrustChain are welcome to apply abut it is mandatory they sign up for the internal track.
NEW applicants should apply to the external track.
Supported Material and Kit for Application
- Application material
Application template will be made available only to the registered applicants eligible for the hackathon.
- TrustChain Previous Projects
- All applicants must review and agree to the Hackathon Terms & Conditions before submission.