Build Everyday DeFi Solutions on Rootstock and Be a Part of the $2.5 Million Grants Program

There’s some truly exciting news emerging from IOV Labs as the team behind Rootstock, the world’s only EVM-compatible Bitcoin sidechain, announces it is supporting a strategic grants program worth $2.5 million to help bring the first billion people to Bitcoin.

As part of this program, IOVLabs has teamed up with HackerEarth to organize a hackathon, providing participants the opportunity to gain fast-track access to the grant program.

This new initiative aims to cultivate the development of truly innovative projects and solutions and to encourage the greatest minds in the field to get involved and build brand new DeFi applications on Rootstock; they’ve organized a hackathon in collaboration with HackerEarth.

The goal is to distribute 100 grants by the end of the year that support the founders and entrepreneurs lighting the fires under the engines of the future of finance.

The program will achieve this while exploring several key themes aimed at further developing the Rootstock ecosystem, including promoting the meaningful adoption of Rootstock, bringing together disparate Bitcoin networks, and rewarding innovative solutions.

Why Should You Build on Rootstock?

Rootstock has gained plenty of press inches in recent months as the first smart contract platform secured by the Bitcoin network. It’s comfortably the most secure and censorship-resistant Bitcoin sidechain on the market and brings boatloads of functionality and scalability to the Bitcoin table.

By building on Rootstock, you’re helping to ensure the longevity and relevance of the largest and most popular cryptocurrency in the world and allowing yourselves to qualify for a $2.5 million grant program, while all participants stand a chance to win up to $25,000 in prizes.

What Themes and Projects Will the Hackathon Explore?

IOV Labs is committed to supporting the development of a completely decentralized financial ecosystem with a backbone of strong and passionate community effort.

Merging Bitcoin Networks

The goal of the hackathon is to enable greater interoperability of different blockchain ecosystems built on or with Bitcoin. This will clear the way for completely frictionless interactions between various platforms.

Promotion of Meaningful Rootstock Use

The hackathon should also encourage participants to create genuinely meaningful Rootstock use cases rooted in legitimate real-world scenarios. It’s the projects that underline how Rootstock can solve genuine problems and drive mainstream adoption that will be most highly celebrated.

Innovation

Participants are actively encouraged to innovate with solutions that introduce original functionalities and integrations with marketplaces, consumer dApps, and other platforms.

The integrations that make the most impact will be the ones that enhance the Rootstock ecosystem and provide users with experiences that they can’t find anywhere else.

Foundational Tools

The hackathon will also promote the development and improvement of the tools and resources that make up the bones of the Rootstock ecosystem. Participants will also be encouraged to innovate in how they tackle the unique challenge of scaling Bitcoin.

Who Is Qualified?

The very best blockchain developers from across the globe are being invited to participate and apply for the program. It’s a uniquely accessible program too, as Rootstock is natively compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

This means developers can rely on their existing knowledge of solidity tools and libraries like Hardhat, Truffle, web3.js, and ethers.js. No prior experience with Rootstock is necessary and applications are open now.

Timeline & Registration

This year’s Rootstock hackathon is being held in partnership with HackerEarth, an enterprise software company and a global community of over 4 million developers that have worked with some of the biggest names in the world of tech – from Amazon to IBM.

The event runs from May to July. It’ll consist of an ideation and development stage, which both build up to a final live pitch to a panel of esteemed judges from across the Bitcoin and Rootstock ecosystems.

Participants will be asked to use their imaginations and initiatives to bring their innovative ideas to life and show off how their projects represent the very best of Rootstock.

Register for the hackathon now and gain access to the $2.5M grant program

The Future of Rootstock

There are currently almost 2 billion people lacking access to basic financial services, and decentralized finance represents the most practical and affordable way to bring them into the 21st century.

This launch is a true one-of-a-kind opportunity for developers to build exceptional DeFi solutions on the Rootstock blockchain that shatter the status quo and blast open the financial floodgates for individuals and businesses across the developing world.

The individuals participating in the program are not just competing for prizes but introducing themselves to the Bitcoin and Rootstock communities. Interested developers should click here for further information and to register for this incredible event.