Learn about all the fresh ideas building on Aleph Zero – and the teams who are driving them.

After three innovation-packed days–online and live at PKO Bank Polski’s office building and flagship branch in Warsaw–Degen Hack has come to a close. However, the ideas that it has given birth to are just starting to take off. 

Organized by Degen House, the event began on Friday, February 16th, and lasted all weekend until Sunday.

Aleph Zero helped facilitate the hackathon, along with one of Central and Eastern Europe’s largest banks, PKO Bank Polski. Other notable institutions, associations, and universities that supported the event included the Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs, GovTech Polska, the Swiss-Polish Blockchain Association, the Polish Blockchain Association, Next Block Expo, ETH Warsaw, AGH University of Science and Technology, and the University of Silesia.

Kicking things up a notch after CTRL+Hack+ZK with more real-world solutions on Aleph Zero

Following last month’s three-week CTRL+Hack+ZK hackathon, real innovation is continuing to explode on the Aleph Zero network. Similar to CTRL+Hack+ZK, Degen Hack provided Web3 builders and innovators with opportunities to address real-world business challenges utilizing Aleph Zero technology–and bring exciting new use cases to the network. Over $45,000 in bounties and a chance for project acceleration were up for grabs–and competitors did not disappoint. 

The winners’ circle: Fitbet, Parrot Protocol, and Aleph.Connect

Fitbet
Clinching 1st place was Fitbet, a fitness-focused app that harnesses Aleph Zero’s chain and AI/machine learning. With Fitbet, users can challenge each other and bet on their physical activities. Progress is trackable with your phone’s camera and you can earn rewards within the app. Watch and learn more about Fitbet’s fusion of fitness, blockchain, and AI here:

Parrot Protocol

Wallet-free crypto innovator Parrot Protocol took 2nd place. Parrot Protocol enables users to send AZERO and FUSE cryptocurrencies simply by entering a recipient’s phone number. Essentially, you can receive crypto like a text. The recipient gets an SMS with a link to securely claim their funds–so no complex wallets are required. Here’s how Parrot Protocol is working to make crypto transactions easier:

Aleph.Connect

With their Aleph-Zero-based Web3 alternative to freelance work models, Aleph.Connect grabbed 3rd place. Aleph.Connect is designed to empower digital nomads by bridging talent and technology for a more secure, transparent, and efficient collaboration platform. Here’s how they’re looking to change the future of work: 

Idea overload: honorable mentions 

The judges really had their hands full, with the sheer amount and depth of innovative concepts. While we couldn’t award everyone with a gold medal, we had to note a few additional honorable mentions. These include LlamaPredict, HackZ, AzeroInkBox, Aleph Zero XTF, and Tower.

LlamaPredict provides a prediction-based market for information game enthusiasts by utilizing Constant-Product Automated Market Makers (CPAMM). And most interestingly, it’s built without the need for an oracle. HackZ is an educational game that teaches the basics of blockchain. The first module breaks down Aleph Zero–and you can challenge other participants and win tokens. While AzeroInkBox is a no-code tool with a drag-and-drop interface for easily creating ink! smart contracts on Aleph Zero.

There’s also Aleph Zero XFT that brings the idea of a decentralized ETF to Aleph Zero–and aims to be a more user-friendly way to invest in a mix of digital assets. It’s similar to the big ETFs, but with a twist–it’s all on the blockchain. We also very much liked the web3 game Tower–a unique Tower Defense game that challenges you to level up and expand your kingdom. It’s built on Golem Network, using Cardinal Cryptography’s PSP34 smart contract implementation.

We’re thrilled with all the innovation snowballing on Aleph Zero. We can’t wait to see how these projects will develop–and all the new innovations to come. 

Stay tuned for details on our next hackathons!