The Solana Foundation and Serum recently co-hosted a major virtual DeFi hackathon, attracting over 3,000 registered builders and more than 100 project submissions from around the globe. This event brought together crypto pioneers, established DeFi projects, and innovative developers for two weeks of intensive building on the Solana and Serum platforms.
Participants submitted projects across various categories, including decentralized exchanges, developer tooling, lending protocols, and other infrastructure solutions. The hackathon not only fostered global collaboration but also helped the Solana Foundation improve its documentation, tooling, and educational resources for developers.
Judges evaluated projects based on functionality, potential impact, novelty, design, and composability. While the focus was on novel DeFi applications, participants were also encouraged to build infrastructure or tools that could benefit the broader DeFi ecosystem. The only requirement was that each project had to incorporate Solana or Serum.
Out of all submissions, nine standout projects were selected as winners, though over 50 demonstrated significant potential. Below is a detailed overview of the winning teams and their innovative solutions.
First Place Winners
Each of the two first-place winners received $50,000 in USDC-SPL tokens.
Mango Markets
Mango Markets is a decentralized, cross-margin trading platform that offers up to 5x leverage and integrated limit orders using Serum DEX's on-chain order book. Users can earn interest on deposits and margin positions while trading with near-zero fees, thanks to Solana's high-performance blockchain. The platform also allows users to contribute SRM tokens to a shared pool, reducing fees for all traders.
PsyOptions
PsyOptions is a protocol that implements American-style options on Solana, supporting both SOL and SPL tokens. The platform is designed to be extensible and composable with leveraged, inverse, and volatility products. The team delivered a well-executed idea, a compelling roadmap, and a sleek user interface.
Second Place Winners
The three second-place winners each received $20,000 in USDC-SPL tokens.
Parrot
Parrot is a synthetic debt protocol that bridges yield-bearing tokens from Ethereum Layer 1 into Solana's DeFi ecosystem. Liquidity providers from protocols like Sushi and Curve can now use their tokens as collateral in Solana-based lending products.
Synthetify
Synthetify is a decentralized protocol for synthetic assets built on Solana. It operates similarly to Ethereum-based Synthetix, allowing users to mint and trade synthetic assets that track the value of real-world assets.
Solrise Finance
Solrise Finance is a decentralized, peer-to-peer asset management and trading protocol. It enables fund managers to create investment funds, deposit tokens, and select assets for trading. Investors can track fund performance and their earnings in real-time.
Third Place Winners
The four third-place winners each received $10,000 in USDC-SPL tokens.
Serum Tax Time
Serum Tax Time is a tool that automatically analyzes a user's Serum DEX trades and provides clear data analytics for tax reporting. It simplifies the process of calculating tax obligations from decentralized trading activity.
DTF Protocol
DTF Protocol is a Solana-based system that allows users to create asset management strategies in which others can invest. Each strategy is encapsulated in a DTF program token, which is itself an SPL token. The protocol supports integrations with exchanges, lending platforms, and automated market makers.
Sushi Warrior
Sushi Warrior is a multiplayer tournament-style battle game that incorporates no-loss lotteries, similar to PoolTogether. It leverages Solana, Arweave, Torus, USDC, and AAVE to bring composable DeFi elements into gaming.
Tenderize Me
Tenderize Me is a liquid staking solution that enables users to generate tenderSol, a value-accruing staking derivative token. This allows users to enter or exit staking without bonding or unbonding periods, making staking more efficient and accessible for non-technical users. tenderSol can also be used as collateral in other DeFi protocols.
Community Choice Prize
The Solana community voted for their favorite projects, with over 10,000 votes cast. The Community Choice Award winner received $5,000 in USDC-SPL tokens.
COPE
COPE is a token project that allows traders to rank their performance and view others' performance based on their Cope score. The ranking provides signals for traders looking to enter new positions. The project plans to implement an automated investment product that enables users to permission trades based on the COPE index.
Torus Award
Torus, a popular DeFi wallet, awarded a $2,000 prize to the project that best integrated their wallet solution. Sushi Warrior was selected as the winner for its seamless integration of Torus wallet functionality.
The top nine teams now have the opportunity to compete for an additional $200,000 in seed funding. This provides serious builders with a chance to go full-time in the Solana ecosystem and gain extensive resources from the Solana Foundation, Project Serum, and leading venture capital firms.
Congratulations to all the participants and winners! The Solana Foundation continues to support talented teams through its Grants Program and has more hackathons and events planned for the future.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the goal of the Solana x Serum DeFi Hackathon?
The hackathon aimed to accelerate the growth of the Solana ecosystem by encouraging developers to build innovative DeFi projects and tools. It focused on novel applications, infrastructure, and solutions that incorporate Solana or Serum.
How were the projects judged?
Projects were evaluated based on five criteria: functionality, potential impact, novelty, design, and composability. Judges looked for solutions that demonstrated technical excellence and practical utility within the DeFi space.
What prizes did the winners receive?
First-place winners received $50,000 each, second-place winners received $20,000 each, and third-place winners received $10,000 each. Additional prizes included a Community Choice Award of $5,000 and a Torus Award of $2,000.
Can participants still apply for funding after the hackathon?
Yes, the top teams are eligible to compete for an additional $200,000 in seed funding. The Solana Foundation also offers ongoing support through its Grants Program for talented developers.
What types of projects were submitted?
Projects spanned various categories, including decentralized exchanges, lending protocols, asset management tools, gaming integrations, and tax reporting solutions. 👉 Explore more DeFi strategies for inspiration.
How can I stay updated on future Solana events?
To stay informed about upcoming hackathons and announcements, follow Solana on Twitter and subscribe to their newsletter. The foundation regularly hosts events to support developers and innovators.
Disclaimer: The Solana Foundation x Serum DeFi Hackathon was a competition focused on technological evaluation. Projects were assessed solely on their technical merits, without consideration of legal viability. Participants were required to comply with all applicable laws and regulations when deploying any software developed during the event.