NEAR MetaBUILD 2: Join the Hackathon and Build an App

NEAR MetaBUILD 2, a hackathon series where anyone can start building an app on NEAR, is nearly upon us. The first edition, held August 27th to September 19, was a smashing success, with a number of winners and prizes for work hacks, play hacks, and other categories. 

For NEAR MetaBUILD 2, which runs December 22nd to February 10th, 2022, we’re changing things up a bit. In place of work and play hacks, developers can choose to participate in the Welcome track or Natives track. This gives everyone, from novice blockchain builders to crypto-natives, an opportunity to help build on and expand the NEAR ecosystem, the Open Web, and Metaverse. 

How the NEAR MetaBUILD Hackathon Works

MetaBUILD hackathons are held for a couple of reasons. Part of the hackathon is to introduce both crypto-natives and non-blockchain users to the platform. But perhaps more importantly, MetaBUILD is a fantastic opportunity to showcase NEAR’s hassle-free wallet, lightning fast transaction speeds (thanks to our Nighshade sharding), global fiat on/off ramps, and the sustainable, carbon neutral blockchain. 

For now, MetaBUILD is a virtual hackathon. In the future, the format will be a hybrid physical-virtual contest. Throughout a MetaBUILD hackathon, developers learn to write, test, and deploy scalable decentralized applications (dapps) in mere minutes. 

MetaBUILD participants can use Rust or any other languages they already know to build DeFi, Web3, Gaming, Digital Art/Collectibles, infrastructure app and tools, or migrate an existing EVM app to NEAR. 

What to Build for MetaBUILD 2

As hinted at above, MetaBUILD developers can build an app using one of two tracks—Welcome or Native. The Welcome track is intended for those who have an app and want to integrate it into the NEAR blockchain. This track is also for non-blockchain developers (newbs) who either want to get familiar with the technology or have an idea for an app and want to learn how to develop on NEAR. The Natives track, on the other hand, is designed for developers who are already familiar with NEAR, Aurora, or Octopus blockchain, or who want want to build ecosystem and tooling apps (using blockchain data, not the technology).

To see the lists of build tasks and sponsors, visit the MetaBUILD 2 Hackathon homepage.

Bonus: Include the requirements of any of the Sponsor Challenges to be eligible for the applicable prizes. Sponsor Challenges from Brave and others will be announced shortly.

MetaBUILD 2 Submission Materials

There are currently over 300 participants for NEAR MetaBUILD 2. Up to $1,000,000 in prize money will be awarded to winning projects and teams. 

Below is the complete list of materials needed to submit your project for MetaBUILD 2:

• Provide a URL to your Open Source code repository. All project repositories must be public and have an open source license.  
• Select the Track your project is submitting into.
• Include a video (about 3 minutes long) that demonstrates your submission. (Note: Videos must be uploaded to YouTube, Vimeo, or Facebook Video and made public.)
• Optional: Select the Sponsor Challenge you are submitting your project into, if applicable.

Before submitting your materials, please read the full list of NEAR MetaBUILD 2 rules.