Crypto
Sonic Labs, the team behind the highest-performing EVM L1 blockchain Sonic, announced the launch of the Sonic DeFAI Hackathon, in partnership with DoraHacks, a global hackathon organizer, and Zerebro, an autonomous AI agent.
With $250,000 in prizes, the hackathon invites participants to compete over four weeks to create novel AI agents that perform both social and on-chain actions, further accelerating the development of DeFAI (decentralized finance and AI) on Sonic.
Hackathon submissions open today, January 21, 2025, and will close on February 24, 2025. Winners will be announced in early March.
Empowering AI and Blockchain
DeFAI is a term that combines AI and blockchain technology. For example, AI agents on a blockchain can handle complex tasks through simple commands, such as bridging assets, swapping tokens, and depositing liquidity — all autonomously in one step. Other AI agents may manage social media accounts and execute marketing strategies efficiently.
The ambition of the Sonic DeFAI Hackathon is to harness AI frameworks in ways that transform how we interact with blockchain technology. From managing social media accounts to executing on-chain actions, AI agents have become the new frontier of innovation in the blockchain space.
Sonic’s unmatched transaction speed (10,000 TPS) and sub-second finality ensure that AI agents can execute complex, real-time actions seamlessly.
“The Sonic DeFAI Hackathon is a groundbreaking initiative that merges cutting-edge AI capabilities with the transformative power of blockchain. With $250,000 in prizes, we aim to inspire creators worldwide to redefine DeFi through AI agents.” — Luis Fausto, Content Lead, Sonic Labs
Application Process and Submission Guidelines
To participate, developers can visit the Sonic DeFAI Hackathon page on DoraHacks where the hackathon is hosted. Participants must follow the application process below.
- Timeline: Participants have four weeks to develop and finalize their projects. The submission deadline is February 21, 2025.
- Video Demo: Each team must submit a three-minute demo video showcasing their agent via YouTube, Vimeo, or Google Drive.
- Repository Link: A link to the project’s code repository is required.
A panel of industry experts will evaluate and judge the submissions, including Michael Kong (CEO, Sonic Labs), Seg (Developer Relations, Sonic Labs), Jeffy Yu (Founder, Zerebro), Ayoub (Lead Engineer, Zerebro), and Daniele Sesta (Founder, Hey Anon). Additional judges may be announced before the submission deadline.
Submissions will be judged using the following criteria:
- Technological Implementation: Does the integration with Sonic demonstrate quality software development?
- Design: Is the project’s user experience and design thoughtfully crafted and intuitive?
- Potential Impact: What is the potential scale of the project’s influence on the blockchain industry?
- Quality of the Idea: How creative and unique is the project?
Prizes and Awards
A total of $250,000 in prizes will be distributed to winning projects across several categories:
- First Place: $60,000
- Second Place: $55,000
- Third Place: $45,000
- Honorable Mentions (2): $15,000 each
Additionally, several opportunities for bonus prizes are available to all participants. The top 3 winners are also eligible for bonus prizes if their agents fall into specified categories.
- Winner $12,500
- Runner-Up: $7,500
- Winner $12,500
- Runner-Up: $7,500
- Winner $12,500
- Runner-Up: $7,500
Support for Participants and Winners
Throughout the hackathon, participants will have access to comprehensive guidance on idea development, AI frameworks, and project setup. This includes technical support for ZerePy, an open-source Python framework developed by Zerebro for creating on-chain and social agents. The Sonic chain has been fully integrated with ZerePy for easy and efficient agent building.
The winning teams will receive additional perks, including marketing exposure via official Sonic Labs social media channels and other promotional opportunities to help bring their agents to a larger audience.
“By leveraging the power of AI agents, we can simplify processes that were once complicated and redefine how users interact with DeFi. This hackathon is about building that future today.” — Jeffy Yu, Founder, Zerebro
For more information or to register for the hackathon, users can visit the Sonic DeFAI Hackathon page and join the official Telegram group.
About Sonic
Sonic is the highest-performing EVM L1, combining speed, incentives, and world-class infrastructure for DeFi, powered by the S token. The chain provides 10,000 TPS and sub-second confirmation times.
About DoraHacks
DoraHacks is a global hackathon organizer and one of the world’s most active developer incentive platforms. It creates a global hacker movement in blockchain, quantum computing, and space tech, and provides a wide range of toolkits to help developers around the world team up and fund their ideas and BUIDLs via hackathons, bounties, grants, idea networks, developer games, and more.
About Zerebro
Zerebro is an AI agent that autonomously manages actions across domains like social media and blockchain, adapting based on experience to deliver highly personalized results. Its open-source framework, ZerePy, lets users deploy custom AI agents in minutes for a seamless, flexible experience.
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