Web3 hackathons provide a platform for individuals to showcase their skills, network with others in the field, and above all, sprout their ideas to life. These events bring together developers in many areas, allowing them to collaborate and develop solutions that can be used in real-world scenarios.But are hackathons still relevant to foster innovation? More specifically, are they still relevant in the web3 space?If you're currently asking this question, we have great news.In this case study, we’ll explore the web3 hackathons hosted at TAIKAI and their impact and outcomes. We'll provide you with valuable insights and an in-depth guide to help you host a successful web3 hackathon of your own.ETH Lisbon 🇵🇹The ETHLisbon hackathon had the goal to bring together the Ethereum community of developers to compete and build innovative projects using the Ethereum blockchain. The hackathon was divided into two categories: the main hackathon challenge and sponsored bounties.Crunching the numbers🔹 2-day event🔹 331 participants🔹 $20,000.00 for the main hackathon prize + $118,500 in sponsor bountiesKey insights 💡The ETH Lisbon hackathon had many touchpoints that led to it being a total success. ResourcesFor one, the organization did an amazing job ensuring that participants had all the information needed.They had a website, a hacker manual notion page and provided plenty of resources - not just for the hackathon competition itself - but guides, itineraries, maps and everything you could probably need to join the event.SponsorsCompanies such as zkSync, WalletConnect, Metamask, Arweave and many others were key to ensuring the success of the hackathon. Each sponsor had their own category, which granted a variety of challenges for participants to tackle.Plus, the more sponsors, the more awareness and publicity the event got. It became a win-win scenario for both sides.Variety of challengesThere were winners for the overall hackathon challenge as well as each individual challenge, giving different teams more chances of winning. At the end of the day, it was clear the organizers wanted the challenge to be fun and competitive, but above all, to make sure everyone was building and not just setting their eyes on the largest prize.Great prize poolLast but not least, the prize pool was also an important contributor to the success of this hackathon. The main hackathon challenge had 20,000$ in prizes to be split by the top 10 teams, whereas each sponsor bounty had its own prize pool too, totaling 118,500$ in rewards.Looking to host a hackathon competition? We’re here to help! Reach out to us today.BCN Hack 🇪🇸ETHBarcelona is a community-led project about the Ethereum blockchain, cryptocurrency, and decentralization that aims to enhance knowledge of blockchain technology through projects that create a positive social impact.BCN Hack was a weekend experience created by and for the community, focusing on the main blockchain challenge: its accessibility. How do we bring the next 1 million developers to work in blockchain; how do we bring the next 1 billion people to use it?The beautiful, sunny city of Barcelone was the stage of the hackathon event that brought participants to work on subjects such as Web3 for public goods; DeFi accessibility; Infrastructure & Scalability; Regenerative Finance; and the Creator's Economy.Crunching the numbers🔹 2-day event🔹 117 participants🔹 + 16,000$ in prizesKey insights 💡A clear topic outlineJust like we mentioned above, the BCN Hack had very clear subjects for participants to work on.When you lay out the foundation of the challenge and what you intend to achieve, it becomes easier for developers to start building and for you to manage expectations.Sponsored challengesEven though the BCN Hack had fewer sponsors than ETH Lisbon, it was still important for the outcome of the event. Each sponsor had its own challenge category, thus bringing in diversity and plenty of topics to dive in.WorkshopsBCN Hack hosted four different workshops, one for each hackathon sponsor. Workshops are a great tool to host alongside the hackathon and to foster innovation and sprout ideas to life. It's also key to allow developers to learn more beforehand about a certain blockchain, EVM, file storage, or whatever platform they will be using in their projects.Similar category prizesThe hackathon competition had similar monetary prizes for each category, meaning participants could choose the subject they were more comfortable with instead of going to the highest-paid one.Hybrid participationEven if your hackathon is on-site, there are still ways you can gather participants who cannot physically attend the event.One strategy is to allow hybrid participation. For example, BCN Hack allowed teams of up to 4 members, but only required one person to attend the event; the other three could be working online or remotely.ETH Sao Paulo 🇧🇷EthereumBrasil is a non-profit, sustainable project that collaborates with the Ethereum Foundation to educate and expand the Web3 Builder community in Brazil. After the international success of Ethereum Rio, they hosted EthereumSP in early 2022 - a gateway for web3 companies to connect with the Ethereum Brasil builder community.Crunching the numbers🔹 3-day event🔹 110 participants🔹 28,000$ in prizes + non-monetary rewardsKey insights 💡Having previous experience hosting ETH Rio was fundamental for the success of ETH SP:Thoroughly detailed project submissionIf there’s one thing that can make your life easier is providing developers with a clear understanding of how to deliver a project. On the one hand, the organization benefits from a standardized structure for all projects, which makes their evaluation simpler. On the other hand, participants also know exactly the structure they must follow for the project to be validated.Prize varietyETH SP offered prizes for the main hackathon challenge as well as each sponsor; This is common practice among web3 hackathons and something you should be aware of when organizing your own.Range of categoriesThere were 7 categories in total, and similarly to other hackathons, it allowed participants to freely choose the topic they would like to work on.Local hackathons can bring big numbers tooEven though the hackathon was exclusively on-site, this didn’t stop ETH SP from achieving over 100 participants. The key was a well-planned and executed event campaign, targeting universities, web3 Brazilian communities, and spreading awareness among sponsors. We covered a full guide on how to attract participants to your hackathon.Lessons learned from hosting web3 hackathons 💭All of these web3 hackathons have one thing in common: they were hosted at TAIKAI. Our online hackathon platform can help you organize a hackathon competition no matter if you’re an upcoming web3 project or a well-established blockchain company.TAIKAI offers a fully customizable hackathon platform with livestreaming, real-time leaderboard updates, different types of voting systems, a custom homepage, and much more, to ensure a smooth and complete hackathon experience.Reach out to us today or request a demo, we’d love to #buidl together!