ETH Oxford

ETH Oxford is a 3-day blockchain hackathon between March 8 - March 11 bringing together the best builders of web3 alongside talented developers at the beginning of their developer journey. The hackathon is 100% free of charge for hackers. 

Builders and hackers interested in launching startups in the web3 space are also invited to apply to join HomeDAO - the university for web3 founders.

Apply to join the hack here.

Categories

The hackathon will be centred around five main categories. We will engage with our developer community to distil the following list of candidate categories to the final ones: 

• Zero-Knowledge, Privacy and Compliance
• Oracles, Identity, Real-World Assets (RWA) and RealFi
• Decentralised Finance (DeFi)
• Decentralised Social Media and Gaming
• AI, Account Abstraction and Emerging Ideas

Remember: you are NOT allowed to start coding on your submission before the official start time. Any submissions featuring singular large commits will be treated as attempts to cheat and will be disqualified. Submissions that have already been submitted to other hackathons will not be allowed. Anyone is allowed to issue a challenge to a submission if they have good reason to believe that the project team has broken any rules. 

Who is this for? 

This is a hackathon for veteran web3 builders, current university students and developers looking to get into blockchain development. We welcome all experience levels and will actively seek to put beginners together with more veteran builders. 

Venue

ETH Oxford will be taking place at the University of Oxford's Mathematical Institute. The Main Venue will be open 24/7 and only be accessible by ETH Oxford participants. Side events will take place at other locations in Oxford. You can learn more about all venues here.

Schedule

Arrival registration for ETH Oxford opens at 1 pm on Friday 8th at the Main Venue, followed by the opening ceremony, technical workshops, and networking sessions. Saturday features a midnight spikeball competition (2 am), a morning yoga session at University parks and additional lunch workshops. Cold plunge at the HomeDAO HQ jacuzzi is also an option for the hardcore Vikings out there. Sunday begins with yoga and breakfast served at the main venue, or cold morning plunge at the HomeDAO jacuzzi, for those who prefer a refreshing start to the last day. The submission deadline is at 17:00 and is immediately followed by a presentation to the judges. 

Please visit our main website to see the detailed schedule.

Food

Meals will provided free of charge to all approved builders throughout the weekend until submission. Any dietary requests submitted in the application/registration form will be taken into consideration. Coffee, energy drinks and light snacks will also be available at the Main Venue throughout the event. 

Important Dates

• March 6th, 7 pm - 8pm: Avalanche Pre ETH Oxford workshops. Register

• March 7th, 7 pm - 8pm: Aleph Zero Pre ETH Oxford workshops. Google Meets

• HACKER HOUSE OPENING. The Flare @ETH Oxford Hacker House is now open for all applicants! Deadline Thursday 11:59 pm PST / Friday 7:59 am UTC. Apply Here. To increase your chances, RSVP.

• Final hacker deadline (for Main venue accommodation): March 3rd, 23:59 UTC

...more events to be announced

Before the Hackathon

Step 1: Apply to Hack

Application form

We require that all participants apply individually to participate. We aim to get back to you with either a waitlist or acceptance decision within 3 working days. 

Why do we require a deposit? To manage our waitlist appropriately, we require a small deposit (authorization to hold). Because it is a great incentive to get people committed to attend and submit a project by the end. 

Why not use crypto staking like ETH Global? We expect to have a significant portion of developers not yet familiar with blockchain and crypto in attendance so we want to make this as accessible as possible for this audience as well. 

Can I participate as a solo hacker? Yes of course! However, we will actively do match-making so that developers or people with zero to little blockchain development experience are paired up with more experienced developers. Teams are limited to a maximum of 4 people. 

Do all team members have to attend in person? We believe that the most value comes from participating in person. All participating members must be present to present on Sunday to be eligible for prizes. If you have an extenuating circumstance that prevents this, please contact us at [email protected] 

Step 2: Join the HomeDAO Discord server 

All event communications will take place on the HomeDAO discord server. Other things you can do:

• Find a team 
• Get support
• Connect with bounty sponsors 

Follow this link to join our server. 

Step 3: Attend the Pre-Hackathon Events 

There will be several pre-hackathon events, including X spaces and webinar presentations of all the hackathon bounties a few weeks before the actual event starts. 

Follow us on X and turn on the bell icon to make sure you don't miss any of the events! 

Step 4: Book Accommodation and Travel 

Housing

We guarantee a place to sleep for the entire duration of the hackathon from the night of March 8th to the night of March 9th (provided you are cool with bean bags/mattresses in one of the 7 nap rooms).

We have around 20 beds for applicants to HomeDAO's in-residence entrepreneurship incubator. There's a separate application process for these slots. Please follow this link to start the process.

Travel

Oxford is conveniently located just an hour away from central London by train and Heathrow Airport, just one and a half hours away by car. We've gathered the most common transportation methods. You will find more options and details here.

From London by train

There are direct trains from London Paddington and London Marylebone to Oxford Train Station departing several times per day. An “Open Return” ticket allows you to travel by any route between the specified locations on the day, and return within 1 month. You can buy tickets directly here for Great Western, and here for the slower but cheaper alternative Chiltern Railways. 

From London by bus

For those on a budget, we recommend the Oxford Tube. A student and young-person return ticket costs £17. The bus leaves from Victoria Station with several stops in London on its journey to Oxford. The buses operate 24/7. You can book tickets here.

From Heathrow airport

Busses from Heathrow to Oxford take about 1 hour and 40 minutes and depart once every 20 minutes during regular hours. The buses are fully equipped with Wi-Fi and air conditioning. We recommend you pre-book tickets online at least 24 hours before. Tickets are valid on any Airline coach on the day. You can book tickets here.

From Gatwick airport

Busses from Gatwick to Oxford take about 2 hours and 30 minutes and depart once every 20 minutes during regular hours. The buses are fully equipped with Wi-Fi and air conditioning. We recommend you pre-book tickets online at least 24 hours before. Tickets are valid on any Airline coach on the day. You can book tickets here.

Step 5: Listen to All Past X Spaces and Webinars

ETH Oxford Pre-Event Talk: Tezos, X Space

ETH Oxford Pre-Event Talk: Avalanche, X Space

ETH Oxford Pre-Event Talk: Aleph Zero, X Space

Opportunities in AI x Crypto, X space

X space with Flare Protocol Link