About the Hackathon
Following the momentum of Hackathon #2, we’re launching Hackathon #3 to push deeper into agentic applications, public goods, and developer tooling on decentralized inference.
Hackathon Format (unchanged): Open‑ended runs continue — variable inflow = high‑value edge‑case data. We’ll keep inviting outsiders to try agentic apps while hardening software, docs, and process.
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### [](https://docs.cortensor.network/community-and-ecosystem/hackathon/hackathon-3#objective)
Objective
Build proof‑of‑concept (PoC) applications, bots, validators, or developer tools that leverage Cortensor’s decentralized inference protocol.
Primary focus areas:
- Agentic Applications — autonomous/semi‑autonomous assistants that act, monitor, transact.
- PoI/PoUW Utilization — leverage redundant inference (PoI) and validator scoring (PoUW) where it adds trust; show how your app uses or exposes these features.
- Validation & Attestations (PoI/PoUW) — use validator features to score results, produce evidence bundles, and optionally write on‑chain records.
- App Stores & Catalogs — discovery surfaces for Cortensor apps with one‑click public demos.
- Developer Tooling & SDKs — packages, CLIs, wrappers, and templates for smooth integration.
- Public Goods / Free Inferencing — open bots and apps for the community.
- Infra Observability — dashboards for inputs/throughput/latency, miner reputation, model usage.
Stretch goals (bonus points):
*Note: COR Prover, ERC‑8004, and x402 are internal R&D and optional — not required for Hackathon #3.*
- ERC‑8004: emit agent identity/validation artifacts for discoverability.
- x402: pay‑per‑call rails or UI flows for usage‑based access.
- Router Surfaces: integrate Router v1 (REST) with a /validate endpoint; prototype COR Prover surfaces; explore MCP.
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### [](https://docs.cortensor.network/community-and-ecosystem/hackathon/hackathon-3#prize-pool-in-usdcor-equivalent)
Prize Pool (in $COR equivalent)
- 1st: $800
- 2nd: $500
- 3rd: $300
- 4th–5th: $200 each
- 6th–7th: $150 each
- 8th–10th: $100 each
- 11th–20th: $50 each
Ongoing Support: Top projects may qualify for monthly $COR grants for continued maintenance and improvements.
#### [](https://docs.cortensor.network/community-and-ecosystem/hackathon/hackathon-3#important-notice-on-prize-payouts-eligibility-condition)
Important Notice on Prize Payouts (eligibility condition)
To align incentives with Cortensor’s long‑term growth: if a prize‑winning participant is **not** (a) an existing node operator running >20 nodes, or (b) a holder of $500+ $COR prior to kick‑off, or (c) a participant with active staked tokens, then their prize will be split:
- 50% allocated directly to Staking Pool #1 under their address
- 50% distributed upfront as liquid $COR
This ensures rewards both support winners and strengthen network security and staking participation.
#### [](https://docs.cortensor.network/community-and-ecosystem/hackathon/hackathon-3#judging-and-awarding-policy)
Judging & Awarding Policy
- **Quality over rank:** Prizes are **not** awarded strictly by leaderboard order. Cortensor will judge qualified entries on **overall quality, impact, technical rigor, usability, documentation, and alignment with Cortensor’s roadmap**.
- **Discretionary placement:** Judges may award a prize to any qualified entry at a given place (e.g., a lower-ranked but higher-quality project may receive a higher prize tier).
- **No guarantee to fill all places:** Cortensor may **withhold or reallocate** any prize tier if submissions do not meet the quality bar.
- **Ties / partial awards:** Cortensor may declare ties, split awards, or issue **honorable-mention grants** at its discretion.
- **Compliance:** Entries must comply with all rules; violation may result in **disqualification** and forfeiture of prizes.
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### [](https://docs.cortensor.network/community-and-ecosystem/hackathon/hackathon-3#suggested-project-ideas)
Suggested Project Ideas
#### [](https://docs.cortensor.network/community-and-ecosystem/hackathon/hackathon-3#new-and-emphasized-for-3)
New and Emphasized for #3
- Agentic Assistants (Expanded):
- *Research Ops Agent* — reads repos/docs, tracks issues, posts weekly summaries.
- *DevOps Agent* — monitors routers/validators; triggers alerts or creates tickets.
- *On‑Chain Agent* — interacts with smart contracts; validates data/receipts; posts attestations.
- *Workflow Coordinator* — orchestrates tools/APIs with Cortensor as the inference layer.
- PoI/PoUW Validation Utilities (no COR Prover requirement):
- Implement rubric‑driven scoring, embedding distance checks, deterministic policy tests.
- Optionally output validation artifacts/evidence bundles (e.g., JSON + IPFS).
- If helpful, expose a simple validation endpoint; demonstrate redundancy or cross‑model checks.
- App Stores & Catalogs 2.0:
- Search/tags/filters; popularity leaderboards; “Try it now” demos.
- Tooling/SDKs & CLIs:
- Python/JS/TS/Rust SDKs for session management & task routing.
- CLI for deploy/test/monitor; templates for bots/agents/oracles.
- Memory & Knowledge Layers:
- Memory‑as‑a‑service for agents; decentralized knowledge bases with inference‑backed QA.
- Observability/Analytics:
- Miner reputation, latency heatmaps, model usage analytics, validator dashboards.
#### [](https://docs.cortensor.network/community-and-ecosystem/hackathon/hackathon-3#still-great-from-1-2)
Still Great from #1/#2
- AI Oracle (Truth‑as‑a‑Service) via multi‑node consensus
- Cortensor Community Bot with decentralized inference backend
- Basic AI Agent (Function‑Calling) — bookmarking, summarization, etc.
- Price & Sentiment Bots — multi‑site scraping + LLM sentiment + proofs
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### [](https://docs.cortensor.network/community-and-ecosystem/hackathon/hackathon-3#ongoing-support)
Ongoing Support
- Outstanding projects may receive monthly $COR grants for ongoing improvements.
- Exceptional teams may be offered dedicated roles in the Cortensor developer community.
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### [](https://docs.cortensor.network/community-and-ecosystem/hackathon/hackathon-3#how-to-participate)
How to Participate
- Join Discord: discord.gg/cortensor
- Build openly in the community repo: github.com/cortensor/community-projects
- Submit your final app with a clear README showing functionality and Cortensor integration.
Deliverables Checklist:
- Public repo with permissive license (e.g., MIT/Apache‑2.0)
- README with quickstart + runbook + architecture diagram
- Demo link (live URL or recorded video) + instructions to reproduce
- For validators: rubric prompt(s), embedding spec, deterministic checks
- For agents: action list, tool integrations, safety guardrails
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### [](https://docs.cortensor.network/community-and-ecosystem/hackathon/hackathon-3#timeline)
Timeline
- Kick‑off: Mon, Nov 21, 2025
- Submission deadline: Sun, Jan 4, 2026
> Duration: ≈6 weeks. If dates shift, we’ll announce updates in Discord.
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### [](https://docs.cortensor.network/community-and-ecosystem/hackathon/hackathon-3#evaluation-criteria)
Evaluation Criteria
Mandatory: Working public demonstration during the hackathon (Discord/Telegram or designated channel). Projects not demonstrated will not qualify.
Scoring rubric:
- Functionality & Stability — 25%
- Integration with Cortensor (sessions, routing, validators, staking/payment flows; PoI/PoUW where applicable) — 25%
- Originality & Technical Depth — 20%
- Usability & Demo Quality — 20%
- Public Good Impact (free access, docs, community value) — 10%
Bonus Considerations: ERC‑8004 artifacts, x402 flows, COR Prover /validate usage, on‑chain records, tests/benchmarks, observability dashboards.
Cortensor’s Discretion: Cortensor reserves the right to evaluate, rank, and award prizes based on the above and other relevant factors.
No Auto‑Generated Submissions: Purely AI‑generated entries without working implementation do not qualify.
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### [](https://docs.cortensor.network/community-and-ecosystem/hackathon/hackathon-3#terms-and-notes)
Terms & Notes
- Internal Works (FYI): COR Prover, ERC‑8004, and x402 are internal/WIP and not required for Hackathon #3. Focus on currently available PoI/PoUW features.
- Safety/Compliance: Projects must follow applicable laws and reasonable safety guidelines.
- Transparency: Clearly mark any centralized components or paid services used.
- Data: Use public or properly licensed datasets/APIs.
- Contact: Questions and office hours will be posted in Discord.
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Hackathon #3 continues our push into the agentic frontier — building applications that don’t just infer, but act, coordinate, validate, and serve the community.
Let’s build the next wave of decentralized AI together.
https://docs.cortensor.network/community-and-ecosystem/hackathon/hackathon-3