The Solana Radar Hackathon has officially concluded, marking a historic event with 1,359 project submissions from around the globe. This made Radar the largest crypto hackathon ever and one of the largest in tech history.

At Metaplex, we recognize the important role hackathons play in our ecosystem, and we’ve consistently supported these events by offering hackers a digital asset standard that’s ready to use for their project and tools that make the Developer experience better.

For this hackathon, we wanted to make a bigger impact, so we teamed up with Superteam. This partnership allowed us to provide participants with all the information they needed to effectively use our digital standards and tools. Together, we organized workshops, helped hackers troubleshoot their projects, and sponsored two side-track on Superteam Earn.

Here are some highlights from our activities during the hackathon:

• Over 8 in-person and online technical workshops focused on Metaplex Core and our developer tools

• 59 submissions to our Superteam Earn side-track

• 56,000 MPLX tokens distributed to builders to support the continuation of their projects

In person workshop on Core at the Superteam Germany Radar kick-off

An in-depth look at the winners!

We recognize that without our incredible hackers, we wouldn’t be where we are today. That’s why we want to give a special shoutout to some projects that won the Metaplex tracks as a token of our gratitude for choosing Metaplex products for their submission!

The caliber of submissions for the side-track presented the judging panel with the impossible tasks of selecting winners. Kudos to Blockiosaurus and Scharko for their incredible work.

Project Selyo — First Place in the Metaplex Global Track

Project Selyo is focused on “tokenizing” social interactions through a Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP).

Users utilize a physical card, known as “QuestCards,” with their NFC scanner to mint a compressed NFT into their custodial wallet linked to the card.

This setup enables Stamping and Poll Voting, creating a genuine “proof of interaction” protocol and an innovative approach that could help maximize conversions for organizers and event sponsors!

Want to learn more? Here are some links:

• Submission link

• Website

• Twitter

Purr-fect Chaos — Second Place in the Metaplex Global Track

Purr-fect Chaos is a fully on-chain SocialFi game on Solana where you Spin, Attack, and Earn.

Spin the wheel, attack other players to steal their points, climb the ranks, and claim your rewards. It’s a blend of chaos, strategy, and fun all in one!

To join Purr-fect Chaos, you’ll need to mint a cat, which will be represented as a Core NFT. Every 8 hours, you receive 5 free spins allowing you to earn turns for attacking or healing. Spins reset daily, providing you with fresh opportunities to advance further.

Want to learn more? Here are some links:

• Submission link

• Website

• Twitter

Q-drop Adventure — Third Place in the Metaplex Global Track

Q-drop Adventure is an RPG-style game that transforms the traditional airdrop concept into an exciting new format called “Q-drop.”

Users engage with quizzes about specific projects, and by answering questions correctly, players can battle monsters, making them eligible for rewards from all associated projects.

This experience seamlessly blends gaming, Web3, education, and airdrops, encouraging players to learn about various projects while enjoying an immersive gaming environment — moving beyond mindless airdrop farming.

Want to learn more? Here are some links:

• Submission link

• Website

• Twitter

OpenShelf — Metaplex Local Track Winner

Openshelf is an innovative platform for digital content that seeks to transform how people consume and monetize media.

With its pay-per-use model, users only pay for the specific content they engage with, whether it’s individual book chapters or minutes of audio and video. Crowdfunding for new books has never been easier; through a staking mechanism, users can purchase shares of the pool and earn 15% of the future revenue generated by the content.

This staking system not only allows users to support creators but also enhances content promotion, as it relies on user stakes rather than centralized algorithms.

Want to learn more? Here are some links:

• Submission link

• Website

• Twitter

A general analysis on the submissions

IPs projects are leading the charge!

With more than 10% of submissions centered around creator rights (like Whiplano, CTRL+X and Peachz), we are witnessing the emergence of an exciting new trend. This movement suggests that many authors, journalists, and other content creators from traditional industries are beginning to recognize the immense potential of transitioning their work — be it intellectual property, on-chain books, or journalistic articles — onto the blockchain.

Recent developments, such as Story Protocol’s successful funding round, have likely contributed to this momentum by bringing increased legitimacy and visibility to the space. These advances have inspired more creators to explore how blockchain can optimize ownership, rights management, and distribution in a transparent and secure manner.

Interestingly, many founders aren’t aiming to construct an all-encompassing IP framework but are instead focusing on niche aspects of creative rights. They are targeting specific pain points, such as attribution, licensing, and revenue-sharing, which demonstrates a practical approach to gradually reshaping how creative work is handled in the digital age.

Gaming is back and gaining momentum!

Gaming on Solana is gaining momentum again, thanks to the rising popularity of social games and a more integrated and easier gaming digital standards offered by Metaplex Core.

For example Sonic just reached 1M verified users on their social game built on TikTok

The next wave of crypto users can be attracted through fun and engaging experiences like Play-to-Earn games, so we’re excited to see how all the submissions progress from here!

Blinks

Since its inception, engagement on Blockchain Links (Blinks) has skyrocketed. Hundreds of developers are now building Blinks on Solana, and more than a dozen wallets are integrating Blinks into their Chrome extensions and mobile apps.

This groundbreaking method of delivering crypto beyond traditional wallets and into mainstream venues has created a powerful dichotomy evident in many of the submissions. Nearly everyone is leveraging Blinks as part of their distribution strategy.

A big shoutout to the Dialect team for pioneering this technology.

To wrap up this hackathon highlight, congratulations to all the submitters!

Whether seasoned veterans or newcomers, participating in hackathons like Colosseum means understanding what it takes to build in the fast-paced, open ecosystem that Solana fosters.

At Metaplex Foundation, we hope to leave our mark by continuing to support developers and the advancement of the digital assets economy!

If you want to learn how to start using Metaplex for your project, you can find our developer hub at this link!