After nearly three months of competition, the HTX Genesis Hackathon, co-hosted by HTX DAO and B.AI, with TinTinLand serving as organizer, has successfully concluded. The program progressed from its launch in Hong Kong through project reviews, Demo Day presentations, and the online grand finals, showcasing how global developers and startups are pushing the convergence of artificial intelligence and Web3 beyond theory and into innovative real-world applications and technologies.
For HTX DAO, however, the hackathon was never intended to be a standalone competition. Rather, it represents the first step in a broader strategy to cultivate a sustainable developer ecosystem, one that emphasizes project discovery, early-stage funding, ecosystem collaboration, and community governance. By continuously expanding real-world use cases for $HTX, the initiative is designed to strengthen the long-term foundations of the HTX DAO ecosystem.
Over 200 Participants Competing for the Next-Level Builders
As AI rapidly evolves from a productivity tool into autonomous agents capable of analyzing information, making decisions, and executing complex tasks, Web3 is providing infrastructure for digital identity, asset ownership, value transfer, and open coordination. This convergence is creating new opportunities for the next-generation builders, across on-chain asset management and automated trading via AI agents and AI-driven payment, wallet, security, and DeFi applications.
To provide a launchpad for these groundbreaking ideas, the HTX Genesis Hackathon was launched under the theme of “AI × Web3,” attracting over 200 innovative projects from around the globe.
Over nearly three months, the competing teams advanced through a rigorous evaluation process that included technical reviews, live product demos, and final pitch presentations. Rather than rewarding purely conceptual ideas, the HTX Genesis Hackathon’s judges prioritized technical execution, product maturity, real-world utility, and long-term potential, inspiring builders to transform early prototypes into functional, verifiable, and continuously adaptable products.
Submissions spanned a diverse range of tracks, including AI trading, AI payments, AI agents, AI wallets, AI infrastructure, developer tools, security, and DeFi. Spanning end-user applications to foundational tools for developers and the broader ecosystem, these projects demonstrated the immense potential of combining AI with on-chain finance, digital asset management, and open collaboration.
From its kickoff in Hong Kong to the online grand finals, the hackathon went beyond surfacing top-tier innovations, bringing together developers, judges, partners, and community members into a thriving, builder-centric gala.
From Hosting a Competition to Building an Ecosystem Mechanism
The true value of a hackathon goes far beyond its registration numbers, prize lists, or event buzz. What ultimately defines its lasting impact is whether standout projects receive ongoing support long after the curtains close, enabling them to evolve from prototypes into products, and from projects into thriving ecosystems.
For this reason, HTX DAO did not position the Genesis Hackathon as a one-off event, but rather as a gateway to building a developer ecosystem.
With the conclusion of the event, the HTX DAO Genesis Program will build on the projects, talent, and collaborative resources gathered during the hackathon. Together, they will establish a long-term support framework driven by “Hackathon + Genesis Grant + Ecosystem Collaboration Network“:
● The Hackathon is responsible for discovering innovative projects and outstanding builders, providing a stage to validate and showcase early-stage ideas;
● The Genesis Grant offers further support to projects with technical innovation, application potential, and ecosystem value;
● The Ecosystem Collaboration Network connects technology, community, market, capital, and application scenarios, helping projects obtain the resources needed for long-term growth.
With this mechanism, a project’s connection with HTX DAO does not end when the awards are handed out. Outstanding teams have the opportunity to continue participating in ecosystem collaboration, gaining support across product iteration, technical integration, marketing, and community building.
Through this, HTX DAO aims to build a sustainable growth flywheel for builders: discovering projects through hackathons, nurturing development via Grant, driving real-world deployment through the ecosystem network, and ultimately allowing new applications and users to enrich the ecosystem.
Empower Community in Project Discovery While Expanding $HTX Use Cases Through Co-Building
As a core pillar of the HTX DAO ecosystem, $HTX derives its value not just from market performance, but from the real-world utility it absorbs across governance, ecosystem building, and collaborative development.
The HTX Genesis Hackathon offered $HTX a dedicated use case to bridge token utility directly with the developer community. During the event, community members can stake $HTX to receive sHTX and vote on shortlisted projects. By combining community voices with expert judging, the evaluation process enabled $HTX holders to transition from passive spectators into active participants, shaping the discovery and curation of groundbreaking projects.
This mechanism reflects HTX DAO’s long-term vision for governance token empowerment: $HTX is not merely a trading asset, but also serves as a participation credential connecting users, developers, project teams, and ecosystem resources.
Moving forward, the Genesis Program will unlock even deeper utility for $HTX across the ecosystem:
● Governance: Connecting community members directly to ecosystem initiatives to grant holders a real voice in project support and resource distribution.
● Developers: Forming new building scenarios around Grant, hackathons, and ecosystem collaboration;
● Applications: Expanding real-world utility for $HTX by embedding it into AI payments, AI wallets, DeFi, and on-chain services.
● Community: Strengthening user participation through staking, voting, and ecosystem activities, forming a more sustained co-building relationship.
True token empowerment isn’t about chasing hyped narratives or dishing out short-term incentives but consistently building real, participatory, and verifiable use cases. $HTX gains its ultimate value foundation when developers actively build on HTX DAO and projects tap into its ecosystem to create lasting utility.
Bringing Together Innovative Developer Teams to Drive HTX DAO Ecosystem Growth
In the Web3 ecosystem, developers have always been the driving force behind turning innovation into reality. Every protocol, application, tool, and piece of infrastructure ultimately stems from the relentless effort of builders.
The HTX Genesis Hackathon brought together more than 200 AI and Web3 projects, showcasing a wide range of innovative solutions. It also marks a clear shift in HTX DAO’s strategy from expanding beyond community governance and tokenomics to building a thriving developer and application ecosystem.
Next, the HTX DAO Genesis Program will focus on supporting projects in areas such as AI trading, AI payments, AI agents, AI wallets, AI infrastructure, developer tools, security, and DeFi. The program is looking for teams with strong technical expertise, compelling products, and a long-term commitment to building in Web3.
Some projects are still at the prototype stage, while others are seeking market adoption. Building a thriving ecosystem takes time. Through funding, technical support, community engagement, market access, and strategic partnerships, HTX DAO aims to help projects evolve from early-stage prototypes into scalable, real-world applications.
As more projects join the Genesis Program, HTX DAO aims to foster a cycle of developer participation, project growth, application launch, user adoption, and ecosystem expansion. Every new project, every real-world use case, and every community member has the potential to contribute to the long-term growth of the $HTX ecosystem.
The Hackathon Ends. The Genesis Program Begins
From its kickoff in Hong Kong and 200+ project registrations, to the Demo Day and online grand finals, the HTX Genesis Hackathon has delivered on its opening mission: bringing hidden innovation to the spotlight and bridging builders with the broader ecosystem.
For HTX DAO, the conclusion of the event is not a full stop.
In its next phase, HTX DAO will continue supporting high-potential AI and Web3 projects through the Genesis Grant and Ecosystem Collaboration Network to unlock new opportunities for $HTX utility driven by community engagement, developer building, and real-world adoption.
A hackathon can discover outstanding projects, but only a long-term mechanism can keep innovation happening.
The HTX Genesis Hackathon has ended, yet HTX DAO’s ecosystem building has just begun.
The post first appeared on HTX Square.
