"BitHack" Hackathon by Coinbase | Hacker News Reader

"BitHack" Hackathon by Coinbase

blog.coinbase.com

87 pointsirunbackwards39 comments

From the rules:

> Coinbase must be the sole bitcoin payment method included in the app.

So, is it a hackathon to make something cool with bitcoin, or to make something cool with Coinbase?

Anything anyone does to make bitcoin bigger, better, and more mainstream, will benefit Coinbase in the long run. So it might be a bit short-sighted to restrict this unless there is a really good reason.

I think it's to encourage adoption of their API offerings. However, there's nothing stopping a developer from abstracting their payment method so that they can implement a BitPay or bitcoind integration later.

So they put 18k USD on the top 3 applicants that provide their closed source, coinbase only solution? They already got attention worth more than that by having us read the terms and coditions. Why not do something cool and respected. I have no problem with the coinbase API having to be used but the exclusiveness is so anti bitcoin spirit.

Consider the volatility of hackathon ROI for Coinbase. Ofcourse they want to strengthen the ecosystem of its company and good for them! Their goals are aligned with the general bitcoin ecosystem. Discovery and adoption of repeatable, scalable model of generating value with hackathons would be absolutely great for ecosystem, while benefiting Coinbase. Other companies would copy and imagine how hundreds of hackathons are held by many startups, all benefitting bitcoin ecosystem.

I assure you that this is a good thing in the long run, even if may be considered anti-bitcoin in spirit by some.

Nothing in the terms or rules state the app must be closed source. Additionally, competitors retain all rights to their application. The only thing Coinbase gets is media exposure.

"All materials submitted in connection with this Contest will not be returned. By participating, you agree to be bound by these Rules including all eligibility requirements. Participants acknowledge and agree that all entry materials submitted in connection with this competition are submitted on a non-confidential basis and may be used by Coinbase, its agents, subsidiaries, and related companies, for advertising and promotional purposes. Coinbase reserves all rights, including the right to edit, publish, use, adapt, and modify proper names, likenesses, and photographs for advertising and promotional purposes in all media (including, but not limited to, the internet) without additional compensation, expect where prohibited by law." -http://bithackathon.com/terms.html

This seems like a pretty brilliant way to get tons of apps for only 18k

I like the part where they say they reserve the right to edit and modify names, likenesses and photographs. Basically they could take your product and say that their internal team made it if they wanted to.

   "for advertising and promotional purposes"

Basically you give the right to Coinbase to mention or showcase the app somewhere, similar to the App Store.

The terms also state this:

   "Grant of License: All Contest submissions shall 
    remain the property of the submitting Participant."

"expect where prohibited by law"

Why would you award a US dollar amount of bitcoin?

The point is to adopt bitcoin as it's own entity.

Awards should be 10, 5, and 3 bitcoin.

Or if you like big numbers call it 10 million satoshi, 5 million satoshi, 3 million satoshi ?

Probably they want to appeal more to people that are a slightly outside the bitcoin realm. They would be less likely to have coinbase accounts and they would get some bonus user acquisition while they're at it.

1 BTC = 100,000,000 satoshis.

Even better then

    first prize:  billion satoshi
    second prize: half-billion satoshi
    third prize:  300 million satoshi

Very large numbers, almost sounds like dogecoin.

I agree. Awards should definitely be in BTC... seems like a vote of no confidence in your own product otherwise.

You can't go from "not yet invented" to "stable, widely accepted decentralized currency" overnight. There will be intermediate steps. Pegging to USD amounts is an extremely sensible intermediate step. And honestly, bitcoin's success doesn't even depend on people pricing things in it.

Hey all,

I'm a student who is looking to join a team for the [BitHack Hackathon](http://bithackathon.com/) - are any groups out there looking for someone to help with team coordination, app testing, user experience, etc.? My background is not technical in nature, but I've found that I always find a way to contribute in hackathons. I'm not in it for the money (although that does sound very nice) as much as I am for the notoriety.

Get at me!

My previous hackathon experience includes:

● Atlanta Govathon (2013) Finalist: Created a web app which scrapes local and state government websites to centralize public hearing and election information

● Hack for Cystic Fibrosis (2013) Finalist: Created a mobile responsive web app called Track*d which helps CF patients track, visualize, and broadcast medical compliance

● Random Hacks of Kindness (2013) Participant: Created a simple gradebook app for the Peace Corps which can be easily modified to reflect the language of a host country

Hey -- I might be interested. And I'm in Atlanta. Let's talk!

Sure. Email in my profile

Is it? I don't think it's visible -- mine is craig at concrete-jungle.org

Interested, and also in Atlanta. Email is handler @ gmail.

Aside... I use Coinbase. But am I the only one concerned they built a transactional system on top of MongoDB?

Hmm, I didn't know it was on MongoDB. Their site looks so pretty I was deceived into trusting them with my bitcoins (or fractions thereof).

Nope. I'm very concerned. That said, I don't use Coinbase (I use blockchain.info for storage.)

Coinbase's buy mechanic is very easy and allows you to not have a bunch of money stuck inside an exchange. You pay for the pleasure, of course, but if you aren't dealing in big money the fee's are negligible. Once you have your btc you can move it anywhere. I'm fully verified so I can insta-buy $1000 in BTC a day if I like which is more than enough for me ($1000/wk instant buy limit).

I've had issues with them before. They blamed it on getting out of sync with the blockchain, but it made no sense as your purchase cannot suddenly disappear due to that.

Hackathons with cash prizes need to die. It's no longer a "hackathon" when money is involved. It's an app building contest with cash prizes.

I am interested in working with someone for this hackathon. I don't have an idea myself. I am a developer from NY/NJ. I have experience developing web and mobile apps. email me at archerabi at gmail.com

I am interested in participating in this hackathon too. I'm primarily a designer and was looking for a developer to team up with. I'll email you.

I'm interesting in teaming up as well. I'm a coder myself, but happy to work with designers and other coders. I'll email you three.

I'm not glued to any particular idea, but was thinking a fun, one click trading app might be fun. E.g. some default settings like sell/buy in one minute or at a set price and then you just click if you think it will go up or down every once in a while. Like how binary options made trading stocks so simple and fun. ZoomTrader is a good example of a successful company doing that.

Hey I'm also interested in chatting about teaming up. Email me at my handle at gmail. Nodejs developer based in manhattan

"No 24h time limit. No pain. Yes, with $18,000 in prizes.."

A bitcoin hackathon with prizes in dollar? Even if the winners are rewarded in bitcoin, it's still weird.

It's not. It mitigates their risk of bitcoin skyrocketing and it mitigates your risk of bitcoin crashing while you develop. But I'm glad to less and less hear this critic whenever shops offer stuff in bitcoin priced in USD.

It makes sense. The payoffs are going to show up on Coinbase's balance sheet in USD, and they don't want to commit to buying $X BTC if the market changes.

On the flip side, if BTC crashes, this is good for participants.

They could just convert the prize money to BTC today, advertise it in that currency, and not have to worry how the market changes?

Problem there is that you're exposing the participants to volatility risk. if btc drops in price then people might be less likely to participate. Many view bitcoin as a great new technology but its price is still too unstable to actually quote products/prices/prices in. Quote in dollars, delivery bitcoin and everyone wins

I guess I imagined that being exposed to volatility risk is something that anyone involved in Bitcoin came to terms with a long time ago.

Yes, but the smart ones learned to minimize their exposure.

Where would they find a secure way to store BTC? They've probably heard about the recent difficulties....

To be paid in Bitcoin.

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