The Mortgage Bank of El Salvador has opened an invitation to hold a hackathon to implement Bitcoin in the banking system. In the event, called “Bitcoin Bankathon”, developers from all over the world will be able to participate.
Contest participants will have a goal Creating innovative banking and financial applications that allow Banco Hipotecario to provide Bitcoin-based services to Salvadorans. According to an email sent to the CriptoNoticias newsroom, applications must be built on a platform provided by the bank’s four technology partners: Open Bank Project, API3, Qredo and Sovryn.
At the beginning of October, Banco Hipotecario, whose largest capital belongs to the country of El Salvador, announced a strategic association with the four blockchain companies mentioned above. At the time, it was announced that the alliance’s goal was to facilitate increased financial inclusion in El Salvador, as reported by CriptoNoticias.
3 weeks, 5 challenges
El Bitcoin Bankathon Event It will start on November 19 and will run until December 5 this year. Participants can register now, as a group or individually, in which case they will be merged into a team.
During the event, developers will have to face 5 challenges. The first is to create the next Bitcoin-enabled “Neobank.” The goal is for the platform to be fully inclusive of El Salvador by 2022.
Remaining challenges include applications for remittances, smart contract-based systems aimed at facilitating financing for merchants, models to combat climate change and financial empowerment of women through Bitcoin.
A quarter of a million dollars in prizes
The event will offer participants tutorials with expert mentors and networking and learning sessions to guide them in building, designing and presenting their idea. The jury will consist of a panel of experts, from Banco Hipotecario and from the partner companies.
The total prize pool is equivalent to 250 thousand US dollars, Of which the winner of the “Best Total Product” award will win $150,000 ($50,000 in organizer and sponsor tokens; $100,000 USD equivalent to 6 months of production support). The rest of the prizes range from $50,000 to $10,000.
Selena Padilla, President of Banco Hipotecario de El Salvador, noted that “in order to succeed in creating a more inclusive financial services landscape for El Salvador’s citizens, we must begin to proactively drive innovation.” In his view, an event like the “Bitcoin Bankathon” allows innovation to flow and Bitcoin-based applications are created that remove barriers to accessing financial services.
