/ Read Hackathon Manifesto
/ Be Excellent To Each Other and Have Fun
- What: Privacy-focused hackathon building real-world solutions
- When: June 13-15, 2025
- Where: Engelnest - Wilhelm-Kabus-Straße 24, 10829 Berlin, Germany (OpenStreetMap, GMaps)
- Philosophy: Building for impact, not just bounties. Together.
- Website / Manifesto / Submission Repo / Code of Conduct / Privacy Policy
- 🌀 Philosophy
- 📅 Key Timeline
- 📋 Schedule
- 🛠️ Tracks
- ✨ Advice, Tips and Inspiration
- 👨🏫 Mentors
- 📝 How to Submit Your Project
- 📊 Submissions & Judging Process
- 👨⚖️ Judges
- ⚖️ Judging Criteria
- 🏆 Prizes & Awards
- 🏠 Venue & Logistics
- 🌈 Experiences
- ⚡ Important Rules
- 🎉 After the Hackathon
- 🚀 Cypherpunk Launchpad
- 👥 Team
Most hackathons focus on quick wins. We're here to support lasting, real-world privacy solutions. Projects are evaluated not only for technical excellence, but also for strong business logic, practical use cases, and long-term impact—so your work can thrive far beyond the event itself.
Our tracks are tech-, chain-, and protocol-agnostic. No forced stacks. No orgs agendas. You’re free to choose the best tools for your vision, without being boxed by bounty constraints.
Collaborate with designers, engineers, marketers, and researchers, while gaining direct access to independent industry mentors. Work on meaningful open-source tools and create lasting, impactful change.
| Event | Date & Time |
|---|---|
| Registration Opens | Friday, June 13 - 16:00 |
| Hackathon Starts | Friday, June 13 - 19:00 |
| Submission Deadline | Sunday, June 15 - 16:00 |
| Venue Closes | Sunday, June 15 - 20:30 |
*All times are local (Europe/Berlin), i.e. CEST (Central European Summer Time)
| Time | |
|---|---|
| 15:00 | Open Q&A with Vitalik, facilitated by Mykola |
| 16:00 | Hackathon Registration & Team Formation |
| 16:00 | Privacy Rituals, games, activities - Getting to know each other beyond code |
| 19:00 | Opening Ceremony |
| 19:30 | 🚀 Hacking begins |
| 19:30 | 🍽️ Dinner |
| Time | |
|---|---|
| 09:00-10:00 | 🥐 Breakfast |
| 12:00-13:30 | 🍽️ Brunch |
| 12:30-13:00 | Workshop: Building private-by-default apps without the pain - Steph (Nillion) |
| 13:00-13:30 | Workshop: Introduction to onchain encryption: FHE, TEE and ZK - Kate |
| 13:30-14:00 | Workshop: CoFHE 101: working with encrypted state on ethereum - Lauren (Fhenix) |
| 14:00-20:00 | 💆♀️ Massage stations |
| 14:00-14:30 | Workshop: Piloting Cursor: Creators (not coders) will inherit the world of software - Gavin Birch (Namada) |
| 14:30-15:00 | Workshop: Wallet recovery without a seed phrase - Oleksander (Rarimo) |
| 15:00-15:30 | Workshop: Building privacy enhanced DApps - Midnight |
| 15:30-16:00 | Workshop: Oblivious Pseudorandom Function for Trustless Key Derivation and Identity Proofs. With Biometric Key demo using ECG - Nanak + AJ |
| 16:00-16:30 | Workshop: Building your first peer-to-peer backend - Anton (Calimero) |
| 16:30-17:00 | Workshop: How to Decentralize Any Front-End - Aron Soos (Swarm) |
| 17:00-17:30 | Workshop: Onboarding the next billion users compliantly and privately - idos |
| 19:00 | 🍽️ Dinner/BBQ |
| Time | |
|---|---|
| 09:00-10:00 | 🥐 Breakfast |
| 11:00-16:30 | Project Finalisation Workshops |
| 12:00-18:00 | Massages |
| 13:30-14:45 | 🍽️ Lunch |
| 16:00 | 🚨 Submission Deadline (How to submit) |
| 16:30 | Pitches begins |
| 16:00 | 🥂 Bites & Beers |
| 19:00 | 🏆 Closing Ceremony - Announce winners |
| 21:00 | Venue Closes |
- Advanced Cryptography
- Censorship Resistance
- Applied Encryption
- Privacy-First AI
- Public Goods
- Design (UI/UX)
- User Onboarding
Cryptography is the backbone of digital security and privacy, powering everything we do. As an academic field it is constantly evolving and advances in this field can be difficult to understand or implement.
The only way to protect individual freedom is to rely on bleeding-edge technology - but not everyone can use it. Your goal is to move it from the edge to the center!
This track evolves around utilising advanced cryptographic tools within new use cases:
- MPC (Multi-Party Computation)
- TEE (Trusted Execution Environments)
- ZK (Zero Knowledge proofs)
- DID (Decentralised Identity protocols)
- FHE (Fully homomorphic encryption)
How can we practically strengthen the cryptography behind the tools and services people rely on today?
Enhance existing projects, revive abandoned ones, and apply new logic to proven encryption models.
Imagine: Everything is encrypted - amazing - we are all secure and our content is private...but is it? One outdated depedency. One cracked or vulnerable alrgorithm or protocol and it was all for nothing. Make sure we are protected by keeping the tech up to date!
Examples:
- Encrypt hidden messages within music (carnation.fm)
- Investigating and flagging privacy technologies using outdated cryptographic libraries
- Rejuvenating sunset projects with outdated cryptography
- Improving encryption standards for Post-Quantum Resistance
- Create a privacy/encryption-focused CRM system
- Add Threshold or Multi-signature schemes in single-sig wallets
- Adding double-ratchet or modern encryption protocols to applications
- plausible deniability: designated-verifier proofs in verifiable credentials
Build or empower protocols and networks that protect users and content against digital censorship.
Example Technology Stacks:
- Tor Browser
- i2p
- mixnets (0KN, HOPR, Katzenpost, Nym, xx.network)
- Nostr
- Fileverse
- DarkFi
- Aztec
- BitTorrent
- Mesh networks (Reticulum / Meshtastic)
- Bluetooth mesh networks
- Adding privacy to current p2p protocols
As AI becomes increasingly integrated into our daily lives, it is important that we can interact with it in the best possible way. User's right to privacy should be respected from all perspectives and by default.
Imagine: You feel good - you use privacy tech, you cannot be censored, but something is weird. Why do I still feel like they know so much about me? Oh wait, I asked this AI bot for recommendations yesterday. Was it leaked? Did they sell my dreams?
Focus Areas:
- Protect personal files while giving AI access to your codebase
- Utilise AI systems on sensitive information securely
- Censorship-resistant LLMs / AI models
- Build applications that utilise anonymous datasets
- Disrupt AI facial recognition systems
How can we protect individual privacy while enabling real-world impact and public infrastructure? This track invites builders to create privacy-preserving solutions that enhance compliance, aid, and coordination—especially where traditional systems fail.
Focus Areas:
- Privacy-first aid & payments → Tools for funding, verified recipients, merchants, and nonprofits—without exposing personal data or requiring government IDs.
- Identity for the underserved → Privacy-preserving identity and civic tools for off-grid, stateless, or emerging communities.
- Privacy-preserving tools for public goods funding and governance → Privacy-focused platforms for grants, voting, and coordination—supporting collective action while protecting individual rights.
We frequently hear that privacy enhancing apps and platforms have "bad UI/UX" and that they are not welcoming to new users in a friendly way.
This track seeks to encourage designers, marketers, and developers to improve application general look-n-feel.
Imagine: CLose your eyes. Focus. Don't let your mind run. Relax. Think about that one app you want to have. That one app that everyone will want to use because it solve a problem - big or small, does not matter - it solves one problem. How does the app look? How does it make you feel? What is the first thing user does? Open your eyes - go make it!
Prototype quickly by re-using Figma files of real products:
- https://www.deepwork.network/case-studies (Explore similar projects and copy-paste design elements)
Ready to copy and paste designs for your app:
- http://lottecss.com (no need to apply classes, use with your semantic html/jsx markup, minimal (familiar) utility classes so you don't need tailwind)
Other Resources:
- zkbob.com
- bitcoin.design/guide
- ethereum.org/developers/docs/design-and-ux
- dexola.com/blog/designing-user-centric-dapps-5-best-practices-for-web3-ux
Privacy-focused applications often suffer from proper onboarding process for new users. This track seeks to enhance the new user experience.
Imagine: Oh, yeah, I am going deep into privacy. I'll fix all my data leaks. But..but how? Where do I even start? How do I know? Why is it so complicated? Why is everyone talking about privacy, but nobody about how to achieve it and where to start? What is the first thing I need my friends to do to improve their privacy?
Focus areas:
- Improving in-app onboarding process
- Improving app and website accessibility (WC3 standards)
- Curation of "2025 cryptographic best practices" for web3 wallet devs
- Review of the current e2e landscape in chat and social media
- Creating video guides for protocols
Explore our Privacy Builder Pack to find:
- A curated collection of tools and resources
- Insights from seasoned hackers
- An Idea Generator to spark your creativity
To help you build meaningful solutions with real impact, we’ve brought independent mentors—each with deep, hands-on expertise across diverse fields.
At W3PN HACKS we embrace a holistic approach, offering support from technical execution and idea validation to socio-cultural insight.
Let’s build tools that truly matter—now.
| Name | Org | Focus | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alan | Railgun | Finance, Idea Validation | No availability listed |
| Alex | Session | Cryptography | Fri 19-23, Sat 10-22, Sat 22-02, Sun 02-06 |
| Anton | Calimero | DevRel | Fri 19-23, Sat 10-18, Sun 10-16 |
| Antonio | Fluidkey | coder & solidity dev | Fri 19-23, Sat 10-22, Sat 22-02, Sun 10-16 |
| Auryn | Gnosis Guild — Enclave | Architecture & Idea Validation | No availability listed |
| Bertran | Celo | Full Stack | Fri 02-06, Sat 02-06 |
| Bianca | Chronicle | DevRel | Fri 19-23, Sat 14-18 |
| Christopher | Anoma | Cryptography, Zk, Idea Validation | No availability listed |
| David | Funding The Commons | Public Goods, Idea Validation | Fri 19-23, Sat 10-14, Sun 13-16 |
| Eleftherios | Radicle | Open-source, Idea Validation | Sat 10-14, Sun 10-13 |
| Evi | Byzantine | Dev Code | all time |
| Giacomo | EnclaveE3 | applied cryptography, ZK | Sat 10-22, Sun 10-16 |
| Jacob | Phylax Systems | DevRel engineer | Sat 14-02, Sun 10-16 |
| James) | Funding The Commons | Product, idea validation, Full stack | freerider |
| jimjim.eth | - | cryptography | Fri 19-02, Sat 14-06, Sun 10-13 |
| Kieran | Railgun | cryptography, Idea Validation | Fri 19-23, Fri 23-02, Sat 10-14, Sat 14-18, Sat 18-22, Sat 22-02, Sun 10-16 |
| Lauren | Fhenix | Dev Rel, Cryptography | Fri 19-02, Sat 10-22, Sun 10-13 |
| Leftheris | Rotki | DeFi, Cryptography, Idea Validation | No availability listed |
| Marina | European Crypto Initiative | Legal, Idea Validation | No availability listed |
| Max | NYM | DevRel | Sat 10-22, Sun 10-16 |
| Milos | Ethereum Foundation | software engineer | Sat 14-18, Sat 18-06, Sun 10-16 |
| Miroyato | Fileverse | Privacy, AI, Idea Validation | No availability listed |
| Nick | Governance, AI | privacy 360° | No availability listed |
| Oskarth | vacp2p | privacy 360°, Idea Validation | Fri 19-23, Sun 10-16 |
| Owen | Poly | fullstack, AI | No availability listed |
| Pentacle | - | UX/UI | Fri 19-23, Sat 10-18, Sun 10-13 |
| Reno | Ethereum Community Fund | Dev Code | No availability listed |
| Reno | Ethereum Community Fund | Public goods | No availability listed |
| Sebastian | Hopr, GnosisDAO | Cryptography, Privacy 360°, Idea Validation | Fri 19-23, Sat 10-18, Sun 10-16 |
| Vitalik | Ethereum Foundation | Idea Validation | No availability listed |
| Ying Tong | - | applied cryptography | Sat 10-18, Sun 10-16 |
| Zimt | Blockchain Gov | Legal | Fri 19-23, Sat 14-22, Sat 22-02, Sun 10-16 |
Note: "(50%)" indicates partial availability during that time slot.
All submissions are handled through a separate repository with detailed requirements and guidelines.
https://github.com/web3privacy/hackathon-2025-berlin-submissions
- Visit the submissions repository for complete requirements
- Fork the repo and create folder:
/projects/your-project-name/ - Fill the submission template (found in repo)
- Submit via Pull Request before Sunday, June 15 - 16:00
No GitHub account? W3PN team can help upload your submission.
For detailed informations check the submissions repository.
🚨 16:00 Submission Deadline - submit your projects via this Github repository: https://github.com/web3privacy/hackathon-2025-berlin-submissions
No pitch, no prize.
All Hackers - please remain around the venue, get a drink and relax, we will begin the judging process shortly after. We ask that all hackers exit the basement room and go upstairs whilst we arrange the room.
🚨 16:30 - Pitches begins
A table will be setup at the bottom of the ramp to the basement, when your team is ready to pitch come down to the desk. There will be a volunteer with a laptop who will register you all and it will be done by first-come first-serve basis, so be ready. You will need to provide a team name, tracks you are submitting to and emails of all members so that we can coordinate bounty dispersal.
Once it is your turn the whole team will go to the larger room to present to all the judges at once. Your team will have 7 minutes to present - 4 minutes for demo/slides and 3 minutes for judges to Q&A.
You will not need to connect your computer, there will be a projector with the Github repository of all the submissions open. If you need to point to demos or front-ends do include a link to that resource within your submission via Github.)
After the 7 minutes we ask that you leave via the back exit of the basement, Judges will have 3 minutes to deliberate before the next pitch has to start. We are on a very tight schedule so no overtime, no mercy.
🚨 18:00 - The last pitch begins After this time your submission will not be judged. Once you are done, please exit via the back of the basement. You are free to hang out and interact with the activites upstairs.
🚨 Judges will use the following criteria: ⚖️ Judging Criteria
🚨 19:00 - Closing Ceremony & Prize Announcements in the basement for all the join.
Winners will be invited to demo their projects and showcase their achievements during the prize announcements.
| Name | Organization |
|---|---|
| Alan | Railgun |
| Anton | Calimero |
| Antonio | Fluidkey |
| Auryn | Gnosis Guild — Enclave |
| Bertran | Celo |
| Bianca | Chronicle |
| Christopher | Anoma |
| David | Funding The Commons |
| Eleftherios | Radicle |
| Evi | Byzantine |
| Giacomo | EnclaveE3 |
| Jacob | Phylax Systems |
| James | Funding The Commons |
| JimJim | - |
| Juan | - |
| Kate | - |
| Kieran | Railgun |
| Lefteris | Rotki |
| Max | NYM |
| Milos | Ethereum Foundation |
| Miroyato | Fileverse |
| Nick | - |
| Oskarth | vacp2p |
| Pentacle | - |
| Sebastian | Hopr, GnosisDAO |
| Zimt | Blockchain Gov |
Prerequisites: All projects must first comply with the Submission Rules before being evaluated on the criteria below.
Total: 100 points (20 points each criteria)
Our judges will prioritise technical solutions and reward hackers not just about a working Proof of Concept application or good business logic in their pitch. Judges will assess the impact of what the team or person has done during the course of the hackathon.
Here are the 5 criteria and below them are suggested questions for the judges to consider. Judges are allowed to liberally assign points from 0-20 within each criteria as they see fit. They are not obliged to answer any of the questions listed below in their appraisal of a submission.
- Was the technology stack used in the submission modern or exciting?
- Was the submission aligned with modern web/coding practices?
- Could you see developers within the ecosystems of the technologies used being excited by the submission?
- Would you run this code?
- Would you integrate this code into one of your projects?
- Could you see yourself running this code if fully developed after the hackathon?
- Could you see normies using the submission?
- Could you see this positively impacting the lives of everyday users?
- Could you see this positively impacting the lives of people/communities at risk?
- Does this have a real world use case or is it only an intersting idea?
- Does it improve privacy somehow?
- Does it massively improve privacy?
- Can you see ways it could further improve the privacy?
- Does the submission consider web2 and web1 privacy leaking in the submission?
- Would you use this submission if your life depended on it working privately?
- Would a VC back this?
- Is this already in the market?
- Could you see privacy respecting revenue creation from this submission?
- Did the person consider or present ideas about financial sustainability?
- Would you think this submission could make it to the market and be used by users in an AppStore ecosystem?
This track is a wildcard 20 points judges can attribute as they see fit, not a judgement on the drip or flex of the person submitting, and definately not a vibe-check. Keeping it fun and giving the judge a 'open vote' where they can give anywhere from 0 or 20 points.
-
€30,000 Prize Pool (potentially much higher thanks to last-minute donations)
-
7 winners—one for each track—will be selected by an independent jury.
-
Every track winner will be awarded the same amount.
-
No sponsor bounties. We focus on real-world impact with a 100% protocol-agnostic approach.
- Venue Name: Engelnest Coworking
- Address: Wilhelm-Kabus-Straße 24, 10829 Berlin (OpenStreetMap, GMaps)
We have 2 different wifi hotspots within the venue:
| Where | SSID | Password |
|---|---|---|
| Basement (hacker space) | Web3Privacy | Cypherpunk1337! |
| Rest of the venue | EngelnestGuest | engelnest2019! |
- 24/7 venue access during hackathon
- 100-150 Mbps internet connection
- Shower facilities (bring your own towel)
- Pet-friendly venue 🐶
- Childrens are allowed at your own responsibility (note: smoking area outside)
- All meals provided (vegan-friendly)* - breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Outside BBQ 🔥 by W3PN Team (Vegan friendly)
- Specialty coffee ☕ (espresso & cold brew) / matcha 🍵 available 24/7
- 24-hour snacks 🍎 available throughout the venue
- Water dispensers 💧 located around the venue
- Fridges stocked with water and Club Mate soft drinks (Original, Beere, Zero, Granat, Winter edition)
We do not provide alcohol (beer, wine) during the hackathon, but participants can bring their own if they choose to. Aperitivo will be available after submission deadline.
*For special dietary requirements beyond vegetarian/vegan (allergies, etc.), please contact organizers.
If you'd like to eat outside the venue, we recommend exploring Kaan's Foodie Guide.
The location is easily accessible by Berlin's public transport (BVG), the following stations are located nearby:
- Südkreuz station (~10 min walk) - S-Bahn, Bus, Intercity train/bus (recommended)
- Kesselsdorfstr. (~5 min walk) - MetroBus M43
- Julius-Leber-Brücke (~13 min walk) - S-Bahn S1
- Leuthener Str. (~8 min walk) - Bus 106, 204
We recommend you to look for a suitable shelter as soon as you receive your hacker confirmation! If you haven't booked anything yet, best do so asap.
Aside from hotels and Airbnbs, you can check offers on local options like WG-Gesucht and Facebook groups or post your own requests post there. However, please be wary of the risks and potential scams.
Our venue is open non-stop and welcomes hacking through the night. However, we still would recommend to look for a place to leave your stuff, sleep, and take a shower (although a shower will be available in the venue).
Enjoy diverse, playful activities that encourage meaningful interactions and a focus on care. Privacy Rituals provide a fun, hands-on way for participants to connect and dive deeper into key ideas, tools, and perspectives around privacy, crypto, and Cypherpunk culture.
-
paper academy: critical cypherpunk whitepapers & concepts to read
-
privacypoly board game: anti-surveillance board game
-
privacy tarot: special cards with heroes like David Chaum or projects like TornadoCash
-
web3privacy landscape map: comprehencive market snapshot
-
DIY cypherpunk masks: customisible masks for anon people
-
circle disscussions - safe space to share ideas & talk though challenges ☕
-
speciality coffee care
-
music playlist: special selection by jayapapaya and wassim
-
memetic wall-fare: meme-centric wall with interventions from the community
-
tailsOS distribution
-
ethereum Cypherpunk Starting kit - essentials by post_polar
- Opening Time: Nonstop (Fri 21:00 - Sun 18:00)
An open space for permissionless discourse and knowledge sharing. Featuring intimate discussion circles (10-15 builders) where participants share research, debate implementations, explore controversial ideas, and discuss in an unfiltered environment. Anyone can initiate a session (30-60 minutes). Format is self-organized. Zero data collection — no recording, no photos, no metadata.
Check the physical board at Privacy Corner for available time slots. Write your topic and preferred time, then announce it in the main area or coordination channel. Show up at the Privacy Corner at your scheduled time and interested participants will join you there. No formal approval needed, just start the conversation.
Women in Privacy is kicking off the Safe Initiative to reimagine safety in web3 spaces - through art, conversation, and community.
-
Project Ideation Session: Focus on developing tools that enhance safety for womxn and marginalized communities.
-
Open discussions on safety in Web3 spaces.
-
Matcha Latte Corner: A calming space offering matcha lattes as a gentle alternative to your 10th coffee.
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Complaint Box: Submit anonymous feedback or concerns; participate in our safety survey.
-
Interactive Art Installation: Express your feelings about surveillance and privacy through art.
-
DIY Merch Table: Create personalized merchandise to commemorate your hackathon experience.
Mentors: We’re inviting experienced hackers to mentor newcomers, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds. Sign up to be a guide or refer someone who would benefit from mentorship. Fill out the form
Find Here all the details.
- Be Excellent To Each Other
- Zero tolerance for racism, sexism, xenophobia, or hate
- Organizers can remove participants for inappropriate behavior
Read more in our Code of Conduct.
- Tech/chain/protocol agnostic - use any tools
- Focus on impact and sustainability
- Only original work created during hackathon (June 13-15)
- No limits for team size, collaboration over competition
- Open source encouraged
- Choose one or two track(s) for submission
- All teams must present their projects
For more information about hacking rules, see Submission Rules in the Submission repository.
- Do not leave personal items behind even if you are coming back
- CypheRave will begin at 21.30 - more info here
YOU
- Join the W3PN Dev Channel (invite-only)
US
- **Cypherpunk Launchpad Program **(Invite-only call with hackers & mentors for a month of trainership and final funding)
- Promote the projects and share the good work done
- Medium article about projects submitted and judging
The Cypherpunk Launchpad is a 4-week post-hackathon support program for selected teams ready to take their projects further—building real-world solutions that work every day and create meaningful impact.
- Mentorship from top cryptographers, founders, and seasoned hackers
- Weekly check-ins to help you stay on track and move fast
- Up to €10,000 in support for selected projects
- Real outcomes: From ideas to tools people actually use
We’ll invite 3–5 teams after the hackathon. The Launchpad kicks off ~July 1st .
Details will be shared during the hackathon.
Our team has organized, judged, and collaboratively won over 30 hackathons. From this perspective we decided to create a hackathon adjusted to the great and not so great experiences we had.
| Core Contributors | Areas |
|---|---|
| PG | lead |
| mf | lead, web, production |
| Mykola | advisor, network |
| Coinmandeer | design, production |
| cat | advisor, web, submissions |
| Alina | "Safe Space" event |
| Andreea | production, volunteers |
| BabyBit | art direction, production |
| jensei | Privacy Builder Pack |
| tree | advisor, submissions, privacy corner |
The specific areas of responsibility can be found in the Organization Manual.
drone, frank, yingtong, jacob, sebastien, mf, cat, lauren, pentacle, adrew, dave, cat, tree, coinmandeer, qj, migle, alina, lucila, lisa, vaclav.