Financial inclusion and security will be one of the challenges at what is being billed as the world's largest blockchain and AI hackathon, taking place in the Netherlands this April.
The Odyssey Hackathon, previously called the Dutch Blockchain Hackathon, will see 100 teams building prototypes to address 20 societal challenges, including financial inclusion, digital identity, cargo insurance, and energy transition.
With support from the Dutch government, central bank and financial regulator, the contest will see the top 20 teams present their prototypes to industry players and investors before joining an Odyssey incubation programme to develop their idea over 100 days.
The top teams also get to compete for the chance of a EUR200,000 cash prize.
Rutger van Zuidam, CEO of the hackathon's organiser DutchChain, says: "There has been a lot of talk about the blockchain bubble bursting, but we prefer to look at what has been learned and focus on the real potential, which is the possibility to 'commonise' important parts of the digital infrastructure."