Calling all developers: Build the future of finance with Stellar and compete for up to $60,000 in prizes at the APAC Stellar Hackathon.

Rise In, the world's leading Web3 education and acceleration platform with more than 400,000 developers across 100+ countries, has partnered with Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) to bring together top builders from Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines to create financial applications that solve real-world problems.

Rise In today announced the launch of the APAC Stellar Hackathon in collaboration with Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), the nonprofit organization that supports the growth and development of the Stellar network. The initiative aims to become one of the largest Web3 hackathons in the Asia-Pacific region, bringing together developers, startup founders, and builders from across Southeast Asia.

The hackathon will be conducted online and will be open to participants throughout the region. In addition to the virtual competition, the program will feature developer workshops, community meetups, and university activations across Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The journey will culminate in simultaneous in-person finale events hosted in all three countries.

Why Southeast Asia, Why Now?

Southeast Asia has quietly emerged as one of the world's most exciting regions for Web3 innovation, driven by three major trends.

First, regulatory frameworks are rapidly evolving. Vietnam introduced its first formal crypto framework in September 2025, enabling licensed exchanges through a five-year pilot program. Indonesia transferred crypto oversight to the Financial Services Authority (OJK) in January 2025, formally recognizing digital assets as financial products. Thailand approved its first spot Bitcoin ETF and continues expanding its regulatory framework for digital assets. Meanwhile, Singapore remains one of the most mature and institutionally trusted crypto jurisdictions globally.

Second, regional collaboration is increasing. Regulators across Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Dubai have begun working toward cross-border regulatory alignment, signaling the development of a more connected digital asset ecosystem across APAC.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, people are actively using crypto. According to Chainalysis' 2025 Geography of Crypto Report, APAC is now the fastest-growing region for on-chain activity, with transaction volume increasing 69% year-over-year to $2.36 trillion in the twelve months leading up to June 2025. Countries such as India, Pakistan, and Vietnam continue to lead global grassroots adoption, fueled by practical use cases including remittances, stablecoin-based dollar access, and mobile-first financial services.

These are precisely the types of real-world financial challenges that Web3 technology is uniquely positioned to solve.

Rise In x Stellar: A Growing Builder Movement

Rise In and Stellar have already collaborated on several successful developer initiatives.

The Hack Pera Hackathon, held in Istanbul on June 21–22, 2025, brought together more than 400 developers and generated over 70 projects across two dedicated tracks: Stellar Consumer dApps and Stellar DeFi & Infrastructure.

The Soroban Developer Education Program introduced more than 3,000 developers in India to Stellar's smart contract platform. As part of the initiative, Rise In organized multi-city Build-A-Thons across four cities alongside an intensive five-day builder residency program, enabling participants to collaborate and launch real applications on Stellar.

Another ongoing initiative, Stellar Journey to Mastery, provides monthly builder challenges designed to help developers showcase their skills, build innovative applications, and access startup support opportunities within the Stellar ecosystem.

What Builders Will Create

The APAC Stellar Hackathon is focused on practical, user-centered financial applications that solve real problems rather than experimental prototypes.

Priority categories include:

  • Cross-border payment applications powered by Stellar infrastructure
  • Stablecoin-based savings, payroll, transfers, and merchant payment solutions
  • Soroban-powered DeFi applications connected to real-world assets
  • Wallets, identity solutions, and seamless on/off-ramp integrations
  • Financial tools supporting local economies, remittances, and mobile-first markets across APAC
  • Yield, lending, AMMs, DEX infrastructure, and ecosystem tooling built on Stellar

Teams are encouraged to embrace composability by leveraging existing Stellar wallets, protocols, and ecosystem components rather than building entirely from scratch.

Who Can Participate?

The hackathon welcomes:

  • Web3 developers and builder teams
  • Startup founders and early-stage teams
  • Student developers
  • Engineers interested in financial infrastructure
  • Anyone passionate about the future of finance and emerging technologies

What Participants Will Receive

Participants will gain access to:

  • Up to $60,000 in prizes
  • Technical mentorship from Stellar ecosystem experts
  • Developer workshops and hands-on training led by Rise In
  • Access to Stellar's global builder ecosystem
  • Post-hackathon opportunities, ecosystem support, and potential grants for promising teams
  • Official certification from Rise In

About Rise In

Rise In is the world's largest Web3 education and acceleration platform, serving more than 400,000 developers across 100+ countries. Originally established as one of the largest Web3 developer communities in India and Türkiye, Rise In has expanded across APAC and beyond. The platform delivers free courses, bootcamps, hackathons, and mentorship programs in partnership with leading blockchain protocols and ecosystems, including Stellar.

In 2024, Rise In acquired BlockBeam to strengthen its presence in the United States and accelerate its mission of training the next generation of Web3 developers worldwide.

About Stellar Development Foundation

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is a nonprofit organization that supports the development and growth of Stellar, an open-source blockchain network connecting the world's financial infrastructure. Founded in 2014, SDF maintains the Stellar codebase, supports the technical and business communities building on the network, and engages with policymakers and institutions globally.

Its mission is to create equitable access to the global financial system and unlock economic opportunity through blockchain technology.

Learn more at: stellar.org/foundation

Registration

Register for the APAC Stellar Hackathon here:

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