Rutger van Zuidam and 2018 Blockchainger Hackathon Winners

Read full transcript in our blog.

Rutger van Zuidam’s talk centered on the Blockchaingers Hackathon, and the philosophy and ideals which inspired it. He began by unpacking the notion of trust-abundant systems, using urban traffic as an example of a collaborative environment whose infrastructure and protocols are built on trust. He then emphasized how the blockchain/DLT space is not only an ecosystem but a movement: projects and initiatives in the space can allow stakeholders and users to reach consensus on purpose and intention. He then outlined three phases of development: the Deep Dive which establishes purpose, the experimental Hackathons and MVPs in which the idea matures, and the Venture phase in which capital enables the work to accelerate and achieve its goal. He then described the structure, development tracks, and rating system of the Hackathon, before inviting the winners of the Identity track on stage to present their project.

Berit Fuss and Jelle van der Ploeg presented their winning project, an application built in 48 hours that provides transparency and provenance to the medicine supply chain. Berit provided some context to the tremendous amounts wasted in the mismanagement of medicine: $30 billion due to counterfeiting, $60–90 billion due to late delivery, and 10% simply lost. Jelle then gave a step-by-step walkthrough of the project and how they simulated various distribution centers in Africa, and laid out the short-term roadmap.

Van Zuidam concluded the presentation with an announcement of the EU Blockathon taking place June 22–25 in Brussels.