Wavehack: Japan's Premier Web3 Hackathon

Written by Bryan Lam

Reviewed by Brady Werkheiser

Published on May 29, 20243 min read

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Besides web3 projects, Hakuhodo KEY3 is organizing hackathons with large partner companies as sponsors such as Toyota, Mazda, and Mitsubishi Estate.

With the motto ”Create the world's first service on web3”, the hackathon gathered not only participants and companies from Japan but also from foreign countries for a total of 377 people in 65 teams composed of engineers and creators. 

This event happened in two phases that spanned over the whole year: 

Phase 1: DAO Tooling

In spring 2023, the first theme was "Development of DAO support tools for in-house projects" with Toyota Motor Corporation as a sponsor. The concept that they wanted to explore was an intra-company DAO support tool on the Astar Network that allows staff members of any level to create teams, issue governance tokens, and vote without needing an advanced skill set in web3. The scope of this project is to improve operational transparency and efficiency

Phase 2: Drive to Earn (Mazda)＆DAO City (Mitsubishi Estate)

In September 2023, Mazda’s theme revolved around an entertainment service for drivers and passengers that utilizes web3 technology. Mazda's vision is to provide an entertainment service that gamifies the driving experience of Mazda automobiles, for drivers and passengers that utilize Web3 technology.

On the other hand, Mitsubishi Estate aimed for "DAO City in Tokyo". Through this project, Mitsubishi Estate aims to develop its services with web3 technology and improve the visitors' experience in a commercial neighborhood that they own. 

The 2023 hackathon produced high-quality works, and the event ended with great success. 

Introducing WaveHack

Following the achievement of the Global 2023 hackathon, Hakuhodo KEY3 is partnering with AKINDO to organize the 2024 WaveHack event, the biggest web3 hackathon in Japan.

Dates and Tracks

​The program is held this year from mid-April to the end of August, and participants select their preferred theme from among the three themes set by grant partners:

• AI: Implement Artificial Intelligence in Decentralized Applications.

• Game + Social: Improve gaming or social products built on a grant partner’s ecosystem.

• Utility: Produce utility tools to improve the development experience on each network.

Rewards

WaveHack rewards its participants by distributing up to the equivalent of $23k USD in cryptocurrency. The system benefits the continuous development of the project with grants every fourteen days by submitting some work and getting recognition from the judges. As the program is continuous until the end of August, anyone is welcome to join at any time. 

This is not a traditional hackathon but rather a continuous build program; thus, grants can be obtained by optimizing and submitting in-development products to grant partner projects. Moreover, projects starting from scratch are also eligible for evaluation. 

Judging

In the end, ​top teams or individuals from each partner project will be invited in Japan to present at Demo Days held simultaneously with major web3 conferences such as IVS Crypto, EDCON, and WebX this summer. 

Registration

WaveHack is still open for interested creators and is a good opportunity to present your project to the Japanese web3 network. The hackathon organizers and grant partners are welcoming new projects and teams.

View more information and register for the event here.

In 2024, many different businesses are going to innovate with the new technology and thus, be hit with a new wave of web3 projects and Hakuhodo KEY3 is on its way to undertake more challenges with companies such as seen in the JAL & Calbee article. 

Currently, there are reputable companies in contact with KEY3 to start their web3 projects, namely retailers, food & beverage producers, sports teams, telecom companies, and many more.

Therefore, KEY3 is open to collaborate with tech partners that specialize in the web3 industry.

Start-ups and companies that are interested in working with KEY3 are welcome to write their inquiry on this form.