Base × Solana × Bitcoin · hosted by Arc
Arena
One weekend. The best builders on Base, Solana, and Bitcoin, in one room. Hosted by Arc. Forged, not gathered.
Doors open in
Directed, not gathered.
Most hackathons hand you a room, a deadline, and a sponsor table, then disappear.
Arena is directed. Base, Solana, and Bitcoin in one room, a curated problem set, a produced run of show, and no dead air, every hour pulls you toward the next.
Builders, not spectators. You leave with a thing that works and the people who can fund it.
Build it, win on the stage, meet the capital.
Three moves across one weekend, and each one feeds the next.
- 01BuildThirty-six hours on Base, Solana, or Bitcoin. Mentors on the floor, problems worth solving, and a clock that does not stop.
- 02WinDemo on a real stage to judges, founders, and investors. Bounties are won live, not in a spreadsheet.
- 03Get backedThe strongest teams meet capital in the room: opinionated funds per ecosystem, with Arc's network behind them.
Something to win for everyone in the room.
Arena is run like a switchboard. Builders, investors, incubators, and the people who tell the story are in one room on purpose, matched by hand, not left to a name-tag scramble.
- Engineers50 team seats
Ship something real in one weekend. Mentors on the floor, capital in the room, and a stage that actually gets watched.
Apply as a builder - Investors20 investor seats
Meet the teams while the code is still warm. First look and first check, before the round is a round.
Apply as an investor - Incubators10 partner slots
Source your next cohort under real pressure. Watch 50 teams build, then take the best ones home.
Scout as an incubator - Creators & media12 media passes
The story builds itself. Get the room, the footage, and the founders before anyone else has them.
Apply for media access
The first edition, by the numbers.
A proposal for edition one. Targets, not promises.
- 3
- ecosystems: Base, Solana, Bitcoin
- 50
- teams, hand-selected
- $100K+
- in bounties and pre-seed capital
- 2-4
- investable teams, the real metric
- 100%
- documented and livestreamed
Three tracks. One standard: it has to work.
- Coinbase L2BaseOnchain consumer apps, payments, and the EVM L2 pushing hardest for mainstream adoption.
- High-performance L1SolanaHigh-throughput apps, DePIN, and anything that needs raw speed and low fees.
- L1 + Lightning, with FulgurBitcoinLightning, self-custody, and the hard problems on the original chain.
Bounty pool
$100K+
Each ecosystem brings its own capital. Bounties are won on the stage, not in a spreadsheet.
- $30,000Best Base appBase
- $30,000Best Solana appSolana
- $30,000Best Bitcoin / Lightning buildFulgur Ventures
- $10,000Best cross-ecosystem buildArc
A produced experience. Not a room with a deadline.
Every beat is directed. The energy climbs from the moment doors open to the finale, there is no dead air, and there is always a clear next thing to do.
- Fri 18:00
Doors
Walk in, badge up, first real conversation. No milling, no lanyard limbo.
- Fri 19:00
Kickoff
Lights down. The problem set, the bounties, and the clock, presented like a premiere, not a briefing.
- The weekend
The Build
Heads-down. Mentors on the floor, capital in the room, checkpoints that keep the energy from sagging.
- Sat 14:00
Demo Theater
Every team on a real stage with real production. The audience is judges, founders, and investors, not a hallway.
- Sat 17:00
Judging
Live and on the record. Scored against problems that matter, not slide polish.
- Sat 19:00
The Finale
Bounties awarded, capital conversations opened, the night documented. You leave with momentum, not a tote bag.
▲ white-hot
The people in the room with you.
Operators and investors who've shipped real onchain products, on the floor while you build, on the panel when you demo. Roster locking now.
- To be announcedJudge
- To be announcedJudge
- To be announcedJudge
- To be announcedJudge
- To be announcedMentor
- To be announcedMentor
- To be announcedMentor
Applications are open
Step into the arena.
50 teams. Pick your lane. Builders ship; investors get the room before anyone else does.
Not ready to apply? Get the brief and the open call.
Who can apply?
Builders and founders who can ship in a weekend, plus investors, incubators, and media who want in the room. Each ecosystem track is reviewed and seats are limited.
What do I build?
Anything real on Base, Solana, or Bitcoin. Working prototypes over slideware. Pick a track and a problem worth solving.
What does it cost to compete?
Nothing. Selected builders get the room, mentors, meals, and the stage. TODO_TRAVEL: confirm whether travel or lodging is covered.
Who owns what I build?
You do. Arena does not take your IP. Bounties and any capital are separate, opt-in conversations.
Is it in person or online?
In person at Arc on the weekend, and fully documented and livestreamed for everyone who cannot make it.
How does the funding work?
Each ecosystem brings its own opinionated capital, with the Bitcoin track led by Fulgur Ventures, and Arc connects the strongest teams to its network. Specifics per track announced soon.
Hosted by Arc. Three ecosystems, backed by more.
- Sponsor slot
- Sponsor slot
- Sponsor slot