NEAR Hackathon 2026: Build Beyond Boundaries
The NEAR Hackathon is a two week online build for AI agents and chain abstraction apps on NEAR, with a $250,000 prize pool. Submit between November 1 and 14, 2026.
The NEAR Hackathon, called Build Beyond Boundaries, is a two week online hackathon from NEAR Protocol. Builders make AI agents, autonomous payments and cross chain apps with NEAR Intents, Chain Signatures, NEAR AI Cloud and other NEAR tools.
The prize pool is $250,000, paid in NEAR. One grand prize is worth $55,000. Each of the 13 tracks pays $10,000, $3,000 and $2,000 for the top three. Tracks include Unstoppable DeFi, Privacy and Private AI, AI Swarms, Agent Economy, Games With Real Economies and Open Innovation.
Anyone can take part, alone or in a team, with one submission per team. There is no sign up. To submit, make the repository public, post a demo on X, then send the form with both links, a description, team size, tracks and a NEAR account for the payout. A submission cannot be edited after it is sent.
The build window runs from 1 November 2026 at 00:00 UTC to 14 November at 23:59 UTC. Judging runs from 16 to 18 November and results come out by 18 November. The README should give judges clear steps to try the project.
Quick answers
Do I need to sign up in advance?
No. There is no registration. You submit the form during the build window.
Can the repository stay private?
It may stay private until the deadline, but it must be public for judging.