Originally published on 1inch.io. Read the full blog post here

Unite DeFi: 1inch & ETHGlobal hackathon

4 min readJun 23, 2025

Join 1inch & ETHGlobal at Unite DeFi: the online hackathon to build the Web3 future.

From 25 July — 6 August, 1inch invites developers across the world to compete for $525k in bounties by boosting interoperability in Web3. Build the next DeFi unicorn, based on innovative solutions that connect networks, bring operations onchain and offer a new level of user experience.

Entries will be judged by a panel of top Web3 builders and leaders, with bounty tracks encouraging them to connect Ethereum with non-EVM chains, execute advanced trading functions such as options, and even build complete dApps — all on top of 1inch’s industry-leading protocols.

1inch is dedicated to building DeFi that works for everyone. A truly seamless infrastructure is vital to achieving that goal, lowering barriers to access and integrating with people’s real lives. In the future, everything will be on-chain; but which chain won’t matter.

This hackathon is a symbol of that future — and a practical step towards it.

For 1inch, this is personal

At an ETHGlobal hackathon in New York City in May 2019, Sergej Kunz and Anton Bukov developed a prototype DEX aggregator. That aggregator was the basis of the DeFi project they founded together: 1inch.

That’s one of the reasons why 1inch has continued to sponsor hackathons and offer bounties to builders using their tech. Now, the time has come to step up a level — and host an event dedicated to the project’s mission.

The challenge is simple — but not easy.

The hackathon is structured around three distinct tracks:

Track 1: Build implementations of 1inch Cross-chain Swap (Fusion+) on chains like Sui, Tron, NEAR, Aptos, Cosmos, Stellar or Bitcoin, advancing DeFi interoperability. Use our whitepaper and the open-source reference implementations on GitHub as your foundation.
Track 2: Produce innovative hooks and extensions to expand the 1inch Limit Order Protocol, unlocking simple and advanced trading strategies such as derivatives.
Track 3: Build a complete application using 1inch APIs to help shape the future of DeFi, through innovative, user-focused solutions powered by the 1inch ecosystem

How to register

Unite DeFi will take place online from July 25 to August 6, with a prize pool worth $525,000 . The project submission deadline is August 3. Judges will consider the submissions and make decisions on August 3–4, and winners will be announced on August 6.

1inch’s partner in organizing the hackathon will be ETHGlobal. During the ETHCC Cannes week, 1inch will host an in-person event for hackathon participants.

Tracks and prizes

TRACK 1

1inch Cross-chain Swap (Fusion+) Extension to Non-EVM chain

Prizes: $404,000

High Priority Chains (Sui, Aptos, Bitcoin/Bitcoin cash/Doge/Litecoin, Tron, Near, Cosmos, Stellar):

1st: $12,000

2nd: $7,500

3rd: $5,000

4th: $4,000

5th: $3,500

Further Chains (Monad, Starknet, Cardano, XRP Ledger, ICP, Tezos, Polkadot, EOS):

1st: $7,500

2nd: $5,000

3rd: $3,000

4th: $2,500

5th: $2,000

Implement 1inch Cross-chain Swap (Fusion+) to enable swaps between Ethereum and any of the above chains.

Preserve hashlock and timelock functionality for the non-EVM implementation
Swap functionality should be bidirectional (swaps should be possible to and from Ethereum)
Onchain execution of token transfers should be presented during the final demo

Stretch goals:

UI
Enable partial fills
Relayer and resolver

TRACK 2

Expand Limit Order Protocol

Prizes: $65,000

1st tier (3 prizes): $10,000 each ($30,000 total)

2nd tier (3 prizes): $7,000 each ($21,000 total)

3rd tier (4 prizes): $3,500 each ($14,000 total)

Produce innovative hooks and extensions to expand the 1inch Limit Order Protocol, unlocking simple and advanced trading strategies such as derivatives, options, concentrated liquidity, and TWAP swaps.

Onchain execution of strategy should be presented during the final demo
Custom Limit Orders should not be posted to official Limit Order API

Stretch goals:

TRACK 3

Build a full Application using 1inch APIs

Prizes: $30,000

1st tier (3 prizes): $5,000 each ($15,000 total)

2nd tier (3 prizes): $3,000 each ($9,000 total)

3rd tier (4 prizes): $1,500 each ($6,000 total)

1inch offers a variety of REST APIs that make building on-chain applications simpler. Create a full dApp using as many 1inch APIs as possible.

Example integration points:

Add swap functionality with 1inch Cross-chain Swap (Fusion+), Intent-based Swap (Fusion), Classic Swap or Limit Order protocol.
Source on-chain data using our data APIs (price feeds API, wallet balances API, token metadata API, and many more)
Post transactions our Web3 API to interact with the blockchain

Sign up for 1inch’s Unite DeFi hackathon here!