Winners of the Colosseum Cypherpunk Hackathon

A four-time hackathon participant has finally claimed the ultimate prize. Unrugable, a Solana-native hardware wallet with a companion app, has been crowned grand champion of the Colosseum Cypherpunk Hackathon at Breakpoint 2025, beating out thousands of submissions from builders around the world.

Summary

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The Colosseum Cypherpunk Hackathon represents one of the most significant startup competitions in the Solana ecosystem, drawing thousands of project submissions from developers and entrepreneurs globally. The announcement, delivered by Colosseum's Clay Robbins, Matty Taylor, and Nate Levine, revealed winners across six distinct tracks: DeFi, Stablecoins, Infrastructure, Consumer, Real World Assets (RWA), and Undefined.

The sheer scale of the competition demonstrates the growing momentum behind Solana development, with the Colosseum team facing what they described as a "daunting task" of evaluating the massive number of entries alongside their judging panel. The organizers emphasized that the creativity, innovation, and practicality of submissions continue to impress, signaling a maturing ecosystem with increasingly sophisticated products and protocols.

Beyond the track winners, Colosseum announced special recognition awards and provided a glimpse into what comes next for the most promising projects. The top 10 winners will receive investment through Colosseum's venture fund and participation in their accelerator program, creating a direct pathway from hackathon success to startup funding and mentorship.

Key Points

Grand Champion: Unrugable Hardware Wallet

Unrugable's victory marks a remarkable journey of persistence and iteration. Having participated in four Colosseum hackathons before finally claiming the grand championship, the project exemplifies the value of continued refinement and dedication. The Solana-native hardware wallet represents a critical piece of infrastructure for the ecosystem, addressing security concerns that have plagued crypto users across all blockchain networks.

Hardware wallets are considered the gold standard for cryptocurrency security, storing private keys offline and away from potential online threats. By creating a solution specifically designed for Solana, Unrugable is positioning itself to offer optimized performance and integration with the network's unique features. The companion app suggests a focus on user experience, potentially lowering barriers to hardware wallet adoption among less technical users.

Track Winners Across Six Categories

The DeFi track saw Yumi Finance take first place, with Kormos, Rhett, Archer, and Hova rounding out the top five. These projects represent the continued innovation in decentralized finance protocols on Solana, an area where the network has established significant competitive advantage due to its speed and low transaction costs.

MCP claimed victory in the Stablecoin track, followed by Credible, Cloak, Mercantile, and Spend. The dedicated stablecoin category reflects growing industry focus on stable digital currencies and their infrastructure, particularly as regulatory frameworks continue to evolve globally.

Infrastructure track winner Seer beat out Corbitts, Ionic, Pine Analytics, and Hyperstack, demonstrating continued demand for foundational tools and services that support broader ecosystem development.

Consumer and RWA Innovation

The Consumer track victory went to Capitola, with Superfan, Fora, Toaster.trade, and Nomu earning recognition. Consumer-focused applications represent a crucial frontier for blockchain adoption, bringing crypto functionality to everyday users in accessible formats.

Audenam topped the RWA (Real World Assets) track, an increasingly important category as traditional assets continue migrating on-chain. Landshare, Legacy, Pencil Finance, and Watchtower also earned positions in this competitive category. The tokenization of real-world assets represents a multi-trillion dollar opportunity that Solana projects are actively pursuing.

Attention Markets won the Undefined track, designed for projects that don't fit neatly into other categories, followed by Echo, Playpin, Solana ATM, and Humanship ID.

Special Recognition and Future Opportunities

Two special awards recognized standout contributions. Pithia received the University Award for best student-led team, highlighting the pipeline of young talent entering the Solana ecosystem. Samui Wallet earned recognition for the best open-source submission, acknowledging contributions that benefit the entire community rather than just individual projects.

The hackathon organizers announced that 2026 hackathon dates will be released soon, providing ongoing opportunities for builders. Additionally, the Eternal program offers year-round participation options between major hackathon events, ensuring continuous access to the Colosseum arena.

Facts + Figures

• Thousands of projects were submitted to the Cypherpunk Hackathon from around the world
• Winners were selected across six tracks: DeFi, Stablecoins, Infrastructure, Consumer, RWA, and Undefined
• Unrugable participated in four Colosseum hackathons before winning the grand championship
• The top 10 winners will receive investment through Colosseum's venture fund
• Selected winners will participate in Colosseum's accelerator program
• Hackathon dates for 2026 will be announced soon
• The Eternal program provides year-round participation opportunities outside of main hackathon periods
• A winners and honorable mentions blog post was released immediately following the announcement
• Unrugable is building a Solana-native hardware wallet with companion app
• Pithia won the University Award for best student-led team
• Samui Wallet won the open-source award for ecosystem-wide contribution

Top Quotes

"We have the awesome privilege of introducing you to your new favorite products and protocols coming out of Solana startup arena which we like to call the Colosseum."

"Since starting Colosseum, we've had the daunting task of evaluating thousands and thousands of projects alongside our judging panel from all corners of the world."

"The thing that sits with us is truly how creative, innovative, and practical the products and protocols that you guys are bringing on chain."

"This is an important and exciting moment for many of those who are sitting in the audience and watching on the live stream, but also inevitably a disappointing moment for many of you as well too. But it's just a point in time."

"The grand champion is four-time participant in our hackathons, Unrugable."

"Of the winners, we're going to choose the top 10 to actually invest in through our venture fund and run through our next accelerator cohort."

Questions Answered

What is the Colosseum Cypherpunk Hackathon?

The Colosseum Cypherpunk Hackathon is a major startup competition within the Solana ecosystem that attracts thousands of project submissions from developers and entrepreneurs worldwide. The hackathon evaluates projects across multiple tracks including DeFi, Stablecoins, Infrastructure, Consumer, Real World Assets, and an Undefined category for innovative projects that don't fit traditional classifications. Winners receive recognition, potential investment through Colosseum's venture fund, and opportunities to participate in their accelerator program.

Who won the grand championship at the Cypherpunk Hackathon?

Unrugable won the grand championship after participating in four Colosseum hackathons. The project is building a Solana-native hardware wallet with a companion app, addressing the critical need for secure, user-friendly cryptocurrency storage solutions. Their victory demonstrates that persistence and continued improvement through multiple hackathon cycles can lead to ultimate success. The hardware wallet space is particularly important as it provides the highest level of security for storing digital assets.

What benefits do hackathon winners receive?

Hackathon winners receive multiple benefits beyond recognition. The top 10 winners will be selected for investment through Colosseum's venture fund and will participate in their accelerator program, providing both capital and mentorship. Winners across all tracks gain visibility within the Solana ecosystem through official announcements and blog posts. This combination of funding, guidance, and exposure creates a comprehensive launchpad for promising projects to transition from hackathon concepts to real businesses.

When can developers participate in the next Colosseum hackathon?

Colosseum will announce 2026 hackathon dates in the near future for those who want to participate in future competitions. For builders who don't want to wait, the Eternal program runs throughout the year during periods when main hackathons aren't active, providing continuous access to the Colosseum arena. This means developers have multiple opportunities annually to submit projects and potentially receive recognition and support for their work.

What tracks were included in the Cypherpunk Hackathon?

The hackathon featured six distinct tracks: DeFi (won by Yumi Finance), Stablecoins (won by MCP), Infrastructure (won by Seer), Consumer (won by Capitola), RWA/Real World Assets (won by Audenam), and Undefined (won by Attention Markets). Each track recognized five top projects, with additional special awards for the best student-led team (Pithia) and best open-source contribution (Samui Wallet). This structure allowed projects of various types to compete against similar submissions rather than across entirely different categories.