HackMeridian 2026

Building on Stellar at Warehouse ONE16 in Marvila, Lisbon: check-in and hacking open at 09:00 on Sunday 25 October 2026, and hacking ends at 12:00 on Monday 26 October, the submission deadline (no late submissions). The organizer calls it 28 hours; its schedule gives 27. Two categories: Genesis takes a new idea or early prototype to a working MVP; Scale moves an existing product or advanced prototype toward production. Thematic tracks: Stellar Unlocked (new uses of Stellar's core protocol features) and Stellar Composed (two or more ecosystem tools or projects combined). This year's priorities are smart contracts, smart accounts and cross-chain transfers. No prior Stellar experience is needed, solo applicants are welcome and AI-assisted development is allowed. Up to $30,000 across 6 winners, set in USD and paid in XLM. Judging is an async review of the demo video, pitch deck, GitHub repo and submission answers: Genesis on problem clarity, MVP quality, Stellar integration and continued development potential; Scale on milestones against goals set at pre-event intake, SCF eligibility, production readiness and ecosystem impact. Finalists pitch live at the Meridian conference on 28 October (conference 28 to 29 October at Convento do Beato, Lisbon). Stellar engineers, technical mentors and product experts are on site with workshops and office hours; travel support goes to selected participants. Organized by Grow with Guava LLC (hackmeridian.com); apply at meridian.stellar.org/hackmeridian. The 2025 edition in Rio drew more than 400 builders and 110+ submissions (hackmeridian-2025).