IXH24 - Italian XRPL Hackathon 2024

Rome, Nov. 22nd, 23rd

IXH24 is a national hackathon with a focus on cryptography and blockchain. This two-day event will feature a mix of insightful seminars, engaging discussions, and significant hands-on experience. It is jointly organized by XRPL Commons, a leading blockchain community, De Componendis Cifris, the Italian association of cryptography, and Roma Tre University.
The hackathon will bring together teams of students from Italian universities, with students from across Europe also welcome to join and participate.

Set in the eternal city of Rome, the event will take place from November 22nd to 23rd, 2024, with a total prize pool of €10,000. Register now, tickets are limited!

Decifris logoXRPL Commons logoRoma Tre logoRipple Impact logo

Schedule

November 22nd
Location: Rectorate, Roma Tre University - via Ostiense 133 (Roma)
8:00
9:00
Arrival and registration
Rectorate, tower A - via Ostiense 133
9:00
9:30
Welcome reception and coffee
Rectorate, tower A - via Ostiense 133
9:30
10:00
Welcome speeches
  • Roma Tre University
  • De Componendis Cifris
  • XRPL Commons
Rectorate, tower A - via Ostiense 133
10:00
12:00
XRPL workshop
Rectorate, tower A - via Ostiense 133
12:00
13:00
Lunch break, hackathon instructions and final team registration
Rectorate, tower A - via Ostiense 133
13:00 Hackathon starts
Rectorate, tower C - via Ostiense 133
November 23rd
Location: Rectorate, Roma Tre University - via Ostiense 133 (Roma)
9:00
9:30
Breakfast and coffee
Rectorate, tower C - via Ostiense 133
11:00 Final project submission (code & pitch)
Rectorate, tower C - via Ostiense 133
11:00
13:00
Project pitches
Rectorate, tower A - via Ostiense 133
13:00
14:00
Lunch break and jury deliberation
Rectorate, tower A - via Ostiense 133
14:00
14:30
Award ceremony, joint with the separate Secondary School hackathon
Rectorate, tower A - via Ostiense 133
14:30
16:00
XRPL Commons meet-up, informal meeting with the community
Rectorate, tower C - via Ostiense 133

Hackathon details

1. Coding and projects
  • Coding starts at 13:00 on November 22rd and submissions close at 11:00 on November 23rd (UTC+2).
  • New work only: coding, development, and design should be done during the hackathon. Any work that was completed prior to the hackathon must be mentioned in your submission. Non-team-created software or intellectual property can be utilised if you have a licence (e.g. software libraries or design assets), but they must be mentioned in your submission.
  • Project pitches will be of five minutes, followed by two minutes for questions. You can include a PowerPoint/PDF presentation. A live demo is also accepted (and encouraged).
  • Code versioning: all submitted code must be in a version-controlled repository (e.g., GitHub) and made accessible to judges at the time of submission.
2. Participants
  • To be a participant, you need
    1. to have legal rights to be in Rome from the 21-st to the 23-rd of November 2024 (e.g., if you are an EU citizen),
    2. to be at least 18-year old on the 31-st of December 2024, and
    3. to register following the registration procedure.
  • We will not provide any documentation about your participation before the event. An attendance certificate will be provided after the event.
3. Students
  • To be considered a student either be enrolled as a BSC ("laurea triennale"), MSC ("laurea magistrale"), PHD ("dottorato") student or have graduated as such in 2022, 2023 or 2024.
  • This is a prerequisite to be part of an Italian University Team. Read more below at point 5.
4. Teams
  • Teams can consist of 3 to 7 participants. Participants may only be part of one team.
  • If a participant wants to register and be affiliated with a team, he/she must write to hack@decifris.it and communicate the chosen team leader, no later than November 15th.
  • If a participant does not declare a team leader in time, he/she will become part of teams formed by the organizers at the beginning of the event (in the morning of the 22-nd of Novembre 2024).
5. Italian University Teams (IUTs)
  • Italian universities may have one or more affiliated teams (IUTs).
  • IUTs team leaders must register to the hackathon, both in Eventbrite and sending an email to hack@decifris.it, no later than November 11th.
  • IUTs team members must register to the hackathon, both in Eventbrite and sending an email to hack@decifris.it, no later than November 15th.
  • To be part of an IUT, you must satisfy:
    1. the requirements to be a participant
    2. the requirements to be a student (of said University)
    3. to be either a nonEU citizen or a EU citizen who is also a member of De Cifris (or that he/she has applied for membership)
6. Tracks and projects
  • The hackathon consists of two tracks, which correspond to two different challenges. Each team will select its own track during the event and submit only one project.
    Details on the challenges will be given during the event.
  • Track 1: Advanced cryptography for blockchain
    Projects under this track must demonstrate a clear application of cryptographic techniques to solve the challenge. The challenge can include, but is not limited to, encryption algorithms, zero-knowledge proofs, digital signatures, or other privacy-enhancing technologies.
  • Track 2: XRPL applications
    Projects under this track must involve the XRP Ledger in some way, whether through integrations, apps, decentralised finance, or smart contracts. Creativity and innovation in utilising the XRP ledger to solve the challenge are highly encouraged.
7. Judging criteria
  • Innovation: How original is the idea? Does it bring new insights or solutions?
  • Execution: How well was it developed? Does it demonstrate technical complexity or impressive engineering?
  • Impact: How impactful is the project? Does it add value to a particular community, scenario or industry?
  • Pitch: Is the project clearly communicated? Is the demo (if present) well-prepared and convincing?
8. Prizes and awards
  • Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 projects in each track:
    1. 1st winner: € 2500 (two thousands and five hundreds)
    2. 2nd winner: € 1500 (one thousand and five hundreds)
    3. 3rd winner: € 500 (five hundreds)
9. Disqualification and misconduct
  • Participants will be disqualified if they:
    1. Fail to comply with intellectual property or copyright rules.
    2. Submit projects containing offensive, discriminatory, or harmful content.
    3. Exhibit any form of cheating, including tampering with other teams' projects.
10. Miscellanea
  • Funding for eligible participants: if you are a student (as defined above at point 3) and a DeCifris member (or you are applying for membership), you are eligible for both a refund of your travel expenses and free accomodation for two/three nights (that we provide). Young membership only costs 5 euros. If you think that you are eligible, please contact us at hack@decifris.it as soon as possible for confirmation (no later than November 15th) and the relevant paperwork.
  • Code of conduct: All participants are expected to ensure a respectful environment.
  • Venue: The main venue is the rectorate of Roma Tre University (via Ostiense 133, Roma). The complex closes between 21:00 (22nd) and 08:00 (23rd): you will be welcome to stay there overnight, but for security reasons you will only be able to exit, not enter, before 08:00.
  • Support and Mentorship: Mentors will be available to assist with technical or project-related queries.
  • FAQs: additional questions may be asked before or during the event in our new De Cifris Discord server, still under construction.

Tracks

Details on the challenges of the two tracks will be given at the start of the event.
Some general information in the hackathon details

Teams

Registration

Tickets for IXH24 are limited, register now via Eventbrite.
If you are an Italian university wishing to participate with your own team, or if you are an aspiring team leader for an Italian university, write us at hack@decifris.it ( read more).

Confirmed Teams

In order of addition.

Università di PerugiaTeam leader: Giorgia Caselli
Università di BariTeam leader: Luca Nestore
Università di TrentoTeam leader: Marco Marchesin
Università di Napoli Federico IITeam leader: Francesco Lucibello
Università di TrentoTeam leader: Michele Panariello
Università di Roma TreTeam leader: Nicoletta Falcone
Namirial SPATeam leader: Giulio di Clemente
University of BirminghamTeam leader: TBA
Università di Roma La SapienzaTeam leader: Vincenzo Imperati
Università di Roma TreTeam leader: Desiana Fancellu
Università di Roma TreTeam leader: Hossain Meah