IXH26: Italian XRPL Hackathon 2026, organised by DeCifris

About IXH26

IXH26 is a national hackathon focused on cryptography and blockchain, with a strong emphasis on projects that integrate the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The event runs across two days with seminars, hands-on workshops, mentorship and a hackathon competition.

Registration

Tickets are limited. Sign up from Luma.

Schedule

(Timezone: Europe/Rome, CET, UTC+1)

20 Nov 10:00 - 11:00	Registration
20 Nov 11:00 - 12:00	Welcome speeches and instructions: UniBA, XRPL Commons / UBRI, De Cifris
20 Nov 12:00 - 13:00	Hackathon: coding starts
20 Nov 13:00 - 14:00	Lunch break and final team registration
20 Nov 14:00	Hackathon: coding resumes
21 Nov 09:00 - 09:30	Hackathon: breakfast
21 Nov 12:00	Hackathon: project & pitch submission deadline
21 Nov 12:00 - 13:00	Hackathon: pitches
21 Nov 13:00 - 14:00	Lunch break
21 Nov 14:00 - 15:00	Demos & jury deliberation
21 Nov 15:00 - 15:30	Winners & awards ceremony
21 Nov 15:30 - 16:00	Celebration & closing catering
21 Nov 17:00	Hackathon ends & venue closes

Tracks & Challenges

Two official tracks: Advanced cryptography for blockchain and XRPL applications. Exact challenges will be announced on-site.

Judging & Prizes

Judging criteria: Innovation, Execution, Impact, Pitch.

Prize details: total prize pool of EUR 10,000.

Notes & Logistics

Teams: 3-7 people. Students who graduated in 2023-2026 are eligible for student categories.
Funding & accommodation: support is available for student members.
Mentors and technical support will be available during the hackathon.

Rules

1. Coding and projects

Coding starts at 12:00 on November 20th and submissions close at 12:00 on November 21st, 2026 (CET, UTC+1).
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 Bari during the event (e.g., if you are an EU citizen),
2. to be at least 18-year old on the 31st of December 2026, and
3. to register on Luma.
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 2023, 2024, 2025 or 2026.

4. Teams

Teams can consist of 3 to 7 participants. Each participant 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 10th.
If a participant does not communicate a team leader in time, he/she will become part of teams formed by the organizers at the beginning of the event.

5. Italian University Teams (IUTs)

Each Italian university may have one or more affiliated teams (IUTs).
IUTs team leaders must register to the hackathon, both in Luma and sending an email to hack@decifris.it, no later than November 10th.
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 involve, for example, 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.
4. Fail to maintain appropriate and respectful behaviour when working within the team.

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). DeCifris 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: Università degli Studi di Bari, Campus, via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari (IT).
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.

IXH26 - Italian XRPL Hackathon