Join the Midnight Network "Privacy First" Challenge: $5,000 in Prizes!

August 20, 2025

We're excited to announce our newest challenge with Midnight Network!

Running through September 7, the Midnight Network "Privacy First" Challenge invites you to build privacy-enhancing applications and developer tools using zero-knowledge proofs and Midnight's data-protection blockchain. There are two prompts for this challenge and one additional prize category, which means three chances to win!

✨ New to blockchain? Join us today (August 20) at 1pm ET for a livestream right on the DEV homepage with the Midnight Team to learn more about their technology and what you can build for the challenge! Don’t worry, we’ll also share the video down below if you miss the event. ✨

Whether you're a blockchain developer, privacy advocate, or curious about ZK technology, this challenge is the perfect opportunity to explore privacy-first development. As always, all participants with a valid submission will receive a completion badge! And did we mention there's a $5,000 prize pool for our three winners?

We hope you give this challenge a try!

Our Prompts

Protect That Data

Build a decentralized application (DApp) that leverages ZK circuits to generate proofs for any entity or virtual transaction. Your DApp must integrate both smart contracts and a user interface, meaningfully incorporating Midnight's privacy capabilities as a core feature.

Requirements:

Use Midnight's Compact language and MidnightJS for zero-knowledge proofs
Include a UI that showcases the privacy-preserving mechanism
Focus on one specific functionality (ZK-powered game mechanics, confidential job boards, identity attestation tools, privacy-preserving chat/voting apps, etc.)
Use only mocked transactions/tokens (no real-world value)
Open-source under Apache 2.0 license

Submit to Protect That Data

The "Protect That Data" winner will receive $3,500 USD, a DEV++ membership, and an exclusive winner badge!

Enhance the Ecosystem

Develop a project that improves the experience of building on Midnight for other developers. This could include DX libraries, CLI tools, dashboards, block explorers, ZK playgrounds, wallet connectors, or development framework integrations.

Requirements:

Must improve developer productivity or experience
Open-source under Apache 2.0 license
Include comprehensive documentation

Submit to Enhance the Ecosystem

The "Enhance the Ecosystem" winner will receive $1,000 USD, a DEV++ membership, and an exclusive winner badge!

Additional Prize Category: Best Tutorial

We'll be awarding one additional winner for writing the most effective and engaging tutorial as part of their submission to either prompt. The "Best Tutorial" winner will receive $500 USD, a DEV++ membership, and an exclusive winner badge!

Judging Criteria

All valid submissions will be evaluated based on:

Use of underlying technology
Usability and User Experience
Accessibility
Creativity

How To Participate

Submit your project using the appropriate template link above. All submissions must include:

Public GitHub repository with Apache 2.0 license
Overview/explainer/tutorial of your project
Documentation for running and easily testing your project

Please review our judging criteria, rules, guidelines, and FAQ page before submitting so you understand our participation guidelines and official contest rules such as eligibility requirements.