ETHShanghai 2025 returns to Shanghai in October! Hackathon × Summit ignites an open future.

The year 2025 marks the tenth anniversary of the Ethereum mainnet launch.

Over the past decade, it has evolved from an experimental project into the world's most influential blockchain infrastructure, providing a solid foundation for innovations such as smart contracts, DeFi, NFTs, and DAOs, and bringing decentralized technology to the global stage.

Each upgrade of Ethereum has continuously reshaped the boundaries of the industry:

2021 London Upgrade: Introduced a transaction fee burning mechanism, giving ETH potential deflationary properties;
2022 The Merge: Achieved an unprecedented energy transition, reducing network energy consumption by over 99.9%;
2023 Shapella Upgrade: Released staking liquidity, attracting more participants;
2024 Dencun Upgrade: Significantly reduced L2 costs, driving application explosion and user growth;
2025 Pectra Upgrade: Significantly enhanced scalability, interaction experience, and staking mechanisms.

Standing at the new starting point of its tenth anniversary, Ethereum is advancing with unprecedented momentum. The influx of institutional investors, potential demand for spot ETFs, and the latest EcoDev strategic blueprint released by the foundation are collectively injecting energy into the development of the next decade.

The Ethereum Foundation will promote developer growth, project incubation, and global collaboration through four major directions: "Ecological Acceleration, Amplification, Support, and Long-term Guidance," aiming to make it a digital infrastructure for global society.

In October 2025, the highly anticipated ETHShanghai 2025 is back! As one of the most influential Ethereum events in the Asia-Pacific region, the fourth ETHShanghai will be held in Shanghai from October 18 to 22, with the theme “Scaling Ethereum, Shaping the Open Future.”

This event is co-hosted by Wanxiang Blockchain Lab, ETHPanda, PANews, and TinTinLand, and will take place concurrently with the annual Wanxiang Blockchain Global Summit in the same city.

The five-day event will feature in-depth sharing, workshops, hackathons, and summits, gathering the creativity of global developers to accelerate the implementation of innovative projects. The total prize pool for the hackathon is as high as $15,000, with three cutting-edge tracks: AI × ETH, DeFi × Infra, Public Goods × Open Source Development, encouraging participants to make breakthroughs at the forefront of technology and applications.

???? Join the ETHShanghai 2025 hackathon and ignite the next decade of ETH!

???? Hackathon registration link: https://luma.com/n2gwlgkx

???? ETHShanghai 2025 Overview

???? Date: October 18 – 21, 2025

???? Location: Shanghai, China

???? Prize Pool: $15,000

????️ Schedule

September — Registration opens & rolling selection
October 1 — Registration deadline
October 18 – 21 — Offline hackathon
October 22 — Summit main stage demo & results announcement

???? Event Highlights

✨ Three cutting-edge tracks:

AI × ETH, DeFi × Infra, Public Goods × Open Source Development, focusing on the hottest trends in the industry.

???? Global Builder Gathering:

Select 30–40 projects from global applicants to code and incubate on-site in Shanghai.

⚡ Extreme Creativity Challenge:

72 hours of high-intensity development, witnessing technological breakthroughs and product prototypes from 0 to 1.

???? Peak Showcase Stage:

Winning teams will present their results on the main stage of the ETHShanghai summit, targeting investors, funds, ecosystem partners, and global media.

???? Top Ecological Resources:

Support from top ecological project technical experts, funds, and incubators, accompanying project growth throughout the entire cycle.

???? Long-term Development Opportunities:

Winning projects will receive funding, incubation recommendations, and ecosystem connections, becoming key forces driving Ethereum's next decade.

Image: ETHShanghai 2024

????️ Tracks and Rewards

???? Three Cutting-edge Tracks

???? AI × ETH

AI is no longer just an off-chain assistant but is gradually evolving into an on-chain "native participant."

With the development of smart contract automation, on-chain governance, transaction agents, AI-driven risk control, and stabilization mechanisms, AI is reshaping the interaction methods and productivity paradigms of Ethereum.

???? In this track, you will explore the deep integration of AI and Ethereum, making agents key nodes in the on-chain economy, upgrading everything from protocol logic to user experience.

????️ DeFi x Infra

The future of finance is being reconstructed on-chain.

From the accelerated landing of RWA and stablecoins, DeFi is moving towards a direction of scaling and compliance in parallel.

From cross-chain and interoperability to the rapid evolution of modular infrastructures like EIP-4844, Rollup, and ZK, Ethereum's expansion at the L1/L2 level and optimization of user experience are gradually becoming the core driving forces for industry upgrades.

???? In this track, you will focus on the next generation of DeFi infrastructure, building a secure, intelligent, and scalable financial network, opening new bridges for global liquidity.

???? Public Goods x Open Source Development

The future of Ethereum depends on public goods and the spirit of open source.

From continuous investment in public goods to collaborative co-creation in open-source development, the Ethereum ecosystem is continuously solidifying infrastructure and community trust, promoting long-termism and sustainable development value consensus.

???? Here, you will build foundational blocks that benefit the entire ecosystem, advancing open finance and open society further.

???? Prizes and Awards

Total hackathon prize pool: $15,000

???? First Prize: $2,000
???? Second Prize: $1,500 *2
???? Third Prize: $1,000 *2

???? Special Awards:

Mysterious Special Prize * N
Summit showcase opportunity: First prize teams from each track will take the main stage at ETHShanghai 2025 summit.

✍️ Project Submission and Review

???? Participation Requirements

Must submit:

- Public GitHub repository (including README)

- Demo video (≤3 minutes)

Optional submission: Pitch Deck

Team size: No more than 5 people

Project scope: Must not have launched or participated in other competitions.

⚖️ Review Criteria

Technical Execution: Code quality and completeness
Innovation and Creativity: Originality and breakthrough
Practicality and Impact: Ability to solve real problems and possess ecological value
User Experience: Usability and security
Hackathon Progress: Completion and iteration speed during the event

????️ Support and Resources

???? Mentor Guidance: Full support from ETH ecosystem project members and technical experts

???? Technical Training: Focused on track topics, covering cutting-edge themes like AI

???? Ecosystem Connections: Direct access to VCs, project parties, partners, and media

???? Long-term Development: Winning projects can receive funding, incubator recommendations, and follow-up support

???? ETHPanda Voyage Plan

To assist more young developers in participating in the ETHShanghai Hackathon, ETHPanda has launched the "Voyage Plan":

???? Funding Scale: Expected to fund 30+ young developers, with each receiving up to $200 in transportation subsidies
???? Participation Requirements: Voyage Plan members must register and participate in the ETHShanghai hackathon
???? Schedule:
- Registration deadline: October 3
- List announcement: October 10
- Voyage Plan Meetup: October 19

???? The "Voyage Plan" will alleviate the travel burden for young Builders, making it easier for you to embark on the hackathon journey!

???? Follow ETHPanda for the latest updates on the Voyage Plan ⬇️

???? ETHShanghai 2025 Summit

After the collaborative hackathon from October 18–21, the summit on October 22 will reach its climax.

The summit is expected to attract 1,200+ registrants, 800+ on-site participants, as well as 20+ international guests and 20+ partner communities/brands, collectively promoting technical exchanges and ecological development of Ethereum.

Past guests have included industry leaders such as Vitalik Buterin, Joseph Lubin, and Tim Beiko, showcasing the international influence and technical height of ETHShanghai.

This year's summit will continue the high-quality, technology-oriented style of previous years and will feature an exhibition area in the main venue, focusing on the latest developments in Ethereum scaling and modular ecosystems.

The exhibition content will revolve around three core themes, highly aligned with the strategic goals of the Ethereum Foundation:

Developer Growth: Training and resource empowerment to drive the implementation of innovative applications;
Ecological Amplification: Collaboration with communities and media to enhance the global influence of projects;
Long-term Security and Resilience: Enhancing network security and stability, co-building a sustainable ecosystem.

???? The champion teams of each hackathon track will take the main stage at the ETHShanghai summit to showcase their innovative results to investors, funds, ecosystem partners, and global media.

???? About the Organizers

Wanxiang Blockchain Lab was established in 2015 by Wanxiang Holdings Co., Ltd. in China, gathering experts in the field to conduct research and discussions on technology development, business applications, and industrial strategies, providing guidance for entrepreneurs and references for industry development and policy formulation, promoting the advancement of blockchain technology in serving social and economic progress.
ETHPanda is an Ethereum community composed of Chinese-speaking builders, dedicated to connecting Chinese-speaking builders with the international Ethereum ecosystem through education, public services, events, and technological innovation, jointly promoting the continuous development and innovation of Ethereum.
PANews is a leading think tank information platform in the blockchain and Web3.0 fields, providing readers with cutting-edge news and research reports from an international perspective.
TinTinLand is the most influential Web3 development and ecosystem empowerment platform in Asia, with a community of over 200,000 developers. We start from developer education and, through resource integration and ecosystem empowerment, help partners gain deep exposure in the Asian market and achieve sustainable growth.

???? Join ETHShanghai 2025 and co-create with global developers!

The ETHShanghai 2025 Hackathon is not just a competition; it is a Builder experimental ground after Ethereum's tenth anniversary.

???? If you wish to:

Explore and break through in cutting-edge areas such as AI, RWA, and Public Goods;
Work alongside top developers from around the world, connecting with investors and ecosystem partners;
Showcase your project on the main stage of the ETHShanghai summit, presenting to a global audience—

???? Then register for ETHShanghai 2025 now and become a Builder defining the next wave of Ethereum innovation!