IndiaCodex'26

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India

codex
2026

A digital Hackathon powered by Cardano & Moderated by Nucast Labs

By participating in this hackathon you are getting a chance to tap into the Cardano and Project Catalyst Ecosystem Fund, the largest of its kind, with a massive 20 million USD allocated for innovative projects on Cardano

May 2026

IndiaCodex'26
Recap

IndiaCodex '26 continued the momentum of the IndiaCodex series as a two-day Cardano-powered developer hackathon in Hyderabad, bringing together developers, students, and technology professionals to build and explore Cardano's ecosystem. The programme recorded 476 registrations and 167 attendees on Day 1, followed by 515 approved registrations and 271 developer check-ins on Day 2.

Building on its previous editions, the 2026 edition featured three technical onboarding workshops, hands-on development, expert mentorship, and a 10-day build and judging phase. Participants worked across the General, Masumi, and Midnight tracks, producing 47 projects from 42 teams, supported by 8 mentors and a 7-member judging panel.

And just like before? You didn't need to be a Cardano expert to take part. IndiaCodex '26 provided a practical environment to learn and build, with workshops covering wallet connectivity, transaction building, smart contracts, vesting contracts, and NFT marketplace development. All projects were publicly submitted through GitHub, while the top teams received continued mentorship toward potential Project Catalyst proposals and priority access to the Draper x Cardano Accelerator Programme.

HACKATHON CRITERIA

Open to ALL

anyone can participate

Projects related to cardano

will be considered

max 3 participants

are allowed on one team

India Focused

This event aims to onboard the Indian developer community to Cardano

Submission Details

Fork the India Codex'26 repository↗ to your GitHub profile.

After forking the repository, clone the repository to your PC/desktop, and then create a folder with your TeamName as the folder name.

Push your code base in this folder. This should include all your files for frontend as well as the backend.

In your TeamName folder, include a README.md with: Project description, Problem statement, Tech Stack, Demo Photos/Videos, Live Project Link (if deployed), PPT link, and Team Members' Info.

Create an issue↗ in the main repository titled "Issue: [Track Name] | Team Name: Submission". Issue title must include MASUMI or MIDNIGHT exactly as shown. Include a small glimpse of your project, what it does, and how you're achieving it.

After the issue is assigned, make a Pull Request↗ from your forked repo to the main branch while mentioning the issue number assigned to it.

Demo day

Event Agenda

IndiaCodex'26: A Cardano hackathon where developers, innovators, and Web3 enthusiasts come together to build, learn, and create on the Cardano blockchain.

Powered by Project Catalyst, this hackathon is your opportunity to explore real-world blockchain use cases, collaborate with like-minded builders, and turn innovative ideas into impactful solutions.

This event offers the perfect blend of hands-on development, expert mentorship, networking, and practical insights into Cardano's ecosystem. Hosted by Nucast, it's the ideal space to connect, share ideas, and experience the innovation driving Cardano forward. Don't miss out!

Event Highlights:

Insights into Cardano: Dive deep into Cardano's technology, governance, and rapidly growing ecosystem.

Learn and Build: Developers can enhance their skills through workshops on smart contracts, dApp development, NFTs, and Cardano tooling.

Mentorship & Support: Get guidance from experienced mentors and ecosystem leaders throughout the hackathon.

Networking Opportunities: Meet and collaborate with fellow developers, founders, and Web3 enthusiasts from across India.

Live Demonstrations: Experience live product showcases, rapid builds, and technical walkthroughs.

Win Prizes: Pitch your project and win exciting rewards, grants, swag, and ecosystem recognition.

Come and join us at IndiaCodex'26 to build innovative Cardano applications, sharpen your blockchain skills, connect with the community, and be part of India's growing Web3 movement.

MENTOR

Anuj Chaudhary

Growth & Marketing Committee, Intersect

SriCharan Ganta

Founder and CEO, Nucast

Sam Jeffery

Tech Lead, Nucast

Adnan Khan

Founder and CEO, SyncAI Network

Abhik Nag

Community Manager, IntersectMBO

Prizes

' Small Steps, Giant Leaps ': In addition to the prizes, the top 10 teams will receive exclusive mentorship to help them propose their projects for securing a grant from the 20 million USD Project Catalyst Fund, one of the largest decentralized funds in the Cardano ecosystem.

General Track
(Build on Cardano)

🥇₳ 1,500

🥈₳ 1,000

🥉₳ 500

Masumi Track
(Monetize AI Agents)

🥇₳ 750

🥈₳ 450

🥉₳ 300

Midnight Track
(Build a dApp using ZKPs)

🥇₳ 750

🥈₳ 450

🥉₳ 300

Community Choice:

₳ 500

Winners of India Codex 2026

General Track -

First Place

Ouro

A self-repaying lending protocol on Cardano. Collateral keeps earning staking rewards, which are harvested every epoch to automatically pay down the loan.

Second Place

Proof Pair

A decentralized HTTP 402 payment gateway that lets APIs charge per-request micro-payments in ADA, with no accounts or subscriptions.

Third Place

Foundry

An AI agent workforce that turns a plain-language product idea into deployable Cardano artifacts: Aiken contracts, frontend scaffolds, audits and docs.

Community Choice -

Winner

Forge

An intelligent Cardano development platform that turns a described intent into a compiled Aiken project, CIP-57 blueprint and typed TypeScript SDK.

Masumi Track -

First Place

ANTIDOTE

An immune system for AI agent fleets that detects, quarantines and purges corrupted data using on-chain Aiken contracts and an incentivised doubt-market.

Second Place

Sentinel

A deterministic trust and audit platform for autonomous AI agents, producing replayable execution journals and tamper-evident cryptographic evidence.

Third Place

ArgoOperator

A web-to-Cardano agent gateway that gives AI agents a real browser, paid through Masumi ADA escrows released only on verifiable proof-of-execution.

Midnight Track -

First Place

Compass

A deterministic compatibility and ecosystem analysis platform for Midnight that validates dependencies, maps risks and generates evidence-based upgrade reports.

Second Place

Confidential Proof of Reserves

A Midnight dApp that proves the liabilities of a custodian stay within its public reserves using zero-knowledge proofs, without revealing any customer balance.

Third Place

MedVault

A privacy-preserving health insurance platform on Midnight and Cardano where claims are settled through zero-knowledge proofs instead of exposed medical records.

Event Locations