BNB Chain Brings $160K Hackathon to Bengaluru With $1B Fund Access

BNB Chain is expanding its developer outreach in India with a two-day hackathon in Bengaluru scheduled for February 27-28, 2026. The event, co-hosted with YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs), offers $160,000 in total prizes and—more significantly—a pipeline to the $1 billion Builder Fund announced in October 2025.

Applications close February 15, 2026.

What's Actually on the Table

The prize structure looks modest at first glance: $5,000 for first place, $3,000 for second, $2,000 for third. But the real value sits in the ecosystem support package available to all top finishers.

Winners gain access to up to $50,000 in Kickstart ecosystem support, fast-track interviews for BNB Chain's MVB accelerator program through the EASY Residency track, and potential investment consideration from the $1 billion Builder Fund that YZi Labs launched last October.

That fund targets early-stage projects building in DeFi, real-world assets, AI, decentralized science, payments, and wallet infrastructure. Selected projects through related programs have received up to $500,000 in direct funding.

Technical Requirements Worth Noting

Participants must deploy on BSC or opBNB mainnet or testnet. Projects need at least two successful contract transactions during the hackathon window to qualify. All code must be open source.

Four tracks are available: the specific categories weren't detailed in the announcement, but BNB Chain maintains a developer wishlist on GitHub with concrete project ideas for builders unsure where to start.

Teams can form beforehand through Discord or during the February 15 kickoff session. Solo participants are welcome.

Why Bengaluru, Why Now

This hackathon is part of BNB Chain's broader Local Hack Series, which aims to build developer communities in specific regions rather than relying solely on global online events. India's developer pool—particularly Bengaluru's concentration of technical talent—makes it an obvious target.

The timing aligns with BNB Chain's strong momentum. The network recorded approximately 26 million daily transactions around the time of the Builder Fund announcement, and BNB itself touched all-time highs above $1,300 in early October 2025. The current market cap sits around $182 billion.

YZi Labs, now led by Ella Zhang, has positioned itself as the primary vehicle for CZ's renewed focus on ecosystem development following his regulatory issues. The Bengaluru event represents boots-on-the-ground execution of that strategy.

For Interested Builders

Registration is open through Luma with a February 15 deadline. Accepted participants receive Discord access and pre-hackathon orientation materials. BNB Chain is also accepting applications from universities and developer communities interested in hosting future Local Hack events in other cities.