The Believathon was a startup competition designed for entrepreneurs and developers turning visionary ideas into impactful, long-term projects on XION. Unlike typical hackathons that may focus on short-term prototypes, the Believathon emphasized nurturing sustainable innovations that contribute meaningfully to the Web3 ecosystem and beyond.
Over and above $40,000 in prizes, winners gain fast-track access to XION's ACCELERAXION incubation program and exposure to leading venture capital firms, including Multicoin, Figment, and Arrington Capital.
More than 500 builders came together from around the world to leverage XION’s UX-focused Layer 1 to solve real-world problems and push the boundaries of blockchain technology. With 35 apps shortlisted from hundreds of entries across four tracks, this event showcased the immense talent and innovation within the Web3 community.
Today, we’re thrilled to announce the winners across all tracks.
Overall Winner: Aura
Aura emerged as the Believathon’s overall winner, impressing the judges with its novel approach to bridging physical and digital experiences. By leveraging XION’s protocol-level Chain Abstraction functionalities, Aura created an NFC-powered loyalty and engagement system that allows vendors and customers to connect with minimal friction.
With Aura, customers can effortlessly interact with vendors, earn rewards, and complete contactless transactions, allowing all walks of vendors from street food sellers to event booths to connect with their customers. XION’s user-first infrastructure ensures that these interactions feel intuitive, with Account Abstraction removing Web3 complexities to allow just about anyone to use Aura.
Customers can manage virtual cards, set spending limits, and make contactless payments with immediate status updates. For merchants, Aura transforms smartphones into POS systems, enabling convenient transaction processing with real-time balance and transaction logs.
By leveraging XION’s near-instant settlement speeds, user-first design, and cross-device compatibility to enhance buyer and seller experiences globally, Aura embodies XION’s mission to break Web3 out of its niche to serve a wider pool of users who may not be familiar with Web3 and crypto.
Aura’s builders have won $8,000 along with opportunities to pitch to XION’s expansive network of investors and continue building on XION to scale their project globally.
Winners of Pyramid of Faith: Ponzi Scheme
You call it a pyramid scheme, we call it the network effect. These apps are fueled by their intuitive user experiences and the power of decentralized, permissionless participation, bringing in more users by the day. These projects embraced the spirit of the Ponzi Scheme track, pushing the boundaries of on-chain experimentation in the world of prediction markets and gambling.
XIONMarkets
XIONMarkets took first place with its automated market maker-powered prediction market, enabling decentralized forecasting on global events, from sports to elections, and overall market sentiment.
Built to provide punters with an intuitive experience, it uses XION’s protocol-level functionality to make market participation effortless and secure. Polymarket took the world by storm in the last election cycle, and XIONMarkets is quickly gaining ground with its faster, cheaper offering enabled by XION’s architecture.
Robet AI
At second place, we have Robet AI, a decentralized AI-powered prediction market platform that automates market resolutions without the need for human intervention. By eliminating whitelisting and manual resolvers, Robet AI ensures real-time, scalable, and transparent betting, bringing about a new era of frictionless on-chain wagering.
Robet AI makes bet creation effortless — users simply share a broadcast link with a question like, “Will a goal be scored in the next minute?” Robet then analyzes the feasibility, deploys a smart contract bet on XION, and generates a link for users to participate.
Robet AI and XIONMarkets will be walking away with cash prizes and access to XION’s wealth of resources — from access to investors and funding opportunities to go-to-market advice — to launch their products far and wide.
Winners of Confession: ZK & Privacy
Privacy is one of the main tenets of Web3, and Nexorad and XIONIS have demonstrated powerful use cases for zero-knowledge proofs on XION. These projects not only set a new standard for privacy in blockchain applications but also tackle real-world challenges in security and user trust.
Nexorad
Nexorad takes the top spot as a human verification app that enhances trust and authenticity in decentralized systems. Nexorad assigns scores to blockchain addresses based on completed tasks while keeping user identities anonymous. Higher scores indicate a greater likelihood of human ownership, helping protocols distinguish legitimate users from bots or fraudsters using zero-knowledge. This allows it to achieve its goal without exposing private data like passwords or IDs.
Nexorad eliminates bot interactions and spam, providing developers with a reliable, privacy-preserving verification tool. Nexorad aims to generate revenue through API subscriptions, partnerships with blockchain platforms, and custom integrations.
XIONIS
XIONIS, the track’s second-place winner, is a cross-chain lending platform that uses dynamic collateralization, incorporating Pyth’s price feed. It allows users to secure loans with stablecoins. This platform creates an efficient, secure, and decentralized lending experience while providing flexible options for both borrowers and lenders.
XIONIS addresses numerous challenges in cross-chain lending. It simplifies the user experience by allowing loans to be secured with stablecoins and reduces high collateralization requirements using the Reclaim Protocol for credit scoring. This creates a more inclusive and efficient lending environment, bridging gaps between chains while ensuring fairness in borrowing terms.
Winners of Esoterism: Consumer, Social, Payments, & Creative
XION is driven by its mission to bring the benefits of Web3 to the masses by abstracting away complexities that deter new users from experiencing a meaningful impact from blockchain-based apps. Using XION’s user-friendly infrastructure, these projects showcase how Web3 can become a part of daily life once we make blockchains disappear.
Sendit
Sendit clinched first place for its innovative approach to digital commerce. By removing the barriers of KYC and tokenizing creators' content, Sendit innovates how digital products are bought and sold. The platform empowers creators to profit from their work while providing buyers with incentives through reviews and affiliate commissions.
With instant payouts, reduced fees, and built-in copyright protection, Sendit is building a user-aligned marketplace where anyone, regardless of background or location, can start selling.
Mind Games
Mind Games takes second place for its novel use of decentralized game-theory mechanics to foster fairness and privacy in competitive mobile and PC gaming. The platform offers versatility with multiple access points, including Telegram and browser, thanks to XION’s device interoperability.
Whether for community gamification or fair token distribution, MindGames’ approach creates a foundation for growth, bringing fairness to the forefront of gaming. This platform’s potential for trustless decentralized engagement makes it a powerful tool for the future of gaming.
These projects prove that blockchain isn’t just for tech enthusiasts. It will become an integral part of everyday life with applications that fulfil a need or address a gap in the market. SendIt and Mind Games will now have the opportunity to continue building their products on XION, reaching a global audience of more than 5 million across XION’s user base and communities.
Winners of Communion: Abstracted Interoperability
PayxPay
Interoperability is a key piece of the puzzle for improving overall user experience in a multi-chain environment, and PayxPay earned first place by providing a user-friendly solution to bridge ecosystems. Its payment system enables users in communities affected by hyperinflation or restrictive financial policies to transact in local fiat equivalents while seamlessly converting to stablecoins.
The platform fosters financial autonomy by offering a decentralized alternative to traditional banks and fiat currencies. It leverages XION’s zero-fee networks and user-centric design to maintain affordability for users.
DegenBox
Second place in this track goes to DegenBox for simplifying cross-chain purchases. Leveraging XION’s abstracted interoperability across numerous ecosystems, DegenBox allows users to effortlessly buy tokens across multiple blockchains without dealing with onramps, token swaps, or private keys.
This integration simplifies the process, making it intuitive and accessible, enhancing the user experience through XION’s seamless cross-chain and device interoperability functionalities.
Best Mobile App
A mobile-first design is key to onboarding the next wave of Web3 users, and PayxPay nails it with its financial inclusion offering.
The platform provides an intuitive and seamless payment system for communities struggling with hyperinflation or restrictive financial policies. By using XION’s tech stack, PayxPay delivers a sleek, responsive, and user-friendly Telegram mini app that enables transactions in local fiat equivalents, automatically converting to stablecoins. PayxPay offers financial independence, affordability, and security, empowering users in economically challenged regions to maintain financial stability with ease.
Honorable Mentions
While the winners stole the spotlight, there were a few standout submissions that left a lasting impression on the judges:
Looop addresses the challenges of unequal revenue sharing and limited fan-artist interaction in the music streaming space by utilizing blockchain technology to ensure transparent royalty distribution and facilitate direct engagement. This approach empowers artists and fans alike, promoting fair compensation and deeper connections within the music ecosystem.
XionPay is a payment solution designed to enable easy acceptance of cryptocurrency and digital asset payments. Similar to services like Stripe or PayPal, XionPay aims to provide a simple, user-friendly platform for decentralized transactions, facilitating smoother financial interactions for businesses operating on the blockchain.
KalloView combats fraudulent and biased online reviews by integrating blockchain and AI. It aims to reward authentic user contributions while fostering a trustworthy review environment. By leveraging these technologies, KalloView ensures a fairer, more reliable review system for consumers and businesses alike.
BlockX Sports Betting App is a mobile gaming marketplace built on XION. With its diverse gameplay and decentralized features, BlockX is reshaping the mobile gaming landscape for players worldwide, ensuring a more accessible and secure experience.
WayToDoc is a decentralized healthcare platform built on XION to ensure the privacy, security, and efficiency of medical record management. It enables secure patient onboarding cross-chain payments, and on-chain medical records through zero-knowledge proofs, offering a comprehensive solution to healthcare challenges.
The First of Many to Come
The Believathon start-up competition was a true testament to the power of collaboration, with our vibrant community of builders, judges, and supporters driving its success — and we’re far from done. This competition marks the beginning of exciting new opportunities for developers and app builders on XION, and as the ecosystem grows, we look forward to seeing how these projects shape the future of Web3 and make an impact beyond the industry.
Stay tuned for exclusive interviews with our winners, deep dives into their apps, and more updates from XION’s developer community.