Getting Started

Filebase + Akash Hackathon Survival Guide

The Filebase Team

• 6 min read
Filebase + Akash Hackathon Survival Guide

So you want to get into blockchain development, decentralization, and the fast-paced world of cloud computing, but don’t know where to start? Or maybe, you’ve been in the blockchain space for a while and want to level up your skills?

Blockchain technology is changing the world. According to LinkedIn’s list of the most in-demand hard and soft skills in 2020, blockchain development was #1 (LinkedIn).

The field is fast-paced, exciting, and digitally transforming the world. But for those who are looking at developing next-gen tech or getting started in the space, it can be equally as overwhelming. A great resource to help you find your bearings is understanding what a blockchain is and how it works.

Fortunately for you, Filebase and Akash Network have partnered for a Hackathon to develop next-gen technology using their platforms.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through a survival guide of how to successfully navigate this hackathon and build a game-changing solution.

Why You Should Participate in this Hackathon

Despite the learning you will undoubtedly be exposed to from this hackathon, there are some incredible prizes for the top projects built during the hackathon.

  • 1st place prize: $10,000 of $AKT + $250 (~3 TB) of free object storage credits with Filebase
  • 2nd place prize: $1,000 of $AKT + $150 (~2 TB) in free object storage credits with Filebase
  • 3rd place prize: $100 of $AKT + $100 (~1 TB) in free object storage credits with Filebase

According to ZipRecruiter, blockchain developers make an average yearly salary of $150,000, with an upward maximum of $240,000 or more. If you are thinking about developing high income skills, blockchain development is a market for huge potential.

Our hackathon started on September 1, 2021 and will conclude on October 20, 2021 23:59 PST, providing plenty of time to fine-tune and develop your solution in time for judging.

Steps to Getting Started

There are a number of steps to get started immediately. Hopefully, this list will get you set up and started on your way to hackathon glory:

To upgrade to 1TB of free Filebase storage for 2 months, use code: HACKATHON

Choose Your Filebase/Akash Tech Stack

Every developer that is planning to create a blockchain-based application or product needs to make a decision on which type of blockchain they want to use and which technologies to implement into their ingredients list. A tech stack is analogous to the ingredients list that you use in your recipe to make a dish or food item. When you’re making food, it’s important to consider what ingredients you will use when you cook.

Let’s imagine what a tech stack could look like for this hackathon. Examples could include:

  • Authentication: Auth0, Supabase
  • Database: Postgres
  • Deployment: Akash Network + Docker
  • Front-End: React, Vue, Angular
  • Storage: Filebase to Skynet

Choose Your Project Focus

The world of hackathons is evolving. A lot of the focus is on new, emerging technologies, especially use-cases where technologies can be enhanced and developed.

In a hackathon, you get to be creative, and think of a new type of solution. Think of what exists in the world already, and what is lacking, or what could be better. This is where a hackathon project can really shine.

Need some inspiration? Check out this list below:

  • Virtual Reality: VR may not be new, but it's still an exciting new frontier for creative development. VR is a hotbed for experimentation and innovation as developers learn to build with the technology and push its limits.
  • Augmented Reality: AR also has a lot of potential to change how we interact with the world we see around us. AR is all about blending digital spaces with physical environments and making them indistinguishable from one another (except by looking at them through a screen).
  • Artificial Intelligence: AI has progressed rapidly in recent years and will continue to do so as time goes on. Just like VR, AI's potential uses are only limited by the imagination at this. AI can be utilized to track data-sets, predict future events or outcomes, or analyze changes over time.
  • Storage: Data is considered to be one of the most valuable assets of this century. How we upload photos to albums, add files to a folder, add tasks to a todo list, and more are just a few examples of data storage solutions. Backup and recovery is another example of a storage use-case, where you can ensure durability and availability of your software.
  • Communications: From social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, to communication programs like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Discord, technology has reengineered how we stay in touch with each other.

There are so many use-cases to be developed and discovered, but the first step is getting started building something.

Implementing Filebase In Your App

Filebase is the world’s first S3-compatible object storage platform powered by blockchain. Using Filebase, you can store data in a secure, redundant, and performant manner across multiple decentralized storage networks, such as Storj, Skynet, and Sia. Additionally, Filebase’s proprietary edge caching technology helps customers achieve industry-leading performance when fetching data from decentralized networks.

When you set up a free Filebase account, there are a few things to get familiar with on the platform:

  • Dashboard — a display of your total number of buckets, total number of decentralized objects, total storage, and total bandwidth.
  • Buckets — this lets you create a bucket. There are 3 storage options: Storj, Skynet (all data is public), and Sia. In this example, we use Skynet.
  • Access Keys — this is where you see your access key for your API endpoint. You will see the API endpoint, which is https://s3.filebase.com, as well as the `Username`, `KEY`, and `SECRET`. You also will see when you created the bucket and the status.

Be sure to get comfortable with the platform so that you know how to use it for your application.

Implementing Akash In Your App

Akash Network is the world’s first decentralized and open-source cloud platform. With Akash, you can escalate the deployment, scale, efficiency and price performance for high-growth industries, including big data, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and more.

Akash (https://akash.network/) is a censorship-resistant and self-sovereign open source cloud network optimized for decentralized applications.

To deploy your app, there are 3 steps:

  • Package your full-stack application in a container with Docker.
  • Configure the requirements: CPU, memory, and disk size.
  • Determine your price that providers bid on, allowing you to benefit from the absolute best price value for deployment.

To note, anything that can be deployed on Docker via containers can be deployed on the Akash Network.

What are the Judges Looking For?

When you’re building a project for a hackathon, it’s important to consider what the reviewers (judges) will consider. Below are the aspects that were highlighted as significant:

  • Potential Impact: A clear understanding of how the solution will benefit both the Akash and Filebase ecosystems.
  • Functionality: An ability to see the solution working efficiently, easily, and in a technically-significant manner.
  • Novelty: The originality and uniqueness of the solution, especially building a solution that has not been created before (i.e. a “one-of-a-kind”).
  • Design: The ease-of-use of the solution with a focus on the user experience moving through the solution.
  • Go-to-Market Strategy: The future prospects towards the solution generating interest and traction from the Filebase and Akash ecosystems and beyond!

So go out there, and make a game-changing solution! We cannot wait to see what you build, and we are always here to help you on your journey in the decentralized object storage universe.