# Welcome & Opening Ceremonies | Kartik Talwar

- Speakers: [Kartik Talwar](https://streameth.org/speakers/kartik-talwar)
- Channel: [ETHGlobal](https://streameth.org/ethglobal)
- Date: 2026-08-09
- Duration: 35:09
- Topics: ETHGlobal Lisbon 2026, Kartik Talwar, ETHGlobal, opening ceremony, hackathon, web3, builders, Ethereum, developers, continuity track, open source, AI coding, Codex, Claude Code, prizes, partners, finalist track, judging, mentors, workshops, 1inch, Matt, Aqua, liquidity provision, AMM, DeFi, 0G, Hedera, Sui, The Graph, Uniswap Foundation, World, ENS, submissions, teams, demos, ETHGlobal Plus, SDKs, smart contracts, Lisbon
- Watch: https://streameth.org/watch/yt-Z4onZV8gPHI
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4onZV8gPHI

## Description

In this welcome and opening ceremony, Kartik Talwar, co-founder of ETHGlobal, opens ETHGlobal Lisbon 2026, stressing that this is not a conference but a hackathon whose mission is to onboard thousands of developers into the web3 ecosystem. He explains what makes ETHGlobal events different: a focus on builders trying out ideas, learning new skills and protocols, and the belief that showing beats telling, so on Sunday everyone demos what they built to judges, partners, and each other. He traces ETHGlobal's history from the first 2017 event in Waterloo through global expansion across six continents, notes the 2026 events in Cannes and last month's New York, and welcomes everyone back to Lisbon for the second time. This weekend brings over 518 attendees (380 hackers, 26% coming from web2), from 116 cities, 47 countries, and six continents, plus 43 partners, 16 technical mentors, eight workshops, zero talks, and $100,000 in prizes across eight partners: 1inch, 0G, Hedera, Sui, The Graph, Uniswap Foundation, World, and ENS.

Kartik walks through key logistics and rule changes. Hacking has begun, teams can have up to five members, and submissions are due Sunday at 9am. He encourages using LLMs and AI coding tools like Codex and Claude Code but recommends committing plan markdown files and frequent descriptive commits so work is traceable, sharing SDK feedback with partners, and avoiding four AI pitfalls (do not use AI-generated ideas, get real human feedback, do not just delegate, and always understand your own code). He introduces the continuity track, letting hackers extend a past project, fix an open source bug, or ship an open source module into private code, with track-specific prizes. He covers venue security, Wi-Fi etiquette, Discord support, food, a tile-painting activity, swag, and four spotlight teams. On judging, he explains the partner track (apply to up to three of the eight partners) versus the finalist track (top 10 teams demoing live on stage) with an auditable repo, live deployment, and video demo required, and finalist perks like ETHGlobal Plus, $1,000 cash, flight credits, and AWS credits. He brings on Matt from 1inch, who shares that 1inch began at a 2019 hackathon and has since done over $800 billion in volume, and introduces the $7,000 in bounties for building Aqua apps, a liquidity provision method that keeps tokens in the LP's wallet.

00:00 Introduction
00:11 Welcome: This Is a Hackathon, Not a Conference
00:37 What Makes ETHGlobal Events Different
00:54 Why Showing Beats Telling
01:18 The History From 2017 to Today
02:25 Back in Lisbon for the Second Time
02:31 Who Is Here This Weekend
03:05 Partners, Mentors, and Workshops
03:27 $100,000 in Prizes and the Eight Partners
04:28 The Hackathon Has Begun
05:07 Team Rules and Submission Timing
05:42 Using LLMs and AI Coding Tools
06:25 Committing Plan Files and Sharing Feedback
07:24 The Four AI Pitfalls to Avoid
07:47 Why Not to Use AI-Generated Ideas
08:23 Why to Get Real Human Feedback
08:42 Why Not to Just Delegate
09:33 Introducing the Continuity Track
09:55 How to Continue a Past Project
10:55 Extending Open Source and Private Projects
12:08 How to Select Your Track
12:59 Venue Security and Badges
14:05 Wi-Fi Etiquette and No Hotspots
15:00 The Website and Discord
16:29 Venue Layout and Pragma
17:02 Food and Activities
17:53 Swag and Giveaways
18:40 The Four Spotlight Teams
19:54 Judging and Prizes: The Two Tracks
20:19 The Partner Track
20:57 The Finalist Track
21:55 Why Become a Finalist
22:32 The Requirements to Be a Finalist
23:50 Demoing Live to Judges
24:47 The Finalist Demo Format
25:09 Why Not to Record Your Video Last Minute
26:28 How First-Come Judging Works
27:32 The Mentors Who Can Help
28:29 Rules, Respect, and IP Ownership
29:42 Bringing On Matt From 1inch
30:55 Introducing the Aqua Protocol
32:00 The 1inch Bounties
33:39 Recapping the Prizes and Closing

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🇵🇹 *ETHGlobal Lisbon 2026*
This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal Lisbon 2026, a 3-day hackathon held July 24-26 at the Carlos Lopes Pavillion, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal Lisbon 2026 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWgAODGnD_is

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✅ *Follow ETHGlobal*
X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​
Website: https://ethglobal.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal 

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_Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_
👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events
🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus
📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city

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