Building on Zircuit A Hackathon Introduction I Jan Gorzny

Thu, Oct 2, 2025, 12:00 AM

Jan Gorzny, co-founder and technical lead at Zircuit, introduces Zircuit and its hackathon bounties at ETH Global NYC 2025. He outlines what makes a winning project: solving real problems, not overengineering, using blockchain and AI only when justified, and iterating based on feedback. Zircuit is a zero-knowledge, EVM-compatible Layer 2 rollup on Ethereum, featuring fast finality, lower costs, and unique sequencer-level AI security to prevent hacks. Jan details technical resources, including documentation, RPC endpoints, block explorer, and testnet faucets. The hackathon offers two main prizes: best project deployed on Zircuit (requiring smart contracts on testnet or mainnet) and best app idea (no code required, just a compelling, well-thought-out concept). He encourages creativity, especially beyond DeFi, and highlights the importance of user experience and practical use cases. Jan answers questions about Zircuit’s features, integrations, and previous hackathon experiences, emphasizing openness to diverse applications, especially games and non-financial use cases. 00:00 Introduction 00:25 Welcome to ETH Global NYC 2025 Hackathon 00:39 Goals: Winning Prizes & Project Criteria 00:58 What Makes a Great Project 03:30 Avoiding Overengineering & Using Blockchain/A.I. Wisely 05:02 Importance of Feedback & Iteration 06:25 Why Build on Zircuit: Features & Security 08:13 Technical Details: Getting Started on Zircuit 09:43 Block Explorer & Network Access 10:43 Testnet, Faucets, and Hacker Pack 11:10 Prize Requirements & Submission Guidelines 12:22 Prize Categories: Best Deployed Project & Best App Idea 13:43 Best App Idea Prize Details 15:22 What Makes a Compelling App Idea 16:04 Q&A: Zircuit Features, DeFi Bias, and Use Cases 18:03 Previous Hackathon Highlights 19:00 Encouragement for Games & Non-DeFi Projects 20:11 Integrations & Oracles 21:01 Closing Remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *ETHGlobal New York* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New York, a 3-day hackathon held August 15-17, 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 New York 2025 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4Xze0ZeSWCSGsw25clPpvZ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Jan Gorzny* X: https://x.com/jgorzny ✅ *Follow Zircuit* X: https://x.com/ZircuitL2 ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _