TL;DR ZetaChain is doubling down on Universal App bounties from sponsoring hackathons like Penn Blockchain and ETHDenver to forming major partnerships with Coin Terminal and Google Cloud. Learn about our latest hackathon winners and how you can get involved in future events — in person or online!

At ZetaChain, our mission is to build a Universal Blockchain with native access to any blockchain, making crypto as accessible, diverse, and connected as the internet. Let’s take a closer look at our efforts to ramp up Universal App development and deep dive into the latest hackathon winners at the Penn Blockchain conference!

ZetaChain’s Latest Commitments to Universal App Developers

Penn Blockchain Conference & Hackathon

We recently sponsored and attended the Penn Blockchain conference and hackathon. In addition to joining a panel on L1s & Universal Interoperability (see highlights), we rolled up our sleeves and worked with developers building cross-chain dApps using ZetaChain’s Gateway. Scroll down to see the winning Penn Blockchain hackathon projects!

ETHDenver 2025

This marks our fourth year at ETHDenver! We’re hosting multiple events — including the Scaling DeAI Summit and Universal Adventure Night — plus you can visit us at Booth #504. Also, don’t miss our workshops and bounties at the ETHDenver hackathon — check out the ZetaChain schedule here.

$1,000,000 Coin Terminal Hackathon

We’ve teamed up with Coin Terminal to join the power of AI and blockchain. This premier hackathon showcased a $1,000,000 prize pool, featuring ZetaChain’s Gateway as the key cross-chain technology. See the winning teams and stay tuned for more hacking opportunities with Coin Terminal.

ZetaChain x Google Cloud: Universal Blockchain Meetup

We’re proud to collaborate with Google Cloud to secure the first Universal Blockchain! As part of our ongoing collaboration, we’re co-hosting an exclusive meetup on March 11 at Google’s San Francisco office. The event includes lightning pitches from top startups, networking with Web3 and AI leaders, and a look at the future of Universal Blockchain development.

• Apply to pitch your startup (win up to 100,000 Google Cloud credits)

• Register for the event: ZetaChain x Google Cloud: Build on the Universal Blockchain · Luma

Online Hackathons Coming Soon…

Beyond our in-person and partner-hosted events, we’ll soon be rolling out online hackathons and challenges to make it even easier for global teams to collaborate and build the future of Web3 on ZetaChain — the Universal Blockchain.

Spotlight on Penn Blockchain Hackathon Winners

At the 2025 Penn Blockchain Conference, students, professionals, and Web3 enthusiasts gathered to explore the latest in crypto and create innovative cross-chain projects on ZetaChain and other chains. We’re excited to showcase two standout winners who leveraged ZetaChain’s capabilities to build compelling multichain solutions.

Connect a New Chain: Aptos Gateway Simulation

This proof of concept features an Aptos Gateway Contract built in Move, supporting deposits, cross-chain calls, and withdrawals — all within a local testing environment. By illustrating how quickly a new chain can be integrated into ZetaChain, it lays the groundwork for secure, seamless cross-chain transactions and message passing.

It leverages ZetaChain’s observer-validator system, multi-validator signature verification, and event monitoring to ensure reliable operations across multiple blockchains. Automated transaction verification and seamless cross-chain functionality underscore ZetaChain’s vision of universal interoperability, serving as a blueprint for onboarding more chains into the ZetaChain ecosystem.

“I had an incredible learning journey building the Aptos Gateway integration on ZetaChain. In just two days, I analyzed ZetaChain’s Gateway repositories, implemented my solution, and explored cross-chain communication patterns. The architecture of ZetaChain’s Universal Layer made me think deeply about seamless blockchain interactions. This hackathon challenge provided hands-on experience in blockchain interoperability that theory alone cannot offer.” ~@Samruddhi_oke

Native cross-chain swaps in one click

This project streamlines the normally confusing process of bridging and swapping tokens across different chains by offering a one-click, non-custodial platform for unified cross-chain swaps. Through multi-hop routes to various liquidity pools, users get optimal pricing without juggling multiple wallets or bridging platforms.

The solution automatically optimizes gas fees and employs on-chain logging for full transparency. Built using React, Next.js, and Tailwind CSS on the frontend — and integrating Uniswap, Ethers.js, RainbowKit, and MetaMask’s API on the backend — it offers a smooth user experience.

2025 Penn Blockchain Conference ZetaChain Hack Winner

Despite challenges around complex gas calculations and maintaining robust smart contract communication, the team delivered a polished UX suitable for both newcomers and advanced traders. Future plans include deeper DeFi partnerships, enhanced analytics, and additional security measures — further elevating this Universal App.

What’s Next for ZetaChain and Universal App Development?

Whether at Penn Blockchain or ETHDenver, or through our collaborations with Google Cloud and CoinTerminal, ZetaChain remains committed to advancing Universal App innovation. We reward new dApps launched on ZetaChain by featuring them in ZetaHub quests and hosting special campaigns like our latest Universal Gateway Campaign.

For those who can’t attend in person, keep an eye out for upcoming online hackathons — we’ll have more details soon.

About ZetaChain

ZetaChain is the first Universal Blockchain with native access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and more, offering seamless user experience and unified liquidity to the next billions of users. With its Universal EVM, ZetaChain empowers developers to build Universal Apps that operate natively across any blockchain, creating a fluid crypto ecosystem from a single platform.

Follow ZetaChain on Twitter @zetablockchain and join the conversation on Discord and Telegram. Reach out to [email protected] if you’re building on top of ZetaChain.

Any projects mentioned are 3rd party, not ZetaChain.