Bhutan hosts decentralized application hackathon with Ethereum Foundation

The Kingdom of Bhutan is a world leader in digital public infrastructure (DPI) and it’s looking to build out the potential benefits from its national digital identity system.

The city of Paro is a good base for visitors to the Land of the Thunder Dragon, with the historic Tiger’s Nest monastery nearby and the country’s only international airport. It also recently hosted a three-day hackathon organized by the GovTech Agency with support from the Ethereum Foundation.

The “Developing Decentralised Applications powered by Bhutan’s National Digital Identity (NDI)” found two winners while all participating teams received incubation funds.

The event drew 13 teams – 10 from Bhutan and three international contingents – to build blockchain-based solutions on Bhutan’s NDI platform. “The launch of the NDI has created several opportunities,” said Jamyang Sonam, organizer, Bhutan’s GovTech Agency.

“This is exactly what we are doing through this event, bringing in all the global and local innovators to gather and trying to build an innovative solution leveraging on Bhutan NDI,” he said.

Team Cyberchain, a Bhutanese group, and the international Team DeepGov shared first place. Cyberchain’s entry “ZorigHub” is a digital platform connecting local artisans with verified buyers through blockchain‐powered provenance tracking.

Product, orders, and transaction data are stored off‐chain, while purchase receipts go on‐chain, and artisans are authenticated via Bhutan’s NDI. A team member said they will implement additional features and complete full functionality in the next phase, as reported by Kuenselonline.

DeepGov presented an AI‐assisted civil governance system that uses NDI verification to streamline citizen surveys. According to team member Sharfy Adamantine, the app simplifies feedback collection and facilitates improved awareness of public opinion on topics ranging from technology to education.

Both winning teams received Nu 250,000 ($2,917) sponsored by the Ethereum Foundation, plus a glamping experience from GovTech, with priority support to further develop the app at the TechPark Incubation Centre in Thimphu.

Runner‐up teams NGN and Form BT were each awarded Nu 210,000 ($2,450). Team NGN showcased LandChain, which helps streamline land transfers using Bhutan NDI, and Team Form BT presented an AI‐powered OCR tool that digitizes paper forms with ID verification and blockchain fingerprinting to enhance security.

All 13 participating teams were awarded Nu 500,000 ($5,835) in incubation support from the Department of Employment and Entrepreneurship under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment.

The hackathon aimed to spark innovation in digital identity, attract global talent, and elevate Bhutan’s standing in the GovTech space.

Article Topics

Bhutan  |  Bhutan NDI  |  decentralized ID  |  digital ID  |  digital public infrastructure  |  Ethereum  |  open source