Howdy, Hackers!
Welcome to the winners’ announcement for the #blockchain Writing Contest, presented by Aleph Cloud and HackerNoon!
From February through May 2025, the contest challenged the writers, developers, and industry experts alike to discuss three important applications of decentralized technologies, #decentralized-ai, #decentralized-cloud, and #dePIN, for a shot at up to $2,000 as follows:
|
Category |
Prize |
|---|---|
|
Best #decentralized-ai story |
$1000 |
|
Best #decentralized-cloud story |
$700 |
|
Best #dePIN story |
$300 |
Across all categories, the contest showcased thoughtful research, bold ideas, and brilliant storytelling. Stories published under relevant tags, for the duration of the contest, generated over 150,000 pageviews and hundreds of hours of thought-provoking reading.
Once submissions closed, HackerNoon Editors had the difficult job of narrowing valid entries down to 10 standout finalists, and, ultimately, 3 cash prize winners.
New to HackerNoon writing contests?
Find out about active contests, participation guidelines, and more atÂ
Without further ado, let’s meet our finalists!
The #blockchain Writing Contest Finalists
In no particular order:
These stories hit on some big issues—like who really owns your data, how AI can be made more trustworthy, and whether we can break free from Big Tech’s grip on the cloud. If you care about the future of the internet, these are the writers to watch. Go give them a read (and a follow) on HackerNoon!
Now for the moment you’ve been waiting for…
The #blockchain Writing Contest Winners
#decentralized-ai Category
The top-voted #decentralized-ai story is @elsak’s The Future of AI Increasingly Appears to be Decentralized
Decentralized AI platforms challenge this status quo by redefining access to computational power. By aggregating underutilized hardware, these networks create a global resource pool that operates on principles of shared efficiency. By distributing computational resources across a global network of nodes, decentralized AI can reduce costs, improve scalability, and enhance transparency.
Congratulations @elsak, you’ve won $1,000 🎉
#decentralized-cloud Category
@sibasispadhi’s The Case for Decentralized Cloud and Blockchain in Fintech Infrastructure is the top story in the #decentralized-cloud category.
Centralized cloud systems struggle with latency, resilience, and compliance—especially in global Fintech. This article shares real-world tuning strategies using decentralized cloud and blockchain, from geo-aware microservices to dual-layered data flows, proving that decentralization isn’t just hype—it’s a performance necessity
#dePIN Category
AI Is Running on Garbage Data. Here’s How DePINs Could Save It by @rahulchandel_3jb224d is the top-voted story in the #dePIN category.
How do we trust the data that drives our increasingly AI-dependent world? The trick, it seems, is to marry the real and unreal world in ways that were never before possible.
Once again, congratulations to all finalists and winners. Thank you for all your hard work!
How to Claim Your HackerNoon Writing Contest Prize
- Contact [email protected] and [email protected] and share the email ID/and or wallet address attached to the winning HackerNoon account.
- We will validate your claim and share a form requesting your details for reward distribution.
- You will receive your winnings in 2-4 weeks after completing the form.
Please note that you must contact us within 60 days after the winners’ announcement date.
Ready to be a Winner?
Learn how you can participate in our ongoing writing contests HERE.
That’s all for today! See you in the next announcement.
-The HackerNoon Team
