Moscow-based HSE.lab hosted a blockchain hackathon 13-15 November. During the hackathon 25 ideas were announced and 14 teams presented their projects on the final day.

The winning team which consisted of two engineers, Alexander Chepurnoy and M. Dmitry, managed to develop Scorex blockchain system infrastructure and prove Permacoin algorithm. The idea behind Permacoin implies granting digital money to the users who download large databases (for example, archives containing digital versions of old books and documents) to their PCs, making reserve copies of the world's heritage. Once a database is downloaded, the system can generate new Permacoins, which then can be turned into real money, and give them away to the downloaders.

The hackathon was supported by Lykke and QIWI, the company which initiated its own cryptocurrency Bitruble, as well as by National Settlement Depository and Future FinTech accelerator.

During the event a number of master-classes were attended by more than 200 participants, the topics ranging from coloured coins to the legal aspect of blockchain crowdfunding.

HSE.lab is one of the first university-based laboratories developing blockchain education in Russia. A series of seminars dedicated to the technology has been held under its auspices this autumn.

Maria Rudina