10/28/2023 3:00 PM - TABConf 6 took place at the Exhibition Hall in Georgia Tech, featuring a versatile 12,000 square-foot ballroom and meeting rooms equipped with full conference and A/V capabilities. Successfully concluded in Atlanta, the conference left an indelible mark on the Bitcoin builder ecosystem, attracting some of the brightest minds in the industry from October 23rd to 26th, 2024.

Embracing a spirit that is Technical, Accessible, Bitcoin, Community, Open Source, Novel, and Fun, TABConf brought together seasoned core developers and emerging talents to share insights, knowledge, and experiences about the latest developments in Bitcoin.

At the heart of TabConf was the PlebLab x ZBD Hackathon II an incredible event for Bitcoin developers, plebs, and builders, creating a vibrant and collaborative atmosphere. Co-organized by ZBD and generously sponsored by Fulgur Ventures and the Open Source Justice Foundation, the hackathon featured a wide range of creative and technical projects that showcased the power of Bitcoin development.

Running from October 16 to 24, builders competed for a prize pool exceeding $5,000. Participants enjoyed swag, trophies, and, of course, Bitcoin!

Kicking Off with Enthusiasm

The event started with Santos setting the tone for an exciting few days. Teams took the stage, each bringing a unique idea to life:

• DL Chess – a chess-based project

• Pepe.vote – incorporating voting with a humorous touch 🐸

• Frostr – a project inspired by the cold and vastness of the frosty world 🏔️

• Tajfi – aiming to bring a breath of fresh air 🍃

• Discreet Luck – focused on elements of chance and fortune 🍀

Each team had its distinctive focus, adding a wide range to the projects that fueled the bulk of the building.

Incredible Sponsorship and Prizes

Thanks to Fulgur Ventures and the Open Source Justice Foundation, PlebLab and ZBD were able to offer an impressive prize pool for Bitcoin-only builders. The prizes included:

• Best Hack Overall: $1,500 - Team Frostr

• Best Nostr Hack: $1,000 - Team Pepe.vote

• Best Value4Value Product or App: $500 - Team Discreet Luck

These prizes were designed to reward creativity, utility, and potential within the ecosystem, aligning perfectly with TabConf's mission to foster innovation at its yearly Bitcoin technical conference.

The Hackathon Overview and Timeline

The hackathon ran for 10 days, from October 16th through October 24th, giving participants ample time to build, test, and refine their projects. During this period, developers, builders, and creators engaged in a whirlwind of coding, problem-solving, and collaboration, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with Bitcoin today.

Project Highlights

1. Frostr

• Team Members: Christopher Scott (Backend), Austin Kelsay (Frontend)

• Description: Frostr leverages FROST cryptography for t-of-n remote signing and key rotation on Bitcoin and Nostr. This includes a desktop signing app (Igloo), a web extension (Frost2x), and a TypeScript library (Bifrost).

• Innovation: By distributing shares across devices, Frostr enhances identity preservation, even if one share is compromised. The solution benefits both Bitcoin multi-sig and Nostr by securing user keys in a flexible, resilient way.

• Award: Frostr won Best Hack Overall for its potential to revolutionize security and identity within decentralized applications.

2. DL Chess

• Team Members: Stutxo

• Description: DL Chess uses adaptor signatures with Taproot to support betting on chess games via an oracle and the lichess API, leveraging Bitcoin’s scripting abilities for secure and transparent gameplay.

• Innovation: This use of Bitcoin's Taproot addresses represents a novel approach to decentralized gaming, enabling trustless betting and settlement based on the outcome of chess games.

3. Pepe.vote

• Team Members: Vic, Tee8z, BitcoinCoderBob

• Description: Pepe.vote is a community-driven museum for digital art, where users vote on Pepe-themed images. It employs Nostr events for vote tallying, a unique mechanism allowing polls without monetary transactions.

• Innovation: By creating Nostr event "kinds" for voting, Pepe.vote introduces a novel mechanism to conduct transparent, zap-free polling on Nostr.

4. Tajfi

• Team Members: Jad Mubaslat (Backend Developer), Ruben Navarro (Full Stack Developer)

• Description: Tajfi is a Taproot Assets wallet leveraging Nostr authentication. It enhances privacy and custody by anchoring virtual UTXOs (vUTXOs) to Bitcoin UTXOs, enabling seamless asset management.

• Innovation: By using Nostr-based PSBT marketplaces, Tajfi empowers users with decentralized financial autonomy, presenting an alternative to centralized wallets and ERC-20 tokens.

5. Discreet Luck

• Team Members: Red Sheehan (Fullstack)

• Description: Discreet Luck is a prediction market on Bitcoin integrating DLCs and Nostr. It connects Bitcoin and Polymarket’s liquidity, enhancing UX by providing instantly-fillable betting options without centralized exchanges.

• Innovation: Discreet Luck provides Bitcoin-only users access to broader liquidity while maintaining the decentralized ethos of Bitcoin.

And the Winner Is…

After days of intense building, Team Frostr took home the prize for Best Hack Overall, a testament to their innovative project and dedication to advancing the Bitcoin ecosystem. Frostr’s project stood out among a pool of impressive contenders by showcasing a unique approach to FROST that enables users to convert their npub into secure FROST shares and distribute them across devices. Specifically, this captivated both judges and participants alike:

• Frostr's technical implementation included the Igloo desktop signing device, which is based on the Electron app, the Frost2x signing web extension built on nos2x, and Bifrost, a TypeScript library developed according to the RFC specification for FROST 2.0.

Thanks to the incredible support from sponsors and the contributions of all participants, this hackathon strengthened the community’s sense of purpose and excitement for what lies ahead in Bitcoin development in 2025. Will have the all the videos for each project out very soon on PlebTV.

This one is for the Builders.

At PlebLab, we aim to empower the next generation of Bitcoin builders, hackers, and startups. As a vibrant hackerspace and community accelerator in Austin, Texas, we are committed to fostering a community of developers, hackers, creatives, and open-source software and hardware builders. PlebLab provides a space where individuals can collaborate, elevate their skills, and transform seemingly impossible ideas into reality. We encourage all Bitcoin enthusiasts, developers, and content creators to join us on this exciting journey. Together, we can ensure that the voices and innovations within the Bitcoin community continue to flourish and inspire.

⚡️If you are interested in supporting our mission consider a donation.