01
Consumer mobile
Apps people open every day: social, games, collectibles, habits and payments with friends.
Da Nang · Saturday 19 December 2026
Dragon Connector
Da Nang / 001
A one-day hackathon for mobile apps on Solana.
Bring an idea, a laptop and up to three teammates. Build something people can use on their phone, demo it on stage and leave with a working product.
- Free to attend
- Lunch included
- Teams of up to 4
- Prizes in VND or goods
Dragon Connector is an independent event. It is not run or endorsed by Solana Mobile.
- Date
- Saturday 19 December 2026
- Time
- 08:00–20:00
- Where
- Da Nang, venue announced with registration
- Cost
- Free, lunch included
The theme
Build for the phone in your pocket.
The default theme is mobile apps built on Solana, the easiest way to put a product in front of real users. Up to three tracks run on the day, each named and set by a track sponsor. A presenting sponsor can set its own theme instead, from AI agents to payments, and we announce it before registration opens.
Three tracks, at most
02
AI on mobile
Assistants and agents on the phone that take real actions for the person holding it.
03
First-time builders
For students and teams at their first hackathon, judged on what they learned and shipped.
Track names change when a sponsor claims a track. If a presenting sponsor sets the theme, the tracks follow it.
The day
One day, from idea to demo.
Doors open at 08:00, building starts at 09:30, and code freezes at 16:30 so the judges can see every project before the finalist demos at 18:00.
Check-in and breakfast
Building starts
Lunch
Code freeze
Finalist demos
Awards and close
The organizer
Run by someone who wins hackathons.
Matt Sim founded Operator Uplift, a commitment app on Solana listed in the Seeker dApp Store, and has finished in the prizes at 18 hackathons. He has hosted dinners, launches, pitch nights and a hackathon set up in under 24 hours, and has spoken at Google, DAVAS and the Web3 Builders Summit.
- 18hackathon prize finishes
- 1stplace at Superteam UK × HelpBnk
- SeekerdApp Store listing for Operator Uplift
- 2,300+Operator Uplift accounts
Also 1st at the MuShanghai Filecoin and OmniDimension Voice AI hackathons, and a Solana Foundation grant via Superteam Malaysia.
Events Matt has hosted
- Private dinner for Photon: 600 RSVPs, 120 guests, planned in a week
- Hacker house launch for The Residency: 500 RSVPs, 100–200 people over the evening
- Networking night and pitch competition for icm.run: 400 RSVPs, set up in four days
- Popup hackathon with Lovable: 24 teams, set up in under 24 hours
Has spoken or pitched at
- The Residency
- Road to Colosseum
- DAVAS
- Web3 Builders Summit
- Unchained Summit
- Network School
Supporters
People already behind it.
Trung Hieu Bui
Judge and mentor
Has offered his coffee shop and build space.
Johnny Dang Worldwide
Apparel sponsor, offered
Offered to make the event apparel at its rates with local manufacturers.
Three more people have agreed to support the event. We name them once they approve their profile.
Who is in the room
Builders from inside and outside web3.
Da Nang developers and designers, university students, digital nomads, local business owners and the people who host the city’s events. Many have never built on Solana, and that is the point.
Builders
Da Nang developers, designers and students, many building on Solana for the first time.
Digital nomads
Remote engineers and founders based in Da Nang who turn up to build, not just to network.
Business owners
Local founders and shop owners looking for products they can use.
Event hosts
The organizers behind the city’s meetups, inside and outside web3, who share what they see.
The participant app
Your quest log for the day.
Join the waitlist, find teammates, get your check-in pass and submit your project from one app. It installs on any phone and works offline.
Sponsors
Put your product in builders’ hands.
Four tiers, from $500 for a named prize to $3,000 to present the whole event. Every tier has a place in the participant app and on stage.
- Dragon$3,000
- Track$1,500
- Prize$500
- In-kindGoods or services
Questions
The short answers.
How much does it cost?
Nothing. Dragon Connector is free to attend, and lunch is included.
How big can a team be?
Up to 4 people. You can also come alone and find teammates in the app or at the start of the day.
Does our code have to be public?
Yes. Submit a public GitHub repository by code freeze at 16:30. Judges only score projects they can open. You keep ownership of your code.
How are prizes paid?
In VND by bank transfer, or in goods. Never in crypto. Prizes over VND 20 million carry 10% personal income tax, which the payer withholds.
Stay updated
Don’t miss the reveal.
Track reveals, sponsors and the venue are announced first to the waitlist and on @dragonconnector.