What Onchain Build is
This is the first edition of Onchain Build.
Onchain Build follows the people building on chain in the Nordics and Baltics — the projects, the communities and the initiatives taking shape. Some of it is finance. A good deal of it is not.
Building is not only code. It is the ones bringing a problem to the table, the ones putting an organisation behind it, the ones assembling a team, and the ones who keep going after the demo. I cannot program, and I am a builder.
It starts with Blockathon Stockholm because that is where the field is gathering this week. What comes after is the rest of it: digital product passports, the European digital identity wallet, verification of content, and the companies building quietly enough that nobody has written about them yet.
The plan is monthly, but it goes out when there is something worth sending.
If you are building something, or you know someone who is, tell us.
Morten
Founder & Editor, Kaupr
Three of the people behind it
Around 25 people have been involved in putting FIRSTBLOCK-ATHON together. Three of them are on the cover. Fati Hakim initiated it. Hani Baloch has been part of the team since the start and was in on the ideas from the beginning. Hani Raisi Halilovic runs the AI x Blockchain Summit that closes the week on Friday. Fati and Hani H. have taken part in all three live broadcasts.
If you want to hear how it all started, the opening of pre-event 3 is the place. Watch →
Why the blockathon exists
Fati Hakim wants the Nordics to see what else blockchain is for
The Nordics already have the financial infrastructure — exchanges, and the first stablecoin in Swedish kronor. What is missing, Fati Hakim argues, is the understanding that the technology is used for anything else.
Fati Hakim (right), interviewed by Morten Myrstad
The trust layer beneath AI
Data has become a currency, AI consumes it, and who owns it matters. So does whether it can be verified — content, and the person behind it.
Open to more than developers
The threshold was deliberately low. Anyone could apply, including those who have never written a line of code.
Three pre-events, four and a half hours
As media partner, Kaupr has brought the build days to a wider audience
Three open virtual events ahead of the week in Stockholm, free to attend and now available to watch in full. Close to 500 registrations across the three, though many followed all of them. The first two were about why. The third was about what: the challenges teams will work on, what the days in Stockholm actually look like, and what it takes to arrive ready.
They also work as preparation. Anyone taking part next week can arrive knowing what has already been said.
Pre-event 1 — 20 August: Blockchain beyond finance
More than 100 registered. Arun Maharajan (UNICEF), Melanie Rideout (Swedish Red Cross), Hani Raisi Halilovic (AI Institutet), Madina Saleh (AIMS Management), Ludvig Bergström (Nordic Tech Week) and Fati Hakim (FirstBlock). Moderated by Zarina Björklund Rehn and Morten Myrstad.
Pre-event 2 — 27 August: the challenges and the teams
Fati Hakim (FirstBlock), Johnny Kroneld (Hundstallet), Hani Raisi Halilovic (AI Institutet), David Dolhomut (Sullis), Tommy Andorff (Neuro) and Angelica Lips da Cruz (Innorbis). Moderated by Melissa Persson and Morten Myrstad.
Pre-event 3 — 3 September: what the days actually look like
Seven guests. Fati Hakim on why she started the event. Hani Baloch (Blockchain Sweden) on the hackathon and onchain impact. Hani Raisi Halilovic on the summit that closes the week. Anna Cederholm (AWS) on the jury and the prize. Gunnar Risting (Netlight) on the World Food Programme challenge. Donnie Lygonis (KTH Innovation) and Aidin Ziapour (Sullis) on the platform teams can use during the hackathon. Hosted by Morten Myrstad and Melissa Persson.
The challenges and problem statements
Eight problem areas, and only two of them are finance
Financial services. Humanitarian and social impact. Banking and fintech. Creative and music industries. Digital products and platforms. AI applications. Trust and identity. Emerging technologies.
Six problem statements have been presented live
The problem statements come from the organisations that need the solutions, not from the organisers. Six of them have been presented in the pre-events, by the people who brought them.
Madina Saleh, AIMS Management — pre-event 1 Arun Maharajan, UNICEF — pre-event 1 Melanie Rideout, Swedish Red Cross — pre-event 1 Hani Raisi Halilovic, AI Institutet — pre-event 2 Johnny Kroneld, Hundstallet — pre-event 2 Gunnar Risting, on behalf of the World Food Programme — pre-event 3
All three recordings are above.
Several of the people behind the problem statements also sit on the jury, which is led by Angelica Lips da Cruz. She took part in pre-event 2.
The Prize
USD 10,000 in AWS credits to keep building
The prize is now on the table. One winning team will receive USD 10,000 in Amazon Web Services credits to continue building beyond the hackathon. Anna Cederholm from AWS spoke at pre-event 3 on 3 September and sits on the jury.
At FIRSTBLOCK-ATHON, teams tackle real challenges from organisations across various industries, supported by experienced mentors and judged by an expert panel.
Whether you're a developer, designer, strategist, student, founder, or someone with a strong idea, this is your chance to showcase your skills and create something with real impact.
The Partners
Who is behind it
FIRSTBLOCK-ATHON is run by FirstBlock with Sullis, Neuro and Bloxcel as core partners. AWS puts up the prize, Netlight hosts the two Hack Days, KTH Arenan hosts the final day, and AI Institutet runs the summit that closes the week.
Several of them took part in the pre-events. Neuro was represented by Tommy Andorff in pre-event 2. Sullis took part in both pre-event 2 and 3, with David Dolhomut and Aidin Ziapour. KTH Innovation shared its view on innovation in pre-event 3.
Worth reading
Beyond technology: building blockchain AI impact — What if we stop asking what we can build with blockchain, and start asking where it is actually needed? From AI and trust to real-world problems, on why the next chapter should go beyond finance. Impact on chain starts with identifying a problem, not with the technology. From the FIRSTBLOCK-ATHON team.
Why building solutions that work takes a whole ecosystem — Why solving real-world problems takes more than technology alone, and why bringing together builders, businesses, researchers, industry experts and communities leads to better questions, stronger ideas and more practical outcomes.
The first blockathon in the Nordics takes shape in Stockholm — The programme runs over four days during Nordic Tech Week, and there are two ways in: as a founder with a startup, product or pitch, or as a participant without one.
Blockathon launches at major tech conference in Stockholm — Where it started, in July. FirstBlock launches its first blockathon in Stockholm as part of Nordic Tech Week 2026, gathering founders and developers on the theme Impact On Chain: solutions with real-world impact built on blockchain.
The week ahead
Five days in Stockholm
The build starts on Monday morning at Netlight's offices on Regeringsgatan, and runs through Tuesday evening. Two full days, nine to six, with mentors on site throughout. Teams work on the problem statements they have been given.
Wednesday is worth using on the rest of Nordic Tech Week. Blockchain Sweden holds a roundtable on tokenisation that morning, and there is more besides.
Thursday is Demo Day in Kungsträdgården, followed by the jury round table.
Friday closes the week at KTH Arenan with the AI x Blockchain Summit. A full day on research, systems and governance in the morning, enterprise infrastructure and deterministic AI in the afternoon. The FIRSTBLOCK-ATHON award ceremony follows.
Explore Onchain by Kaupr
Thanks for reading the first edition of Onchain Build.
Onchain by Kaupr follows the industry and community driving onchain finance forward across the Nordics and Baltics — from first build to market leadership.
Onchain Growth is the weekly briefing on the industry: companies, capital, regulation, the people moving. Out every Tuesday.
Onchain Build is this one — the people building, and what they are building.
Onchain Community is where the conversation happens.
Most subscribe to both newsletters. You can also choose one, and change your mind at any time in your preferences.
Morten Founder & Editor, Kaupr