SOLIndia - India's Largest Crypto Hackathon (Formerly ETHIndia)

Embracing the Future: Why SOLIndia?

After years of nurturing Ethereum developers, we realized it's time to embrace innovation by switching to a completely different approach to blockchain.

Speed & Throughput

Solana boasts block times as low as 400ms and can (in theory) handle 65,000+ TPS. No more waiting those tedious 12 seconds for an Ethereum block.

We're moving so fast, even our hackathon judging round might finalise before the pizza arrives.

Near-Zero Gas Fees

On Solana, transactions typically cost $0.00025. We'll save so much on gas that our hackers can finally afford that extra pani-puri at lunch.

Of course, we'll also miss the character-building exercise of explaining $100 transaction fees to newbies.

Developer Thrill

Learning Solidity was fun, but Rust is the new hotness. What better way to energize devs than to have them rewrite everything in a new language overnight?

We provide the coffee, you bring the unsafe Rust code – what could go wrong?

Reliability (With Bonus Breaks)

Ethereum prides itself on relentless uptime. Boring! We secretly admire Solana's courage to take breaks occasionally.

Those "network rest days" will give our hackathon attendees a chance to stretch, hydrate, and do some jumping jacks while the chain catches its breath.

FAQ & Press Release

Common questions about our bold new direction

Yes, it's real! We have fully embraced the Solana branding, technology, and ethos. Our domain now reads SOLIndia, our Twitter handle has swapped the "ETH" for "SOL", and our team is busy learning the Solana dance (it's like the bhangra but faster). We understand the skepticism – a leading Ethereum hackathon pivoting to Solana overnight is a lot to process. But rest assured, this initiative is completely genuine… at least as genuine as a freshly minted shitcoin on a Friday night. (And no, the timing on April 1 is purely coincidental... or is it?)

We looked at the data and developer trends. The number of active addresses, the TPS, the vibrant NFT community on Solana – all very compelling. But beyond the stats, we just felt it was time to zig when everyone expects us to zag. Ethereum has a rich, somewhat serious culture; Solana, with its neon memes and "for the lolz" attitude, spoke to our desire for a fresh vibe.

By praising Solana's strengths (and totally not subtly pointing out its weaknesses), we hope to spark healthy discourse and exploration. Plus, we heard Vitalik Buterin himself said Solana has a "bright future" now that the "awful opportunistic money people" are gone. If Vitalik is optimistic about Solana, who are we to disagree? We consider this move an homage to that optimistic vision (with just a dash of irony).

The core format remains: a 48-hour hackathon where teams build cool stuff. The difference is all projects will now be built for Solana. That means if you were planning an Ethereum-based DeFi app or an NFT marketplace, you'll implement it with Solana tech (say goodbye to Solidity and hello to Rust/Anchor).

We anticipate creative mashups too – perhaps someone will build a bridge from Ethereum to Solana as their hack (we encourage it, we kinda need it!). Workshops on day 0 will include "Solana 101", "How to Prevent Your Validator from Melting", and "Intro to Anchor - Decoding Those Error Messages".

Pro tip: Start familiarizing yourself with terms like "rent-exemption", "tic-tac-toe accounts", and "gust of Sol" (okay we made that last one up).

We ❤ Ethereum, always will. Think of this as tough love. Sometimes you have to leave home and try something radically different to truly appreciate where you came from. In fact, this whole campaign is as much a love letter to Ethereum as it is an endorsement of Solana.

By highlighting Solana's, um, unique qualities, we're reminding everyone what makes Ethereum special. That said, officially, our event will focus on Solana for now. Unofficially, if you deploy an Ethereum smart contract at our hackathon, we won't kick you out – but we might playfully refer to you as "retro".

Check the date and your transaction history. If it's April 1, have a laugh and share the joke. If it's April 2 or later, head to our website – we'll likely have a big banner clarifying the prank and returning things to normal (with a recap of the best reactions).

Also, our official Twitter @ETHIndiaco (notice it never changed 😉) will reveal the prank by the next day and drop a thread explaining all the hidden gags.

Until then, enjoy the satire in the spirit it's intended. We're proud to serve the community, whether you #BUIDL on Ethereum, Solana, or any chain. Happy hacking, and Happy April Fools' Day!