SCB 10X, the venture investment arm of Siam Commercial Bank, announced today the launch of Metathon 2022, Southeast Asia’s leading hackathon focusing on driving innovation in the Metaverse. From April 25 to May 16, project teams can submit their applications for a chance to participate in SCB 10X’s inaugural Metathon and be selected for mentorship, idea-pitching and the opportunity to work closely with Southeast Asia’s most active Web3 investment firm and its partners: The Sandbox, Metaplex, Zepeto, GuildFi, Knowhere, Ape Board and Token X.

“The Metaverse will have a profound impact on the world,” said Mukaya Panich, chief investment officer of SCB 10X. “All of it will be driven by the builders and creators of today and tomorrow. From infrastructure-tooling to the plethora of experiences that can be created, the Metaverse represents a massive opportunity that will change the face of commerce and media entertainment. Launching Metathon will mark SCB 10X’s first step in being a gateway for Southeast Asian creators joining the Web3 revolution.”

The SCB 10X Metathon will have two tracks of focus:

  • Track 1: Metaverse Experience

Projects can create either purpose-built Metaverses or on top of existing ones such as The Sandbox, Metaplex, Decentraland, CryptoVoxels, Zepeto, Spatial, Roblox, Minecraft, Horizon, VR Chat and more. At a minimum, projects must meet one of the competition themes: financial, healthcare, education, social, logistics, fashion, travel, real estate, entertainment or lifestyle.

  • Track 2: Metaverse Infrastructure 

Projects are to build new solutions or extend existing protocols like Metaplex that address key Metaverse infrastructure needs such as decentralized identity, productive tooling, Web3, NFTs, DAOs, VR/AR and IoT.

“Composability and interoperability are key to accelerating the development of the Metaverse,” said Stephen Hess, CEO of Metaplex Studios. “In the future, we’ll be able to meet in virtual space, play games and interact as if we’re face-to-face, even though we may be thousands of miles apart. To enable this expansive world-building, Metaplex provides universal metadata standards and developer tools to build applications across a range of devices and platforms. We are excited to partner with SCB 10X to empower Southeast Asian creators, artists and developers who are excited to be a part of this journey.”

The hackathon provides the opportunity for Metaverse developers to win prizes worth over $60,000 from global Metaverse partners, as well as the opportunity for winning teams to work with Metaverse leaders to further develop the project. 

For the Metaplex prizes, there will be two specific categories: one for the best NFT project to ship using Metaplex Candy Machine and another for the best app that leverages Metaplex Auction House. 

Featured Metathon judges and mentors include The Sandbox Game’s co-founder and chief operating officer Sebastien Borget, Metaplex Studios CEO Stephen Hess, Zepeto vice president of developer relations Seung Yoo, GuildFi founder Jarindr Thitadilaka, and others from Knowhere, Ape Board and TokenX.