An old score becomes a new competition
MetaL already existed when the first race began. Bots.Business had been calculating the internal score from bot activity, stability and reactivation. On 17 February 2026, it put that score at the centre of the first MetaL Trust Hackathon, with $305 in main prizes.
An active account could arrive with a head start. The contest ran from 17 February to 24 March and required at least three days of MetaL accrual. Builders could launch new bots or bring older projects back into use. MetaL itself was a ranking score, not money.
The cost of a place on the board
By 1 March, the score needed to enter the top ten had tripled, from 0.4K to 1.2K. The group’s combined score had risen from 44.4K to 46.7K, with fifth through seventh place tightly packed.
The 14 March report put the top-ten total at 58.9K. Three new entries had taken fourth, fifth and sixth. Some established contenders were still gaining MetaL and losing positions.
Even “hackathon” needed a discussion
By 12 March, the chat was debating the format itself. One builder argued that a hackathon should reward what people made, rather than how many users they reached. The organizer pointed to the new MetaL tools and acknowledged that the first attempt had rough edges.
A quest, then a roll of the dice
One surprise lasted less than a day. A hidden quest opened on 22 February; on 23 February, the organizer reported ten $3 rewards sent. Its $30 was separate from the main prizes.
The closing announcement had another surprise: two extra participants had received prizes after a random dice roll. The post did not give their amounts.
24 March: rewards sent
On 24 March, the organizer announced that the Hackathon was finished and all main rewards had been paid. First place received $150; even tenth place carried a $5 prize.
The complete final leaderboard is missing from the archive, but the $305 reward breakdown survives.
| Place | Reward |
|---|---|
| 1 | $150 |
| 2 | $80 |
| 3 | $40 |
| 4–10 | $5 each |
From the archive
