BNB Chain has opened a month-long hackathon called 'Build the Era' to find the team that will create its official BNB Agent Studio marketplace. The competition runs from August 5 to September 9, 2026, with judging through September 23 and winners announced November 5. The winning submission could become the chain's standard marketplace for AI agents, backed as a standalone product.
Why the marketplace matters
Over 200,000 AI agents are registered on BSC under the ERC-8004 standard, representing roughly 60% of all registered agents across 26 networks. The sheer volume has created a need for a dedicated, discoverable marketplace. Right now, agents are scattered across various platforms, making it hard for users to find and hire the right one. BNB Chain wants to fix that with a single, official hub.
What builders need to know
Participants must build the marketplace itself, not a portfolio of individual agents. Judges will focus on discoverability and ease of hiring agents. BNB Chain will provide reference agents and skills in four categories: monitoring, grid trading, health factor, and yield agents. The hackathon has no fixed tracks for the main prize, allowing cross-domain competition. Partner prizes are judged separately.
Prize pool breakdown
Total prize pool exceeds $40,000 USDT from BNB Chain and ecosystem partners. That includes $30,000 USDT from BNB Chain, $10,000 USDT from TermiX, 1,000 CAKE from PancakeSwap, AltLayer 8004scan Pro plans, and 50,000 XP from Altana. The structure encourages teams to think broadly — there's no single track to win the main prize, so a marketplace that blends DeFi, gaming, or data could take the top spot.
The hackathon is open from August 5 to September 9. Judging runs September 9 to September 23. Winners will be announced on November 5. The winning marketplace could become the official BNB Agent Studio, backed by BNB Chain as a standalone product. Builders can register now; the deadline for submissions is September 9.
