The Bitcoin Designathon 2

It’s a wrap! Here’s how it went down.

May 22, 2025

What a ride it's been! The Bitcoin Design Community just wrapped up another incredible Designathon, and we're still buzzing from all the creative energy. Over the past few weeks, we watched over 120 participants explore ideas, sprint through UX research and design challenges, dive deep into accessibility conversations, and push the boundaries of what's possible in the bitcoin ecosystem.

We also had the most extensive Global Accessibility Awareness Day together with the Designathon. There were 3 accessibility calls; one, two, three. We also had 2 UX research workshops; one, two. Then after much design and play, it was time to present and submit their final projects, for which we had two live presentation calls here and here. And we partnered with ABDC on a live crit, and Bitcoin++ on an accessibility track.

Main prize winners

Choosing winners was incredibly tough this year. The quality of work was outstanding across the board, and our judges had their work cut out for them. But after much deliberation, here are the teams that took home prizes:

1st Prize: BOLT 12 Subscriptions

By Deeksha and Stephen, info, presentation

This project tackled the challenge of recurring payments in podcasting. With the BOLT 12 spec potentially bringing back subscriptions, they explored what a podcasting app would look like if fans could subscribe to their favorite creators using recurring lightning payments. It's the kind of real-world application that makes bitcoin more useful for everyday creators and their audiences.

2nd Prize: BitPass

By BitPass by fer10_m and unllamas, info, presentation, Github

BitPass is a bitcoin-native ticketing platform that combines Lightning Network payments with Nostr technology. Event organizers can create, sell, and manage tickets entirely within the bitcoin ecosystem. It's a great example of how bitcoin can tackle industries beyond store of value

3rd Prize: Sovereign Note

By V, info, presentation

This project explored innovative ways to handle Ecash notes for diverse use cases and to provide users and creators of the notes with the relevant information to create and use these notes themselves.

4th Prize: Zeus Redesign

Timi and Tobi, info, presentation

Zeus is a mobile app for connecting to your own Lightning node. This redesign focused on creating a more welcoming visual identity, better empty states, and educational microcopy that actually explains concepts like liquidity and channels in human terms.

5th Prize: BitAble

By Margaret, info, presentation

Margaret's project addressed a crucial gap in bitcoin accessibility. BitAble is designed as an accessible bitcoin wallet experience that simplifies self-custody for people with disabilities. As Margaret put it, "Everyone deserves financial sovereignty, and design can open the door." This work shows a good example of our community's commitment to designing bitcoin for everyone.

6th Prize: BitTerms

By Lola, Umar, and Daniel, info, presentation

Bitcoin's complex language often keeps people out, and BitTerms tackles this head-on. This user-friendly glossary helps people understand bitcoin through clear, visual explanations. It's the kind of educational tool that makes bitcoin more accessible to people from all backgrounds.

Special track winners

Accessibility & Open Design: SafeBits

By Design_r, info, presentation

This project’s goal was to tackle several ideas. It reviewed the Bitcoin Safe desktop application for accessibility practices. And it tackled self-custody guidelines for organizations, also based on Bitcoin Safe.

Ecash note design 1st price: Just another Ecash nutsnote

By Design_r, info

Ecash note design 2nd price & Crowd favorite: Sovereign Note

By V, info, presentation

Ecash note design 3rd price: Ecash Designs

By Asit, presentation

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Special shout-out

We’d also like to give a special thank-you and shout-out to all the project submissions that did not end up winning a prize. Here they are, in alphabetical order:

Ecash note

By Cats

Zeus redesign

By Arjun, prototype

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If you’d like to get in touch with any of the projects, reach out in the community Discord.

Thank you to the judges

We appreciate this talented group of designers for sharing their time.

Thanks to our sponsors

We would also like to say a huge thank you to the sponsors of the event, your support has provided the winners with a lovely gift for their work and efforts. A huge thank you to the Bitcoin Design Foundation, Blockstream, PlanB Network, Here Comes Bitcoin Store, Open Cash, and Penpot.

Thank You

When's the next Designathon? Who knows! What we do know is that we and our participants learned a tremendous amount. Some of these projects are already evolving beyond what was presented, and we're excited to see where they go next.

The creativity and dedication we witnessed over these past weeks blew us away. Many participants didn't have designers on their teams, yet they pushed forward driven by their passion for the bitcoin ecosystem. That's the spirit that makes our community special.

To all the participants: you thought through your project ideas brilliantly and executed them with impressive skill. Whether you took home a prize or not, you contributed something valuable to the ecosystem.

We hope to see all these teams continue building and shining. We're cheering for you from the sidelines!

Our wish is for everyone involved to keep learning, building, and having fun. These projects are valuable contributions to the bitcoin ecosystem, and we hope to see them flourish.

See you in the community!

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