For the team behind Hashlists, participating in their first Gitcoin OSS Round was the catalyst needed to develop the project. “It was our first real test,” says Alex, one of the three co-founders. Although they were a small team with only around 200 followers on social media, the support they received was key validation of their vision. Running in the round gave them the confidence and exposure to continue building Hashlists, a protocol for managing onchain curated lists.
Hashlists started as a solution to a common issue in web3: blockchain spam and unwanted transactions. During a LUKSO hackathon on Buidlbox (which originally sprung out of the Gitcoin hackathon team), the team developed Universal GRAVE, a project designed to filter out unwanted tokens and transactions. Imagine curated allowlists and blocklists for your wallet.
The founders—Pablo, Hosain, and Alex, collectively known as YearOne —are all experienced software engineers who met through Discord and Telegram forums. They shared a desire to build in web3, and started to build their reputation through incremental projects. Their participation in GG20 marked a significant turning point. “The Gitcoin round was crucial,” Alex explains. “It wasn’t just about the money; it validated that we were building something valuable.”
Running their first Gitcoin round was an intimidating undertaking. “We weren’t sure how to navigate it all—promoting our project, understanding where the money comes from, and proving our value,” Alex recalls. Yet, the project placed first in the amount of matching per voter category.
“We ranked first in terms of matching per voter, which was a huge confidence boost for us as a new project.” – Alex
The initial success and community support the team received through running in GG20, provided the motivation to keep going. “We continued building and secured a grant from LUKSO, which was a huge boost,” says Alex. The team is now focusing on expanding their user base and community, essential for long-term sustainability.
Hashlists is also participating in the LUKSO Community Round on Gitcoin to secure additional funding.
What’s Next for Hashlists?
Hashlists is currently focused on refining its protocol and improving user experience through testing on the LUKSO blockchain and Arbitrum. Alex mentions the idea to bring this curation mechanism to Arbitrum as an important step for Hashlists.“The Gitcoin round itself raised our awareness about Arbitrum, and inspired us to integrate the main protocol on Arbitrum.” In order to gain traction you have to show a convincing argument for the curation being leveraged by other protocols on-chain. This initial phase aims to validate their core assumptions and enhance the UI/UX for managing curated lists.
Looking ahead, Hashlists plans to expand to more blockchains and introduce advanced curation features, such as token-specific NFT management. Their ultimate goal is to bridge web2 and web3, enabling users to curate both blockchain assets and real-world items, making curation accessible to a wider audience.
GG20 brought the team’s idea into the spotlight, enabling them to gather crucial feedback and connect with a wider audience. While they didn’t raise a significant amount initially, the experience solidified their belief that they were on the right track. “Gitcoin was key in validating our concept and giving us a platform to showcase our work,” Alex recalls.
The Hashlists journey underscores that Gitcoin Grants is not just a platform for raising funds; it is a launchpad for innovative ideas and early-stage projects seeking validation and support. For Hashlists, Gitcoin provided an opportunity to gain visibility, test their concept, and connect with a community of like-minded individuals and potential collaborators.