Agora Agents Hackathon
> > See all details here! https://agora.thecanteenapp.com/
>> Discord link here: https://discord.gg/TGnyfKh23V
The Agora Agents Hackathon is Canteen's two-week builder series in partnership with Circle on Arc!
For hackers that want to create AI agents that trade, invest, create, and interface with markets — settled on Arc, Circle's stablecoin-native L1.
What does this mean for me?
A $50K prize pool (in cash or equivalents) across grand prizes, standout teams, and easter eggs
Direct access to Canteen's research, founders, and network
Real settlement on Arc — sub-second finality, ~$0.01 USDC fees
Six published Requests for Builders (RFBs) with concrete, buildable angles
Mentorship and programming throughout the two weeks
Why Agora?
In classical Athens, the agora was the open square where the city traded. It functioned as infrastructure, eg as a coordination layer for people who didn't otherwise know each other, with public memory of who behaved well.
The agent economy needs the same — discovery, transaction, and reputation among parties. We're building the agora again, this time for non-human participants!
AI agents are becoming economic actors — but the rails to do that economically don't exist on most chains. Arc gives them the right physics: predictable USDC fees instead of volatile gas, sub-second deterministic finality, and stablecoin-native settlement at the protocol layer. That's what we're here to build on, paired with Circle's full-stack platform — USDC, CCTP, Gateway, and App Kit.
Who this is for?
You should be comfortable shipping fast and talking to users! We love researchers, students, and engineers — even those new to crypto.
Dates: May 11 – May 25, 2026
Format: Online, 2 weeks
Access: Apply to join
More details coming soon!
About Canteen: A research and technology firm at the intersection of AI, crypto, and payments. Based in New York City. More at thecanteenapp.com
About Circle: The issuer of USDC and creator of Arc — an EVM L1 designed from the ground up to be stablecoin-native, with predictable USDC fees and sub-second deterministic finality. Testnet at arc.network