The October 30th X Space was a special edition, marked by the live announcement of the Casper Hackathon 2026!
Co-sponsored by Halborn Security, registration for the hackathon is now open on
DoraHacks.io and project submissions will open on November 14. The hackathon features a $25,000 prize pool, and winners will be selected by the community through on-chain voting on CSPR.fans.
You can access the full recording of this session here.
Beyond the hackathon announcement, the session featured project updates across the ecosystem, including the progress in the Casper 2.1 release, AmeriCorp’s on-chain testing of its parking solution, partnerships, and much more.
Matt was the first speaker of the X Space, providing us with a high level overview of the ecosystem news.
Since the last X Space, Matt attended CV Summit in Zürich and Token2049 in Singapore, where he reconnected with long-time supporters of Casper Network, as well as institutional participants and major token holders.
He emphasized that Casper’s core belief remains unchanged: it’s the combination of technical innovation and ecosystem traction that drives sustainable momentum.
Casper continues to make progress across both fronts, from protocol-level upgrades to real-world applications. Matt shared a brief snapshot of recent highlights before handing it over to Michael Steuer for deeper technical updates:
Michael opened the session with a comprehensive overview of engineering and ecosystem progress made since the last X Space in September.
He reflected on the beta rollout of Liquid Staking by Wise Lending, which launched after the previous X Space and has since seen strong community participation. “The response has been very encouraging,” he said, noting that users have already started staking CSPR, moving liquid tokens, and submitting feedback. The beta remains open, and users are invited to try it at testnet.wiselending.com.
On the core engineering front, Michael confirmed that the final sprints for Casper 2.1 are now complete. The upgrade introduces several long-awaited features, most notably the activation of fee burning on the network, enabled by a recent on-chain governance vote. The feature is already live on devnet and will roll out to mainnet together with 2.1.
Another major performance improvement is the halving of block time, bringing finality down to 8 seconds. “Thanks to Casper’s instant finality,” Michael emphasized, “transactions are completely irreversible and final, no waiting for 64 confirmations.”
He also teased ongoing work on the new VM2, which will coexist with the current VM, making Casper one of the only networks to support multiple execution environments on Layer 1. Michael encouraged the community to follow the monthly execution environment preview series, where lead engineer Michał Papierski demos VM2 progress.
Michael then shifted to broader ecosystem highlights:
He provided an update on the Americorp collaboration to bring the $144B/year U.S. parking industry on-chain. After finalizing product requirements and integrating with infrastructure providers, testnet transactions are now live and the mainnet rollouts on the horizon.
Progress continues on the community-led lottery dApp. The developer team now testing on testnet. Announcements are expected before the next X Space.
Developer tooling saw upgrades from MAKE, including WalletConnect support via CSPR.click, and further Casper Wallet integration on iOS and Android. A major CSPR.live redesign is also underway to improve usability for mainstream users.
Finally, Michael acknowledged the Ecosystem Team’s work throughout October. Since putting out a call for new community managers, nearly 100 applications were reviewed, and several new hires are now active on Telegram and Discord.
He also highlighted the launch of the Get Started page on casper.network, which features a set of beginner guides to simplify onboarding for Web3 newcomers. Michael noted that more content would be added soon.
And then, Michael introduced Tamara Wasserman, Head of Ecosystem at the Casper Association, to share a special announcement.
Tamara shared her background, tracing a path from law to a career in brand strategy, international conferences, and eventually tech startups in business intelligence and e-commerce, where she first discovered blockchain.
A CSPR holder since 2021, Tamara emphasized her passion for connecting people with ideas and her excitement about building with the Casper community.
Michael thanked Tamara and welcomed her to the team before diving into the day's biggest announcement:
The official launch of Casper Hackathon 2026!
Tamara introduced the hackathon as a global event beginning on November 14 and hosted online via DoraHacks.io, a platform that brings together more than 250,000 developers. The hackathon is co-sponsored by Halborn Security, Casper’s audit partner, whose involvement strengthens the event’s focus on smart contract security and adds to the prize pool.
The Casper community will choose finalists and winners through CSPR.fans, a public voting mini-app. Tamara highlighted how this approach gives the community a direct role in shaping the network’s future.
Michael added that while the community vote determines the official winners, the Casper Association will also support additional high-potential projects that might not top the vote, ensuring multiple paths to support and visibility.
And support goes beyond cash prizes: selected teams will receive technical mentorship, promotion, and potential grant opportunities to help launch real apps and businesses on the network.
On the technical side, submissions must include a working prototype on Casper Testnet, a public GitHub repository, and a demo video. Michael expressed hope for projects focused on scalable use cases, interoperability, and real-world problem-solving, while leaving the door open for surprises from the builder community.
They also announced the new season of CSPR.fans, launching alongside the hackathon on November 14. Community members will be able to earn points within the app and use them to vote on-chain for their favorite projects. Tamara celebrated this model of blockchain-powered decision-making:
“It makes the hackathon more inclusive. Even if you’re not a developer, you can still participate, follow projects, vote, and help shape the outcome.”
Key timeline:
A full example dApp combining Odra, CSPR.click, and CSPR.cloud will be provided as a resource for new developers.
Q: How does Casper compare with the top 5 blockchains, and what is the roadmap for 2026?
A: The “top 5” list includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, XRP, and BNB, each with very different purposes (store of value, stablecoin, exchange token, etc.). So comparisons aren’t apples to apples. As for 2026, Casper is doubling down on adoption-focused development, alongside the new VM release. The goal is to give the ecosystem what it needs to drive meaningful growth.
Q: What are the top 3 things Casper needs to accelerate adoption, and is it working on them?
A:
Q: Why hasn’t the ‘custom solution’ approach worked for Casper Labs/MAKE?
A: We can’t speak for Casper Labs. MAKE continues to help projects of all sizes, like AmeriCorps, and others.
Q: Can we do a community poll to create prediction markets on Casper?
A: Yes.
Q: How will Casper 2.0’s enterprise and tokenization focus translate into real usage and CSPR demand, especially in a crowded Layer-1 space?
A: Tokenization isn’t a winner-takes-all game. Issuers choose the best-fit platform. Casper’s strengths, especially for regulated and multi-governed use cases, give it a clear differentiator.
Q: Any updates on potential partnerships with international parking companies?
A: Discussions are ongoing. Any announcements will be made officially.
Q: Will there be a burn tracking website like cspr.burn?
A: Burn data will be available via the block explorer once the burn mechanism goes live.
Q: Vote #006: What’s the minimum validator fee, and how does it affect delegators?
A: No minimum is set yet.
Q: With fee burning, will CSPR inflation be tuned or capped?
A: Any tokenomics change must be approved through community governance and validator acceptance. It won’t be imposed top-down.
Q: WalletConnect integration: which dApps will support it first?
A: Any app using CSPR.click can support it now. It’s already active in many dApps. Integration requires just a few lines of code.
Q: CSPR.fun (no-code token launcher): What standards and anti-abuse mechanisms are in place?
A:
Q: After Gate US, what’s the plan for more U.S. listings and regulated custodians?
A: Both on the regulated custodian front as well as access to broader liquidity, we are focused on expanding both in the United States and beyond.
Q: When will stablecoin rails and bridges go live (e.g., native USDC via CCTP or Wormhole)?
A: These are top priorities, but require third-party collaboration. Announcements will come when ready.
Q: Governance roadmap: Will delegators get direct voting rights and a governance dashboard?
A:
Yes.
Q: Any news about listings on Turkish exchanges?
A: Yes. Casper has a strong Turkish community and presence at local events. Discussions with Turkish exchanges are ongoing. When there are listings, they will be announced through the appropriate channels.
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