Breez, Lightspark, and Tether Launch Time2Build, Global Hackathon with $25K In Prizes to Boost Open-Source Bitcoin Integrations

Breez, in partnership with Lightspark, Tether, and other Bitcoin industry leaders, has launched Time2Build, a global developer challenge and international hackathon to embed Bitcoin payments into open-source software. The initiative offers a $25,000 prize pool in Bitcoin and residencies at Draper University and PlebLab, and is backed by Plan B Network, and Fulgur Ventures, Geyser Fund, according to a press release shared with Bitcoin Magazine.

This ambitious hackathon looks to create sustainable adoption of peer-to-peer money in applications used by millions. Lead by Breez, Time2Build requires developers to integrate the Breez SDK — a free, open-source toolkit for self-custodial Lightning Network payments — into existing open-source projects. Unlike normal hackathons, submissions must be merged into production by project maintainers, ensuring lasting impact. Eligible projects must use free and open-source software (FOSS) licenses, have active communities, and serve real-world users.

The challenge runs from October 7 to November 15, 2025, with a merge period until December 16, 2025, and winners announced on January 8, 2026. A panel including Jeff Booth, author of The Price of Tomorrow, and representatives from Lightspark, Tether, and Breez will judge entries. Prizes include $7,000 for top projects, $3,500 for mid-tier, and $1,000 for select entries, all in Bitcoin, plus residencies.

Over 40 developer communities across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and North America — from Lagos to London — are participating, hosting meetups to promote the challenge. Partners include the Plan B Network, Fulgur Ventures, Geyser Fund, Draper University, and PlebLab.

Roy Sheinfeld, Breez CEO, stated: “There’s never been a better time to build on Bitcoin. Developers now have the tools to bring peer-to-peer money to anyone, anywhere, anytime. This finally unlocks the transfer of value, just as the internet unlocked the transfer of information. We’ve launched Time2Build to spark the next generation of open-source apps, and we can’t wait to see what they create.”.

The Breez SDK simplifies Lightning integrations, supporting protocols like Bolt11 and LNURL-Pay without third-party dependencies. This addresses past complexities in Bitcoin development, enabling value transfers akin to internet data flows, as noted by Breez.

Kevin Hurley, Lightspark co-founder and CTO, added: “Lightspark is building open payments for the Internet – modern, always-on payment solutions powered by Bitcoin: the only open, neutral network for moving value. Bitcoin’s potential as a programmable, global money is finally within reach, and it’s developers who will take it the rest of the way. Time2Build is the perfect stage for builders to put that to the test. We’re proud to support this challenge and can’t wait to see new use cases unlocked across the world.”.

Developers can register at time2build.dev or contact Danny Stagg at danny@breez.technology.

This post Breez, Lightspark, and Tether Launch Time2Build, Global Hackathon with $25K In Prizes to Boost Open-Source Bitcoin Integrations first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.