Short Description

This is reimbursement funding for a Polkadot event at Token 2049 in Dubai organized by CCTF. This event was a part of the CCTF (capture-the-flag) competition series and was held on a yacht departing from Dubai Harbour. Ecosystem representatives, investors, top hackers, and other high-quality individuals involved in web3 were present. The event brought with it numerous articles where Polkadot was highlighted, as well as an aftermovie video.

We highlighted Polkadot as our main sponsor at the event and provided 40 free tickets to the yacht for the Polkadot ecosystem. Notably, some ecosystem members bought the tickets (probably didn’t know about this option) so we refund when this proposal passes.

The event was also organized in partnership with Polkadot Pulse and we pushed a strong PR out, the Coverage board speaks for itself:

Summary

Token 2049 was scheduled to take place in Dubai in mid-April, and Polkadot Ambassadors were keen on launching the event prior to the festival portion of the CCTF series. This marked the ninth occasion CCTF had organized such an event, with all previous instances having been successful. We had the opportunity to highlight the Polkadot ecosystem alongside fellow ambassadors and parachain representatives, who were already attending the upcoming Token 2049 event.

Given that Token 2049 was a significant event for investors, outsourcing the business development aspect of our side event presented an exceptional opportunity. This approach allowed us to focus on showcasing the technical and innovative strengths of the Polkadot ecosystem while the outsourced teams concentrated on engaging potential investors, partners, and stakeholders.

In addition to networking and business development activities, the original plan was to have the side event feature presentations from various teams within the Polkadot ecosystem. These presentations were designed to showcase the latest developments, innovations, and use cases being developed on the Polkadot platform.

Unfortunately, due to severe weather conditions the previous day, some presenters couldn’t make it to the venue because of flooded roads. Additionally, we asked most of the guests whether they would like to see the remaining presentations (which they had mostly listened to throughout the day at the Polkadot Pulse event). They collectively decided to forgo the remaining talks and instead enjoy the boat ride, engage in casual conversations, and network. We understood their request, as everyone was exhausted from the struggles they had faced that day and earlier, given that Dubai had experienced its worst rainfall in history.
The event was primarily financed by the sponsors, with CCTF itself playing a significant role, along with providing food and beverages for up to 120 guests.

What is CCTF?

CCTF DAO a collective of hackers, cryptographers and have set out to create high quality, decentralized Web3 events, made by hackers for hackers, developers and founders. With CCTF you can not just capture flags, but actual wallets, real prizes and even customers.
Our challenges cover everything from basic hacking tasks such as passphrase cracking, steganography, and web exploitation to more complex blockchain-related issues like exploiting substrate based vulnerabilities, smart contract hacking, front-running, and breaking RSA implementations. Our primary aim is to enjoy ourselves while presenting the most authentic crypto Capture The Flag event.
Core Members: Six (Founder, also Polkadot Head Ambassador), Silur, Gabor Bovai “Gabo” (Polkadot Senior Ambassador)

CCTF has a track record of organizing successful Polkadot-related events (on-chain identity), including the Polkadot Championship series, a mini hackathon in Dubai, participation at Hacktivity in Budapest, and took part in the initiation of the Polkadot Sanctuary in Bali.

What is Token 2049?

TOKEN2049 is the premier crypto event, organized annually in Dubai and Singapore, where founders and executives of the leading Web3 companies and projects share their view on the industry. We shine a light on the global developments, while taking a unique and widening perspective on the ecosystem and its vast opportunities.
TOKEN2049 brings together the global Web3 industry, uniting entrepreneurs, investors, developers, industry insiders and global media - and creates unparalleled networking opportunities.

Official partners

Media partners:

Token 2049
HITB Security Conference
NEAR Toronto
Itheum
Desert Cinematography
HODLbag DAO
Cryptopolitan
The Blockopedia

Ecosystem partners:

Web3 Foundation
$BEEFY
Polkadot Pulse Dubai
Mandala Chain
InvArch
UNIQUE Network
SubWallet
Nova Wallet
Talisman Wallet
Polkadot Championship
StellaSwap
dAppForge

Requested budget

The event was primarily financed by the sponsors, with CCTF itself playing a significant role, along with providing food and beverages for up to 120 guests.

For reference, the full budget of the event was $45 000 from which $30 000 was retroactively paid by CCTF DAO itself, trusting the feedback from the Polkadot community that they will support our retroactive proposal.

Requested budget: $30 000.