The Nimiq Mini Apps Competition is open. Cycle 1 begins on July 6: four focused weeks to build, test, improve, and submit a working Mini App for a chance to win prizes and get featured in the Nimiq ecosystem. The Registration Dashboard is live today with everything builders need to prepare: competition rules, the scoring system, FAQ, the Developer Center documentation, and all the details for the first cycle.
This is not a prototype challenge. The goal is to help builders create useful, polished, user-facing Mini Apps that real people can open and use from day one. We want to see what gets built, meet the people building it, and grow the Nimiq ecosystem together.
What is the Nimiq Mini Apps Competition?
A Mini App is a web application that runs inside Nimiq Pay and connects to a user's Nimiq and/or Ethereum address. The Nimiq Mini Apps Competition is a multi-cycle builder competition. A cycle is a four-week building sprint with its own prize pool, followed by judging and winner announcements before the next cycle begins. Participants create Mini Apps using the Nimiq Mini Apps Framework. From games to productivity apps, the sky is the limit. As long as it runs in Nimiq Pay and uses wallet, transaction, or payment functionality as a meaningful part of the experience, it can qualify. Full details in the Registration Dashboard.
The competition is designed to attract builders who want to create real products, not temporary demos. Winning Mini Apps will receive prize payouts in USDT, gain visibility inside the Nimiq Pay ecosystem, and have the opportunity to keep growing beyond the competition.
What is Nimiq Pay?
Nimiq Pay (Google/Apple) is a mobile app that brings real crypto payment experiences to users in a simple, useful way. It is where Nimiq Mini Apps live, and it gives builders a place to create apps that connect crypto payments, transactions, and wallet-powered features to practical everyday use cases.
Nimiq also has a separate browser-based wallet, which is not part of this challenge. Mini Apps are only available inside Nimiq Pay, so competition submissions must be built for the Nimiq Mini Apps experience.
For builders, the advantage is simple: you do not need to build every payment or wallet interaction from scratch. Nimiq Pay provides the environment for real crypto-powered experiences, while you focus on the idea, product experience, and execution.
Cycle 1 Begins July 6
Cycle 1 starts on July 6 and runs for four weeks.
During the cycle, builders will move from idea to launch through a structured process:
Week 1 is for picking an idea, setting up, joining the community, and starting the build.
Week 2 is for building in public, sharing progress, asking questions, and collecting early feedback.
Week 3 is the early access period, where Mini Apps go public for community testing and real user feedback.
Week 4 is for final polish, submission review, promotion, and making sure everything works before judging begins.
Winners of the inaugural cycle are expected to be announced around August 1.
The Registration Dashboard is Live
The Registration Dashboard is the main starting point for the competition. It includes everything builders need before joining:
- About the competition
- Rules and eligibility
- Scoring and judging criteria
- General FAQ
- Technical FAQ
- Developer Center docs
- Key dates and community calls
Review the Registration Dashboard before July 6 so you understand what qualifies, how apps will be scored, and everything you need to know to submit your mini app.
What Can You Build?
Almost anything that is useful, functional, and meaningfully integrated with Nimiq and Ethereum providers.
Participants can build from scratch, adapt an existing app, use templates, or vibe code with AI coding tools. If you have never shipped a crypto app before but have an idea and the energy to build it, this competition is designed for you too. The final submission must be a working Mini App that a real user can try on the first attempt.
Possible ideas include skill-based games, social payment tools, group savings apps, creator monetization tools, digital marketplaces, paid task platforms, invoice tools, cashback apps, educational apps, tipping flows, event tools, and more.
The strongest submissions will likely be focused, polished, and easy to understand. A simple Mini App that solves a clear problem can score higher than a larger project that feels unfinished.
Build with AI
Not sure how to get started? One command gives your AI coding tool everything it needs to build Mini Apps correctly. Install the Nimiq AI Mini Apps skill into your project and your AI coding tool will have the rules, patterns, and API knowledge for the Nimiq Mini Apps Framework. It works with Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code Copilot, and any tool that supports the Agent Skills spec. Once installed, the AI can scaffold a new project from scratch, convert an existing web app into a Mini App, or run a pre-ship checklist before you submit.
Rules and Eligibility
The competition is open to individuals and teams of up to five people. Participants must be 18 or older, have a public GitHub profile, and have or create a Nimiq wallet to receive prize payouts.
Each individual or team may submit one Mini App per cycle. Previous winners may enter future cycles with new Mini Apps, but cannot resubmit a winning app. Non-winning Mini Apps may be resubmitted in a future cycle if they show significant improvements or new functionality.
All submissions must be open source in a public GitHub repository under the MIT License. Mini Apps must be functional, live, testable, and built on the Nimiq Mini Apps Framework. They must support USDT, NIM, or both. Mini Apps that support and incentivize NIM usage can receive bonus points.
Apps that involve gambling, misleading behavior, phishing, illegal activity, malware, hidden functionality, unauthorized use of third-party assets, hate speech, sexually explicit content, or undisclosed collection of user data do not qualify.
Check the Registration Dashboard for the full rules.
Submissions
Submissions are made via pull request to the official competition GitHub repository. A submission portal with full details will be available on the Registration Dashboard when Cycle 1 begins on July 6.
How Scoring Works
Submissions will be scored by Nimiq Community Council members across four main categories:
- Design and UX
- Functionality
- Usefulness and originality
- Marketing and distribution
Each submission will be evaluated on practical criteria: first impression, visual polish, mobile experience, onboarding, core functionality, Nimiq integration, performance, error handling, target audience, repeat value, ecosystem value, user acquisition, storytelling, community engagement, and submission quality.
The maximum score is 105 points, including up to 5 bonus points for Mini Apps that incentivize usage of NIM.
One thing worth noting: marketing and distribution are part of the scoring system from day one. This is not an afterthought. Builders who share progress publicly, show up in the community, and bring real users to their app will score higher than builders who ship in silence. The best Mini App is the one people actually find and use, and the scoring reflects that.
In other words: do not just build. Ship something polished, tell the story of what you are building, get real users to try it, and show up in the community.
You can find the full scoring breakdown in the Registration Dashboard.
Prizes
The competition has a total prize pool of $50,000 USDT across three consecutive cycles.
For Cycle 1, the prize pool is $17,000 USDT:
- 1st place: $10,000
- 2nd place: $5,000
- 3rd place: $2,000
Prize payouts are made in USDT and distributed over three months through a milestone-based system. The structure is intentional: it is designed to reward Mini Apps that stay live, stay maintained, and keep delivering value after the competition ends, not just apps that look good on submission day. Full milestone details are available in the Registration Dashboard.
Winning builders retain full ownership of their Mini App, code, and intellectual property, while releasing the competition submission under the MIT License.
The Skool Community Is Live
The Mini Apps Competition Skool community is now open as the main home base for builders.
Join here!
Inside the community, participants can get updates, ask questions, find collaborators, share progress, validate ideas, promote their work, and receive technical support.
The community includes dedicated spaces for:
- Sip & Ship Calls
- Find a Cofounder
- Validate Your Idea
- Promote Your Work
- Technical Support
Sip & Ship Calls
Sip & Ship calls are live weekly builder sessions where participants can sip a coffee, build, ask questions, get unstuck, receive feedback, and connect with other builders.
These calls are not required, but they are highly recommended. Builders who participate, share progress, help others, and stay active in the community may also strengthen their marketing and community engagement score.
Find a Cofounder
Have an idea but need help building it? Know how to code but want someone to help with design, marketing, or product thinking?
The Find a Cofounder space inside Skool is designed to help participants form teams and connect with others who have complementary skills.
Teams can include up to five people, with one designated lead for communication and prize payouts.
Validate Your Idea
Not sure what to build yet?
Builders can use the Validate Your Idea space to share early concepts, get feedback from the community, refine their target audience, and pressure-test whether an app idea is useful before committing to the build.
The competition is not about building the biggest app. It is about building something real, clear, functional, and useful.
Promote Your Work
Marketing and distribution are part of the scoring system, so builders are encouraged to share progress publicly throughout the competition.
The Promote Your Work space is where participants can post demos, updates, screenshots, videos, progress logs, launch announcements, and calls for testers.
Building in public can help attract users, collect feedback, and strengthen a submission before final judging.
Technical Support
Builders can ask framework-related questions in the Technical Support space inside Skool. The Nimiq team will provide support through public community channels so all participants can benefit from the answers.
For deeper technical guidance, builders should also use the Developer Center, which includes documentation, tutorials, API references, local testing guides, and resources for building with AI tools.
Official Mini Apps Competition Social Channels
The Mini Apps Competition now also has dedicated social channels. Follow them for announcements, updates, builder highlights, reminders, and competition content.
X: @miniappscomp
Instagram: @miniappscompetition
TikTok: @miniappscompetition
YouTube Shorts: /miniappscompetition
Builders are encouraged to tag the official channels when sharing their progress, demos, and launch updates.
Start Here
The best way to prepare is simple:
- Visit the Registration Dashboard.
- Read the Starter Kit that you have received in your inbox.
- Join the Skool community.
- Create your Nimiq Pay wallet.
- Review the Developer Center docs.
- Pick or validate your idea.
- Start building before Cycle 1 begins on July 6.
Whether you are an experienced developer, an AI builder, a vibe coder, or someone with a simple idea for a useful app, the Nimiq Mini Apps Competition is designed to help you ship.
Cycle 1 begins July 6.
Build something real. Launch it. Share it. Improve it. And bring your Mini App into the Nimiq Pay ecosystem. See you on July 6.
Pura Vida
Team Nimiq