ETHIstanbul was created as a large-scale conference and hackathon to bring together builders, researchers, students, founders, and global ecosystem teams in Istanbul. The event was designed not only as a gathering for the existing Ethereum community, but also as a long-term ecosystem-building initiative for Türkiye, aiming to create a stronger bridge between local talent and the global blockchain world. Internal planning documents describe it as a community-driven effort launched under Builders Week Istanbul to sustain the momentum left by Devconnect 2023 and to help grow a more durable builder culture in the region.
Held from September 5 to 7, 2025, ETHIstanbul combined a conference day with a two-day hackathon and brought together a significant builder audience in Istanbul and the region. The event review states that the conference day hosted 800 attendees and 14 speakers, while the hackathon brought in 300+ hackers, forming 60 teams and building 50 projects. The same review also notes that $41,000 was distributed to builders through the hackathon prize pool.
ETHIstanbul was not a single-company event. It was built through a wider community coalition, and that is important to preserve in the story. The event materials repeatedly describe ETHIstanbul as a community-driven effort under Builders Week Istanbul, created by local developers and producers rather than launched as a commercial expo by one central organizer. The ecosystem around it included communities like ModaPalas, academic and research contributors, sponsor networks, mentors, and local builder groups.
Within that broader coalition, node101 played a strategic and cross-functional role. One internal description states directly that node101 is the most important strategic partner of the ModaPalas community and contributes across the whole operation, from design to technical work, including product building. That gives us the clearest way to position node101 here: not as the sole owner of ETHIstanbul, but as one of the infrastructure partners helping make the event actually work.
In practical terms, that means supporting the event across organizational execution, design quality, technical production, and the overall builder experience, while working alongside the rest of the ecosystem that co-shaped the event.
Day by day flow
Friday, September 5, was the conference day. The event was planned as a full-day gathering, roughly between 09:00 and 18:00, with the purpose of bringing developers, founders, researchers, and blockchain enthusiasts into one room before the hackathon began. The conference targeted 800 participants and focused on the latest developments in blockchain, especially AI agents in blockchain, interoperability, rollups, and broader protocol-level architectural changes. In the final review, the conference day is reported as hosting more than 800 attendees and 14 speakers.
The speaker layer gave the conference its technical tone. Justin Drake, Luca Donnoh, Oğuz Yayla, Davide Rezzoli, Rahul Kothari, and Istvan Andreas Seres were listed among the speakers. The speaker list also included Arnaud Schenk, Akaki Mamageishvili, Nicky Chelebi, Ahmad Bitar, Dan Mills, Furkan Doğan, DeFi Dave, Kassandra Miszke, Filip Pajić, and Martinet Lee.
Friday evening marked the transition into the hackathon. The hackathon officially started on September 5 at 18:00, immediately after the conference. This first block was dedicated to onboarding and team formation, allowing participants to move directly from talks and networking into collaboration. That transition was one of the strongest ideas behind ETHIstanbul: people did not simply attend talks and leave; they stayed, formed teams, and started building.
Saturday, September 6, was the main hacking day. Team setup was scheduled to be completed by 10:00 on Saturday, after which participants moved into the core build phase. The hackathon was designed as a 52-hour build environment hosted at Rami Library, a venue chosen not just for capacity but also for atmosphere. node101 intentionally chose a library with strong historical character to create a more memorable and inspiring builder environment, thanks to the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry and Rami executives for the cooperation. The event structure also included catering, sponsor stands, mentor and jury spaces, and support systems designed to make the experience feel complete and production-ready.
Sunday, September 7, was about submissions, judging, and finals. Product submissions were accepted until 18:00, and final presentation sessions were planned to begin at 20:00, with the event ending at 22:00. The hackathon brought together 300+ dedicated hackers, 60 teams, and 50 submitted projects, with $41,000 distributed to builders through sponsor bounties and ETHIstanbul’s own top-up.
The event was run on a zero-profit basis, with ticket and sponsorship revenue redirected into prizes, production, and public resources.
