Congrats first to Knock, Blacktop, Nimiq kids and PROOF. You shipped, and people use what you built. Now the honest part: I'm disappointed. Partly because stakes.day didn't win, sure. You enter a competition to win. But the bigger part is how this cycle was run, and what I learned about building on Nimiq along the way. So here it is, straight. What's on us: the Council said users decided a lot, with full points at 25+. We had 22 wallets transact with Stakes, and Nimiq Pay sends from changing addresses, so the number of real people is likely lower. We missed that bar. I don't argue with it. What wasn't on us: - The dates kept moving. Cycle 2 was first published as 10 Aug to 7 Sep and ran 24 Aug to 18 Sep. Cycle 3 was set for 14 Sep, then 7 Oct, now 14 Oct. Results were due 2 Oct and came out 8 Oct. - The scoring changed mid-cycle. The final rubric went up on 3 Sep, ten days in. Design dropped from 25 points to 10 and a new 25-point Nimiq category appeared. That's a moving target. - The prize split changed at the end. The rules page said $10k, $5k and $2k, and it still does. Then first place became $7k so a fourth app could be paid. I'm happy for everyone who got paid, but a published prize should stay the published prize. - There was no freeze. Submissions closed on 18 Sep, but apps are judged live and nothing says which version counts. Some apps kept shipping all through the judging weeks. We froze ours a week before the deadline, because we read "deadline" as a deadline. - 15 points ride on "unique users", and nowhere does it say how a user is counted. - Open source, but only at the door. Entries had to be public repos under the MIT license, and Nimiq kids passed that check on 18 Sep. Today its repo shows "page not found", and I don't know when or why. Nothing in the rules forbids it, and I've made the Stakes code private too now that we're out. But a prize-winning app whose code nobody can read anymore doesn't sit right with me. The platform:

It all comes down to Thursday. The Cycle 2 winner announcement is dropping on October 8th. The Community Council has worked through every submission and the results are ready. To every builder who submitted a Mini App, you put in the work and Thursday is your moment. To everyone who followed along, tested Mini Apps, and cheered builders on, you're part of this too. Don't miss it! 🥁

If you’ve been building Mini Apps here, you’ve been building on the Nimiq blockchain. And because Nimiq is community-driven, builders aren’t just users of the ecosystem. You have a real say in where it goes next. The Nimiq Protocol Technical Roadmap was published last Friday and is now open for feedback in the forum. If you have questions about stablecoin support, privacy, or anything else on the list, post them in that milestone's thread. The first round of answers goes out this Friday! 👉 https://forum.nimiq.community/t/intro-to-the-nimiq-protocol-roadmap/2628

Okayyy I know some of us are getting impatient for the results 😂 So while we wait… who do YOU think should win Cycle 2? 🏆 Only rule is that you can’t pick your own mini app😂 Drop the Mini App that most impressed you below and tag the builder! Let’s show each other some love while we wait 🙌

Did you create an admin portal to spot bad actors? I did. I can see who is: - Trying to game the system; - Trying to earn more NIM without using the app; - Trying to call my backend without approval, etc. Because your app is vibe-coded and involves money transfers, I would advise you to tighten up security and build an admin panel to spot bad actors visually. The admin panel shouldn't just be about analytics or who is using the app. When real money is involved, security is a priority.