The largest IT hackathon in Kazakhstan will take place simultaneously in 20 cities

From March 27 to April 5, 2026, Decentrathon 5.0 — the largest hackathon in Kazakhstan — will take place across the country. The event is organized by Astana Hub and the Blockchain & AI Technology Center (BAITC) with the support of the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The hackathon will bring together the technology community from 20 cities and will become part of the first national technology forum Digital Qazaqstan.

Launch within the Digital Qazaqstan forum

The official opening of Decentrathon 5.0 will be held on March 27 in Shymkent, on the day of the Digital Qazaqstan forum. The opening ceremony will include a special program and a presentation of the hackathon format.

After the offline launch, teams will continue working in an online format. Over the following nine days, participants will develop projects, receive expert support, and prepare final presentations.

3,000 developers and 20 cities

This season, the hackathon will take place simultaneously in 20 cities: Shymkent, Astana, Almaty, Aktau, Aktobe, Atyrau, Zhezkazgan, Karaganda, Kokshetau, Kostanay, Kyzylorda, Pavlodar, Petropavl, Semey, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Konaev, Taldykorgan, Taraz, Turkestan, and Uralsk.

More than 3,000 developers and 1,500 teams are expected to participate. Participants will create solutions in two key tracks — AI and Blockchain.

Within the Year of Digitalization

According to Zhaslan Madiyev, Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the hackathon plays an important role in developing the country’s technology ecosystem.

“This is one of the largest IT events in the country, bringing together developers from all regions of Kazakhstan for several years. This format helps consolidate human capital and strengthen expertise in artificial intelligence. In line with the priorities outlined by the President within the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, engaging the professional community in the development and promotion of domestic digital solutions is of particular importance. Globally, there is a growing trend toward crowdsourcing approaches, and it is important for this practice to become part of our national ecosystem. This will provide an additional boost to the quality and demand for technological products,” Zhaslan Madiyev emphasized.

Decentrathon 5.0 is held as part of the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence in Kazakhstan. Organizers note that the initiative aims to support the development of domestic digital technologies and foster a new generation of IT specialists.

Details and registration are available on the official hackathon page.