Binance Copied a BNB Chain Hackathon Winner's Project To Create Bicasso – Crypto...

Binance has released a new tool dubbed Bicasso. The project is designed to turn ideas into NFTs with the help of artificial intelligence. However, it appears the project is a rip-off from recent BNB Hackathon winner Hunt Town, who built the Chatcasso solution. 

Is Bicasso An Original Creation?

People will notice their ideas when people partake in hackathons tied to specific blockchain ecosystems. More often than not, teams can win a prize in monetary value or incubation support. For example, the Seoul BNB Chain hackathon of December 2022 saw plenty of participation. Ultimately, the winner of the Lifestyle in Web3 track was Hunt Town. As more people focus on decentralization and Web3, any solution leveraging this technology will be in high demand. 

The Hunt Town team put together a tool called Chatcasso. It is a guided platform letting users mint non-fungible tokens through text input. Once the text is provided, the team’s artificial intelligence solution will create the requested image. It is a simple idea that can empower millions of creatives and artists globally. Moreover, the team won $5,000 in BUSD – a now virtually defunct stablecoin – for their efforts.

Their Chatcasso got a lot of attention following the BNB Chain hackathon. But, more importantly, the team felt they opened new doors to keep enhancing the solution. Unfortunately, it appears their solution has been “absorbed” by Binance, as its Bicasso project is a near 1:1 copy. Although the text input has some design changes, the concept remains unchanged. In addition, Binance and Hunt Town seemingly had no further communication regarding using this technology or idea for Bicasso.

A big company like Binance copying everything down to the name?

It's not only unethical, but it's also confusing for users. The names are so similar that it's hard to tell them apart.

— ggoma (@0xggoma) March 2, 2023

One can argue the project’s idea became the “property” of Binance through participation in the Hackathon. However, there is still an ethical aspect to this whole ordeal. A prize was awarded to the team. Therefore there is no “acquisition” of the idea or its technology. In addition, Chatcasso was launched as an individual project without further backing or assistance from Binance and its team. 

A Blow To Hackathon Innovation

There is no apparent reason why an entity like Binance should “steal” ideas from hackathon participants. If they aim to do so, there are proper channels. A backhanded approach like this one – even down to the name – doesn’t go over well with the hackathon participants and the broader community. Binance makes more than enough money to build tools without copying virtually everything about an existing one. They could have acquired Chatcasso officially and no one would have complained. 

We didn't sign any documents other than entering through their eventbrite page below.

We were also doubtful of what you mentioned and double checked the rules.

Didn't state anything regarding it

The prize was 5k BUSD https://t.co/HGFhyMLCbM

— ggoma (@0xggoma) March 2, 2023

Nor was there any contractual agreement for winning the hackthon track. Hunt Town signed up through the event’s page, received the BUSD check, and never signed any documents mentioning handing over the technology or allowing Binance to copy the idea. The whole ordeal is strange and the opposite of what one would expect from Binance. Unfortunately, there isn’t much one can do, although the Chatcasso solution will remain accessible to everyone. 

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